Bulgaria - From The Black Sea To The Rhodopes (54/151)

Bulgaria - From The Black Sea To The Rhodopes (54/151)

Bulgaria is known, if at all, as an inexpensive destination for family holidays at the Black Sea coast - otherwise we are hardly aware of this Balkan land, which is rarely mentioned the media. And yet it is one of Europe's oldest states: the first Bulgarian Empire was founded in 681A.D.. Before this Thracians, Greeks, Romans and Slavs settled in this area, later Bulgaria became a Byzantine dominion and was then ruled for 500 years by the Turks. In the 19th century a "national renaissance" began , in 1989 the country liberated itself from communist rule. A turbulent history which we constantly encounter on this round trip. It takes us to the old harbour cities of Pliska and Veliko Tarnova, to the new capital Sofia, to churches and cloisters with valuable icons and into the mountain landscapes of the Balkans and the Rhodopes.