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Excavations from ancient hills throughout Bulgaria have brought excellent examples of highly developed fine arts - jewelry, silver and gold pottery, terracotta, paintings etc. Even the ancient Orpheus, who, according to the legend, has charmed the people and the animals with his magnificent songs was born on this land.
Due to the fact, that Bulgaria was on the busy crossroad for centuries, where it has suffered number of foreign invasions, few material samples of the early culture remain and could be found mostly in foreign museums. All they prove the high level of development of culture. Some of the artifacts are still kept in medieval churches and monasteries in Bulgaria, other could be traced in the folklore - myths and legends, songs and dances, traditions and customs.
This marvelous heritage has been carefully protected and developed through the centuries as a solid base for the modern Bulgarian culture.
The real uplift of the national culture started in mid 19th century, when mass movement for education and enlightening started under the influence of national liberation idea as well as the progressive ideas from Western Europe and Russia.
After the restoration of the national statehood at the end of 19th century, all ways of public life in Bulgaria, including the culture, have marked rapid growth and progress.
The drive for renovation of the Bulgarian spiritual and intellectual life continues. Keeping the best traditions of the national revival period, the state pursued a carefully planned policy for guiding society towards broad horizons of European spiritual life and modernization. Regardless of the various influences the Bulgarian culture retained its indigenous national essence. In the beginning of the 20th century the cultural life entered a decades-long time-span of creative and professional maturity when the glance turned to the past was originally bound up with the modern reconsideration and a future creative interpretation of the rich historical heritage.
Bulgarian education adopted the modern European concepts: compulsory and free primary education, broad public access to it, introduction of the vocational education system etc.
In 1888 the first Bulgarian university was inaugurated. New cultural institutions like libraries, museums and theatres emerged. The national libraries in Sofia and Plovdiv became pools of literary wealth. The Archaeological and Ethnographic Museums undertook the storage and study of thousands of exhibits of the ancient past of Bulgaria as well as some invaluable assets of the popular culture.
The first professional theatrical group laid the foundation of the National Theatre, which beautiful building is still one of the Sofia's landmarks. On its stage many European and Russian plays, as well as plays of young Bulgarian authors made their first show for the Bulgarian public.
Fine arts and architecture developed successfully. The State Fine Arts School came into existence - later on it developed into Academy of Fine Arts. Bulgarian and foreign architects left a notable artistic trial in new Bulgarian capital and the main cities.
The general cultural upsurge influenced the Bulgarian music, literature and periodical press as well. Original prose works like "Pod Igoto" (Under the Yoke) by Ivan Vazov and "Notes on the Bulgarian Uprisings" by Zakhari Stoyanov have been created. Realistic tradition and symbolism were intertwined in the works of the wonderful poets Pencho Slaveikov (nominated for a Nobel Prize for literature in 1912), Peyu Yavorov, Dimcho Debelyanov, etc.
The creative impulse gripped the Bulgarian scientific thought as well. The logistic was facilitated by the Bulgarian Literary Society, renamed Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 1911. Along with the State University of Sofia they became the leading centers of Bulgarian scientific knowledge.
The political changes after 1944 led to the initiation of so-called "cultural revolution". Education, science and arts were subjected to strong ideologization, whose tendencies were continuously fostered by party decisions. The socialist "cultural revolution" divided the Bulgarian intellectuals. They included both adherents and adversaries of the new cultural policy. A third group of intellectuals simply adjusted themselves to the political conjucture.
The "socialist education" although over-ideologized and made as a blue-print of the Soviet education system, eliminated the illiteracy through compulsory secondary education. In line with the Soviet pattern several splinter colleges originated from the Sofia State University. But the care of the state for the expansion of high education was indisputable: in 1944 Bulgaria had 5 higher educational establishments with some 10 000 students and 453 lecturers, while in 1989 the number of higher schools reached 30 with 138 000 students and 19 200 lecturers.
By 1989 Bulgaria has developed a scientific potential with 31600 research fellows, which was too big for the size of the country. A considerable part of them attained high-level international recognition: Georgi Nadjakov (physicist), Dimitar Orahovats (physiologist), Methodi Popov (biologist), Alexander Todorov-Balan (linguist), Gavril Katsarov (historian), the mathematicians Nikola Obreshkov, Kiril Popov, Lyubomir Chakalov, etc. The state policy in the sphere of artistic culture and mass media was also subjected to strict ideological criteria. The totalitarian nature of the state naturally entailed censorship and management of cultural activities through administrative methods and decrees. Bulgarian culture proved to be isolated from a number of processes and tendencies in the world cultural development. In the 1970s Bulgarian culture has started slow process of opening for the new developments in the world. The same time many representative exhibitions such as "Thracian Treasures in the Bulgarian Lands", "Bulgarian Icons", "Thirteen-Centenary Bulgaria", "Medieval Bulgarian Art", etc. popularized Bulgaria far beyond its borders as a country of modern culture and active spiritual modern life.
The Bulgarian writers, poets and literary critics had to "bind up" their artistic work with the communist ideology. Despite that authors such as Elin Pelin, Dimitar Talev, Dimitar Dimov, Elisaveta Bagryana, Dora Gabe, Nikolai Liliev, etc. and in more recent times - Valery Petrov, Yordan Radichkov, Emiliyan Stanev, Blaga Dimitrova, Alexander Gerov, Pavel Matev, Radoy Ralin, Georgi Tsanev, Petar Dinekov, Georgi Markov etc. created works of high artistic value.
Notwithstanding the ideological barriers and political restrictions, the Bulgarian theatre could boast of indisputable achievements. These were demonstrated not only by qualitative indicators - the number of drama theaters from 13 in 1944 to 41 with 19155 seats in 1989. The stages became the ground, where talented producers and actors showed their worth in a brilliant way. Many of them developed their talents in the Bulgarian cinema as well. By the end of 1980s country produced each year more than 500 feature, documentary, cartoon and instruction films.
The specificity of the musical culture prevented the harmful effect of the ideological censorship on the brilliant global career of the opera singers Nikolay Gyaurov, Nikola Gyuzelev, Katya Popova, Rayna Kabaivanska, Gena Dimitrova etc. The instrumentalists Yurii Boukov, Alexis Vaisenberg, Milcho Leviev, Mincho Minchev, Stoyka Milanova and others enjoyed high level recognition on the stages throughout the world.
Hundreds of painters, graphic artists and sculptors combined the indigenous Bulgarian elements with the modern trends in fine arts. The eminent personalities from the older generation (Ilia Petrov, Vladimir Dimitrov - the Master, Iliya Beshkov, Boris Angeloushev, Dechko Uzunov, etc.) were still the masters of the day when the much younger - Dimitar Kazakov, Genko Genov, Georgi Bozhilov, Georgi Chapkanov, Vezhdi Rashidov, Rumen Skorchev, Valentin Starchev etc. won international competitions and exhibited their works in famous galleries throughout the world.
The changes after 1989 have had great effect on the Bulgarian culture, too. Economic crisis the country plunged in resulted in a shortage of funds for different cultural projects. Nowadays many cultural institutions are struggling to survive without state support while the others see the challenge to find more flexible and modern ways of management.
But for the main part of the Bulgarian intellectuals the Democratic changes have other meaning - end of censorship and ideologization. They have the full right and freedom to work independently, according to their aesthetical views.
The economic stabilization Bulgaria entered since 1997 has given the chance to the government to turn to the problems of the Bulgarian culture too.
Bulgarian Myth and Folklore
Bulgarian folk narratives are distinguished by their stark, primal qualities, their spare poetic beauty and powerful archetypal characters. The characters are larger than life - epic heroes, warrior women and beguiling beings who inhabit a magical landscape that has its own reality, laws and logic. They are many-layered and reveal some very ancient roots, perhaps going back to Thracian times and beyond.
Modern day Bulgaria lies at the crossroads between East and West, and has ancestral roots among three quite different groups of peoples: the ancient Thracians, the Slavs and the Proto-Bulgarians. These peoples were originally separate and ethnically distinct, with widely differing cultures and religions, and it is this mix that has contributed to modern Bulgaria's rich heritage and still vibrant folklore and traditional culture.
The ancient Thracians were an Indo-European tribal people who settled at least 5,000 years ago in that area of the Balkans whose heartland is now the modern state of Bulgaria. They were expert horse breeders, produced fine vines and wines, and were artful metalworkers, creating an exquisite treasury of adornments, ritual objects and vessels. They had a rich culture to rival that of the ancient Greeks but they had no written language of their own. So much of what we know about them comes from their rich archaeological remains, and from the Greek writers who were their contemporaries.
The Thracians revered the forces of nature, worshipped the sun and believed in the immortality of the soul. Thracian mythology encompassed the mysterious Thracian Horseman, the wine-loving Dionysus and Bendis, the great mother goddess, sometimes depicted riding a doe, bow in hand with a quiver of arrows slung across her back. Thracian myth and culture is dramatic, veering from light to dark. It is located in a wild mountainous landscape where the great goddess hunts, the horse is sacred and the mysterious Thracian Horseman dispenses both life and death. And Orpheus, the great singer, musician, healer and sorcerer, descends to the Underworld in search of his dead consort Eurydice, offering the promise of immortality and rebirth.
After the 6th century AD the Thracians were absorbed into the Slavic and Bulgarian peoples who settled in the area, but the subsequent Bulgarian kingdom inherited their legacy.
Bulgaria is rich in Thracian archaeological remains, and traces of Thracian myth and religion have survived in current Bulgarian folklore and customs, such as those given below.
Samodivi (also samovili and yudi)There are many tales about these wild female nymphs of the waters, woodlands and the mountains, renowned for their exquisite singing and dancing. Though they are generally viewed as Slavic in origin (see below), in Bulgarian folklore they share some characteristics with the Thracian goddess Bendis. In one tale, Vida, a powerful samodiva of the Pirin mountains, rides a stag with bow in hand and a quiver of arrows on her back; her reins are grass snakes, and her whip is also a snake. She kills the beautiful male singer, Ivo (a relic of Orpheus?) and flies up to the moon, before restoring him to life in the curative gardens of Magda samovila. In other tales, samodivi call down the moon and milk it like a cow. In some tales they kill or take the heads of humans who cross them, reminiscent of the Maenads, the ecstatic female followers of Dionysus who tore Orpheus apart in a drunken frenzy.
The epic hero Krali Marko on his horse Sharkoliya. Krali Marko was a real historical person who lived in the 14th century AD. He has since became overlaid with an earlier mythology that reflects some aspects of the Thracian Horseman god, who was sometimes simply called Hero. There are many heroic songs (the traditional way of telling these epic tales was through song) about Krali Marko's adventures with his magical horse Sharkoliya.
Bulgaria's ancient style of singing, famed throughout the world for its haunting vocals and exquisite harmonies, surely follows in the tradition of Orpheus. It is also thought that Bulgaria's unusual uneven rhythms may derive from Thracian music.
They believed in many deities, spirits of nature and demons, and for them, the world was alive with all-pervasive supernatural powers and energies, The Slavs migrated to the Balkan peninsula from Central Europe in the early part of the 7th century AD. They were a freedom-loving agricultural people, living democratically in clan communes with no rigid organisational structures or hierarchies including wood and water nymphs, witches, vampires and werewolves. Trees and animals were revered as man's ancestors, rivers were worshipped, fire and the sun were important partsof cult rituals, and seasonal festivals featured prominently in their religion.
The Slavs built shrines where they worshipped their gods in the form of idols. Their main god was Perun, the god of thunder, who gave his name to the Pirin mountains in southern Bulgaria. Volos, or Veles was the god of horned animals. Female deities were less significant and included Lada and Lyulya, goddesses of love and awakening nature. Ladouvane, a girls' ritual that takes its name from Lada, the Slavic goddess of love. The ritual includes fortune telling in a custom called "the singing of the rings". The goddess also features in traditional Bulgarian wedding songs.
Vampires - This is one of several Slavic demonic beings. If proper burial and mourning rites are not observed, the dead can return from the grave in the form of vampires who walk the night, drinking blood from humans and animals, and smothering sleepers. Vampires can be created if, for example, a person or animal jumps over the dead body, if the corpse is not properly washed, if the deceased is not fully mourned, or if someone dies a violent death. In Bulgarian myth the vampire's bite is not contagious and there is no association with bats.
According to some people, during the first 40 days of their existence vampires look like shapeless bags of blood, after which they become strong enough to form some bone and to take on a human shape. Then they can leave the grave during the daytime, get a job, and even get married. But they must always take care never to cut themselves, otherwise they will burst and become a pool of gelatinous blood.
Vampires can be despatched in many ways: by pouring boiling oil in the grave, putting in hawthorn or blackberry, by fire, nail, stake or silver bullet. Also, it is well known that vampires are naive and not very clever. If, for example, you were to send one to get some fish from the River Danube, he would undoubtedly fall in to the water and drown.
Proto Bulgarian Myths - The ancestral homeland of the Proto Bulgarians is uncertain but it was probably the Altai Mountains of Central Asia or the northern frontier of China. The Proto Bulgarians were originally a nomadic people, keeping herds and revering horses. Mare's milk was an essential part of their diet. They were excellent warriors with a well-organised army; they were skilled in metalwork; and they lived in clans under the leadership of khans who held absolute power. In 681 AD they founded the first Bulgarian state on the Balkans in exchange for protecting the local Slav population against Byzantine attack.
Their religion centred on the sun and the light, and their main deity was the sky god, Tangra, whose sacred animals included the horse and the eagle. White horses were particularly revered. Although they had no writing system, the Proto Bulgarians had their own calendar based on a 12-year cycle like the Chinese calendar, each year bearing the name of an animal, bird or reptile. Shamanism was practised and each clan had a sacred animal totem - and dogs, deer and wolves seem to have had special significance.
Traditional folk costumes
The "soukman" dress was the most widely spread women's dress, most often a sleeveless dress, but in some places it is with short or long sleeves. The decoration of this type of costume is concentrated on the skirts, along the neck and sleeve ends. It consists of multi-colour embroidery, decorative cloth and braid appliques, varied in size and style. The "soukman" dress is worn with short woven belt whose ends are buckled by means of belt buckle called pafti. The apron is the most picturesque decorative center of the "soukman" dress. It is richly ornamented, in a variety of colours with beautifully stand out against the background of the large blackness of the dress, thus making the "soukman" costumes very artistic and original.
The "saya" dress has also the tunic-like shirt as a major component. The "saya" is a constantly worn outer garment, open in the front part, slightly wedged, with varied length of the skirts and the sleeves. The one-colour white, black, blue and dark blue "saya" dresses are predominant, made of cotton or woolen fabric. The decoration of the "saya" is concentrated on the neck and the ends of the sleeves. The other important component of this Bulgarian women's costume is the waist band, black or red, made of woolen fabric. The apron is also woolen in most of the cases.
Bulgarian men's costumes are belodreshna (white) and chernodreshna (black). They include: tunic-like shirt, pants and outer clothes - belt, typical fur cap and tsurvouli.
Music general
The legend of the Thracian singer Orpheus, who charmed gods with his music, tells that he was born in the Rhodopes. Bulgarian singers and musicians of today are no less famous than Orpheus. The remarkable opera-singers Boris Hristov, Nikolai Gyaurov, Nikola Gyuzelev, Raina Kabaivanska, Gena Dimitrova and many others make famous the Bulgarian school of singing on the world opera stages.
The unrivaled performances of our folk-singers - the Bulgarka Trio and the Mystery of Bulgarian Voices conquer the world of music. A Bulgarian folk song performed by Valya Balkanska resounds the Universe, recorded on a gold CD on the board of the Voyager space station.
The Bulgarian music is created on the basis of the musical tradition of the Thracians and the Slavs, later on influenced by the culture of neighbour peoples and conquerors. Instrumental and vocal folk-music are inherently bound to dance (horo, ruchenitsa), with the rites, beliefs and labour activities. The various regions of the country have their characteristic fast or slow, one-part or two-part folk songs with odd and even measure (5/8. 7/8, 8/8, 9/8, etc., up to 14/8). The most widely used string instruments are gadulka, gousla and tambura, wind instruments - kaval (shepherd's pipe) and gaida (bagpipe), percussion instruments - tupan (cattle drum).
Along with folk music works, soon after the conversion to Christianity in the 9th C., religious chanting in the Old-Bulgarian language develops. A Bulgarian church-singing school is created and it exerts influence over the musical culture of other peoples. Music is primarily vocal and monophtonic. The most prominent singer, composer and theoretician of medieval Bulgarian music is Yoan Koukouzel, known as Angelvoice.
The second half of the 19th century witnesses the emergence of city-folk music culture - city-folk songs, the first band of musicians, school and church choirs. At the beginning of the century primarily chorus songs are composed by Emanoil Manolov, Dimitar Hristov, Angel Bokoreshtliev. The opera genre is also developed - Georgi Atanasov - Maestro.
In 1908 in Sofia the Bulgarian Opera Society is set up, later to be named National Opera. The dance music is widespread.
During the 30-ies folklore motives are introduced in musical works - works of national style by Pancho Vladigerov (Bulgarian Rhapsody Vardar), Petko Stainov (Thracian dances), Marin Goleminov, Filip Koutev, Parashkev Hadzhiev, Lyubomir Pipkov.
The 50-ies are the period of development of popular song and chorus activity (Bodra Smyana Choir, Children's Choir at the Bulgarian Radio, Svetoslav Obretenov Cappella Choir, the men's choirs Kaval and Gousla, the choirs Rodina and Morski Zvutsi, the mixed chamber cappella choir Polyphony, etc.).
Folk Music
Melodious tunes and beautiful voices, fiery dances and brightly coloured costumes - Bulgarian folklore has to be seen, felt and experienced!
The world has already discovered Ninth Symphony, its message to other civilizations travelling to the stars aboard the Voyager I and Voyager 2 spaceships also includes the recording of a Bulgarian Rhodope Mountain folk song.
The world is discovering it again and again at major folklore and song contests in Italy, France, England and Ireland from which the Bulgarian music and dance ensembles invariably walk off with the first prizes.
The world has started talking about the "Mystery of Bulgarian songs and dances"...
If you attend one of the many picturesque folk fairs, singing contests and original folklore festivals in this country, which gather thousands of singers, musicians and dancers, where several generations of Bulgarians sing, play and dance, you will perhaps yourself discover the key to this mystery, the key to the heart and soul of Bulgaria.
Bulgarian Folk Instruments
The "Gaida" (bagpipe) is one of the most characteristic folk instruments of Bulgaria. It is said that a traditional wedding is incomplete without its presence. Traditionally the solitary shepherd's companion,
it
is often heard solo or accompanied by a large drum. It is also popular in small
village orchestras. Like all Bulgarian folk instruments there are many regional
variations with distinctive styles of detail and ornament. All share a common
form: white kidskin bag, blowpipe, drone and chanter. The pipes of the eastern
regions of Thrace and Dobrudja are usually high-pitched, while those of western
Shope region tend to be lower. In the south Bulgarian Rhodope mountain region
they are extremely deep-pitched with huge goatskin bags. These are often played
in pairs or trios and sometimes in large groups. There is one ensemble in that
area called "Sto Gaidi", which translates as "One Hundred Gaidas". The standard
instrument today is an outfit consisting of three chanters and two drones,
giving the player capacity to perform music of all regions. The chanter, called
a "gaidanitsa", makes this instrument unique. It has the capability of a full
chromatic scale. Its conical bore may have up to seven subtle changes. The tone
holes are curved and recessed to give the fingers a relaxed and comfortable
grip. Its most unusual detail is the "flea hole", a small metal pipe or bushing
at the top of the bore. This gives the instrument its exceptional chromatic
range. The pipes are traditionally richly decorated with delicate grooving or
combing and trimmed with metal and ox horn of varying hues. The kaba-gaida of
south Bulgaria is a huge instrument. Its single drone is almost four feet long.
It has a deep and noble tone. Its gaidanitsa is hexagonal rather than round in
cross-section, and it is richly ornamented with subtle carving.The "gadulka" is probably the most popular and also most ancient folk instrument in Bulgaria today. Although loud and resonant, its distinctive Slavic voice is warm and soothing. It is traditionally played in
small
orchestral groups or used to accompany singing. Most folk musicians make their
own instruments following strong regional traditions of form and tuning, though
there are many renowned professional makers. Two types of gadulkas are commonly
played. Both are made from large single blocks of hardwood that are carved and
hollowed into pear like corpus, then covered with resonant softwood faces. The
more prevalent form has three bowed strings, tuned A'EA with ten to twelve
additional sympathetic strings. The other type is much smaller and its 
playing
is restricted to the Dobrudjan region near the Black Sea. It usually has three
strings tuned EAA'. Unlike violins, gadulkas are played tucked into a shoulder
strap or belt and bowed horizontally. The Tambura is also a popular instrument.
It is similar in form to the gadulka, with a curved, pear shaped form. It has a
loud, bright tone somewhat like a banjo, and is commonly used for both melody
and chords. The strings are double-coursed like a mandolin but are tuned like
the upper strings on a guitar.The "kaval", a Bulgarian or Balkan end-blown flute is also a common shepherd's instrument played in orchestras and as an accompaniment to singing. It is universally popular in Bulgaria. Playing techniques vary throughout the country. Typically a staccato style is played in the West, while a richly ornamented style is played in the East.
Festivals and Customs
Full of beauty, gaiety and a healthy love of life, the Bulgarian festivals and customs date back to ancient times when mail tried to appease the natural elements and trembled before their power. One of the merriest and richest festivals in a ritual aspect are Christmas and the New Year, when the so called "sourvakari" make the round of houses with wishes for health and prosperity. Other major festivals include "ladouvane" - a festive ritual for young girls on New Year's Day or Midsummer Day (24 June), Shrovetide and Mummers' Games which take their beginnings from the Dionysian festivals of the Thracians and mark the start of spring, "lazarouvane" - an Orthodox festival dedicated to love and the family, Trifon Zarezan (Vinegrower's Day) and St. George's Day, linked with health and abundance. And among them the widely popular and typically Bulgarian customs and festivals are 'martenitsas' and rose-picking.
Every year on the 1st of March, the Bulgarians give each other "martenitsas" - small figures made of white and red threads, a symbol of the awakening, of spring, health and happiness.
In late May and early June every year, the rose-picking season starts in the Valley of Roses which stretches between the Balkan Range and the Sredna Gora Mountains. Rose-picking starts at dawn, before sunrise and before the rose fragrance has had a chance to disappear. The Bulgarian oleaginous rose yields 70 percent of the world's attar of roses used by every well-known perfume company as an essential component of its products. This is the time of the Festival of Roses, celebrated with carnivals, processions, folk songs and dances in Karlovo and Kazanluk on the first Sunday in June.
Cuisine
Bulgaria is a country of traditions and there are three very special food items, which are unique to Bulgaria and have always been a part of it, back through the earliest of Thracian times:
- White Cheese - a particular variety of the increasingly popular "Feta cheese" found in many places. It is a brined cheese, produced from goat, sheep or cow milk, and is used either plain or as an essential part of other dishes - from the "shopska salad" to the "banitza".
- Yoghurt - again, a particular variety of food, produced by the Lactobacterium Bulgaricum bacteria. It grows no place else in the world. Yoghurt (or as it is called here "kiselo mlyako" - literally meaning "sour milk") has found an important part in many Bulgarian dishes. Bulgarians are also fond of the so-called "Ayran" - a beverage of yoghurt and water. Yoghurt can be purchased in many different grades and qualities, each characteristic of the quality of the very milk to which the bacteria-culture has been added. Be sure you try the wonderfully rich, buttery-tasting buffalo yoghurt ("Bivolsko mylako") produced from the milk of the water buffalo. It is most commonly found in the mountain areas - e.g. around Shipka village and the town of Gabrovo. Bulgarians eat yoghurt in one form or another practically every day throughout their life.
- Chubritsa (Savory) - This plant, which botanists claim to be a species of the herb "Satureia hortensis", appears to grow particularly well upon Bulgarian soil. It also shares certain characteristics with the so popular Oregano (Origanum vulgare). The savory dried leaves are crushed and sprinkled on top of many kinds of dishes, or ground into a fine powder and used on bread-and-butter.
And then there is the popular "boza" - this is a thick fermented sweet beverage (having a sweet-sour taste) prepared from roasted flour, which gives it a brownish colour (it almost has the appearance of the chocolate drink "YooHoo"). As the beverage is fermented, it has a slight (4% or less) alcohol content. Millet-flour boza is preferred, but it may be made from wheat, barley, oat or corn flour.
As to methods of preparation - since earliest of times the Bulgarians have favoured stewing, roasting, boiling and the cooked-in-the-earthen-pot dish. The roasting of food on charcoal embers is also widespread, leaving the meat deliciously tender and succulent. Often many of the stews and casseroles are delivered to the table in a lidded brown crock called a "gyuvech". If many of the dishes you find here seem Turkish to you - that is very much the fact! Bulgaria was occupied by the Ottomans for five centuries. When the Turks retreated, both parties exchanged borrowed ways and traditions.
You will probably want us to sample the rich variety of local meat, vegetables, fruit and variety of bread found in a well-prepared and colourful, interesting dishes... Here is just an attempt to sample some most characteristic Bulgarian menu: a Bulgarian breakfast might start with some of the so-typical yoghurt, with a delicious strudel-like pastry made with spinach or feta cheese filling (called "banitza"). For lunch or dinner, a mixed tomato-cucumber-pepper-and-onion salad with grated sheep-milk cheese on top (the "shopska salata") followed by a tasty stew of pork meat with paprikas (the "slav gyuvech") or just a vegetable stew (the "gyuvech zarzavat"), stuffed peppers or aubergines, stuffed vine leaves' called "sarmi". Beware of the heavenly sweet syrupy pastries filled with walnuts called "baklava"!
"Kebapche" (the minced-meat-and-spices long roll) is just the local favourite! When in round form, it's called "Kyufte", but it's very much the same (although the latter could include some yellow cheese inside it as well). The meat is pork, chicken or veal, sometimes a mixture of chicken and the other, mixed with very finely minced onion, water, cumin, salt and pepper.
There is little difference in the contents of the Bulgarian cook's larder from your own; common meats are pork, veal, lamb, chicken and fish. Staples include rice, corn, beans and lentils. Vegetables include potatoes, cabbage (both green and red), carrots, tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, garlic, zucchini, pumpkin, onions (yellow and green), peas, celery, spinach, cauliflower, green and lima beans, lettuce, radishes, turnips, mushrooms, olives ; fruits - cherries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, watermelons, melons, grapes and quinces. All of these basic ingredients are grown in Bulgaria.
Cooking oil is almost always sunflower oil. It is light enough that it blends easily with foods while cooking and does not impart a greasy taste.
Bread may be lightly brushed with sunflower oil and toasted in a hot pan to a delicious golden colour. Bread is the most important item of the Bulgarian diet. The crisp, thin outer crust is cracked in places on top and nearly glistens; inside is of a coarse yet soft, white texture. Of course, many other styles and types of bread are to be found - including whole-wheat and pre-sliced.
Drinks
Alcohol is very much a part of Bulgarian culture. It is drunk by many at any time and for every occasion.
Beer-Bulgarian beer is palatable but probably the least interesting Bulgarian beverage, best when the weather is hot. Zagorka and Pleven are preferred brands. Make sure it is "studena" (cold).
Wine-high quality, low price; wines from Preslav, Novi Pazar, Suhin Dol, Melnik and Khan Krum (Shoumen Region) are regarded as the best, Sungularski Misket (dry white) is one preferred brand. There are hundreds of Bulgarian folk songs about red wine, and only one about white: "why can't the white wine be red?". Red is drunk in the winter, white in the summer, both with almost everything.
Rakia-Bulgarian brandy, the national drink; often quite strong; said to cure stomach ailments, cancer and hangovers; grape is most common, there are plum and peach varieties.
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