The butterfly arrives in Bulgaria
(Пenepудтa nриcтиra в Бьлrapия)

Bulgaria is a country of south-eastern Europe and borders the Black Sea.  Bulgaria has beautiful and varied scenery.  Visitors can ski in the mountains in winter and sunbathe on the sandy beaches of the Black Sea coast in summer.

Nesebâr on the Black Sea

Language

Bulgarian is a Slav language and uses an alphabet called the Cyrillic alphabet. This alphabet was invented by St Cyril and his brother, St Methodius, in the ninth century. Signs are written in both the Cyrillic alphabet and the one that you know, which is called the Roman alphabet. Be careful if you go to Bulgaria – nodding your head means "no" and shaking your head means "yes"!

The past

Thracian tomb at Kazanlak

About 3,000 years ago a people called the Thracians established the first civilisation of what is now Bulgaria.

It became part of the Roman Empire.

Between the late 600s and mid-1300s AD, Bulgaria twice ruled a powerful kingdom that covered most of the Balkan Peninsula.

In the late 1300s, the Turkish Ottoman Empire conquered the country and ruled until Bulgaria gained freedom in 1878 and complete independence in 1908.

Bulgaria was under communist rule from 1946 until a more democratic system was established in 1989.

The Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia

Food and drink

Tarator soup

The Bulgarians love yoghurt and a family will eat several litres a day.  The best kind is made from sheep’s milk but yoghurt made from cow’s milk is eaten in the cities.

They call it kiselo mlyako.

Popular national dishes are shopska (salad) and tarator (a cold soup made with yoghurt and cucumber).

Events and festivals

Between the Balkan and Sredna Gora mountains is the famous Valley of Roses.  Here are the vast stretches of rose fields that produce 70% of the world’s supply of attar of roses.  This is a  precious oil used in the perfume industry.  Two thousand roses are needed to produce just one gram of oil.

The roses bloom at the end of May.  The picking starts just before dawn because that is when the scent of the petals is strongest.

The Festival of the Roses(Festival na Rozata)is celebrated during the first part of June. Tourists come to see the rose-picking and the parade of flowers, songs and dances that follow.

Martenitsas

Doll shaped martenitsas

The giving of martenitsas is a very old Bulgarian custom:

The martenitsas are made from woollen threads or ribbons twisted together and can also have tassels and bobbles. Sometimes they are made into bows and sometimes twisted to make little dolls.

They are given to relatives and friends on 1 March to welcome the spring and to wish them health and happiness in the months ahead.

They are not just given to people but are tied to trees, animals, vines and even tools and machines – anything in fact that is used in someone’s job or profession. They are pinned to clothes and worn until the first stork is seen.

Then they are hung on a bush or placed under a stone near the stork’s nest.

The colours are important – red is thought to be a magical colour which protects from sickness, while white and red together is a lucky combination.

When you give them you must say "ChestitaBaba Marta" which means ‘Happy Grandmother March’.