Bulgaria has a strong culture and rich traditions. Many of the traditional customs are displayed in the holiday calendar, which is diverse and complex. The majority of the Bulgarian people practices Christianity, eighty-five percent of the population belonging to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The traditional religion is considered to be Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The country also has a significant Muslim minority (13 %) and a small Jewish community.
One of the country’s most mysterious traditions is called fire dancing, which consists of barefooted dancers performing on burning embers. The dance is believed to banish illness, and encourage good health and fertility. Typically, Bulgarian folklore exhibits colorful displays of costume, dance and spirit. The folk festivals "Pirin Sings" and "Rozhen Sings" are the best-known Bulgarian folklore festivals. Last year alone, approximately 150,000 visitors from both Bulgaria and abroad gathered to watch the 4,000 festival performers.
Travelers enjoying a Bulgaria cruise during the first week of June can witness the celebration known as The Festival of Roses, which is held in the Rose Valley near the town of Kazanluk. The Bulgarian oleaginous rose yields seventy percent of the world’s rose extract, which is used as an essential component in many perfumes. The unique properties of Bulgarian roses and rose oil are due to the local climate and rich soil. The temperatures in February, when roses bud, are ideal, as is the humidity in May and June when the blossoms are picked.
Bulgarian is the official language of the country and uses the Cyrillic alphabet. During your Bulgaria tour you may also hear Turkish and Macedonian, but English, German, French and Russian are spoken in major tourist resorts and hotels.
Particularly exquisite crafts of Bulgarian artists include embroidery, vibrantly colored rugs and carpets, hand-painted ceramics, and finely detailed jewelry. A cruise to Bulgaria should include a visit to one of the country’s cultural museums or markets. The Samovodene Market in Veliko Turnovo, the Permanent National Exhibition of Folk Art in Oreshak near Troyan and the Etura architectural and ethnographic complex near Gabrovo all display spectacular examples of Bulgarian handicrafts.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
