BULGARIA - www.bulgariatravel.org

A picturesque small country called Bulgaria has existed for more than 13 centuries in Europe, linking East and West. Bulgaria remembers ancient civilisations and great people that wrote its turbulent history. Situated in Southeastern Europe, Bulgaria occupies the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula.

Bulgaria blends in itself the remarkable beauty of the azure, warm turquoise sea and the majestic, snow-topped mountains. The homeland of the Europe's most ancient civilization and the oldest gold in the world, Bulgaria will enchant you with the wealth of colors throughout its four seasons, with the golden shade of its fine sea sands and heavy wheat fields, with the crimson color of Bulgarian roses and wine.

Take a little roadtrip to Bulgaria via www.motoroads.com/album_pictures.html

Data about Bulgaria
Area: 110,993.6 sq km

Population: 7,973, 673 (2001)

Capital city: Sofia

Official language: Bulgarian

Alphabet: Cyrillic

Religion: There is freedom of religious confessions. Traditional religion in the Republic of Bulgaria is Eastern Orthodox Christianity

National holiday: March 3, the day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman domination (1878)

Monetary unit: the Bulgarian Lev

Administrative division: 28 regions, named after their respective regional centres.

State system: a parliamentary republic with a one-chamber parliament (National Assembly), consisting of 240 national representatives, elected for a four-year term of service. The head of state of the republic is the President, elected for a five-year term of service. The Council of Ministers is the main body of executive power.

Relief: most diverse. Average height above sea level � 470 m. Some 31.5% of the country's territory is plain (up to 200 m above sea level), 41% are lowlands and hilly regions (from 200 to 600 m above sea level), and 27.5% are mountains (from 600 to more than 1,600 m above sea level).

Climate: moderate continental with Black Sea influence in the east and Mediterranean � in the south.

Waters: rivers (main rivers are Danube, Maritsa, Mesta, Strouma, Iskar, Yantra); warm and cold mineral springs (more than 600); lakes, coastal (some with curative mineral mud) and of glacial origin (in the Rila and Pirin mountains).

Plant and animal world: extremely diverse. An Act on the Protected Territories is operating in Bulgaria, aimed at the preservation of the country's flora and fauna. It has specified the following categories in the country: a national and nature park, a reserve and a tended reserve, a natural sight, a protected locality.

SOME BEAUTIFUL & FAMOUS BULGARIANS:
Alice Panikian was crowned Miss Universe Canada on March 21, 2006 (born in Sofia, Bulgaria)
View some beautiful pics from Bulgaria!