Balkan Tours and Travels

Archive for July, 2007

Bulgaria is a country of many traditions and customs preserved through time. With more than 1300 years of history, the country has been involved in many wars with its Balkan neighbours who left their cultural imprints in the time. Still the Bulgarians managed to save their traditions and folklore untouched. Visitors and tourists in Bulgaria will be able to take home a slice of this distinctive history by purchasing traditional souvenirs and gifts.

Traditional costumes exist in many varieties and forms depending on the different Bulgarian regions. The main parts of the women’s costumes are long cotton shirt dress (soukman), apron with traditional embroideries, belt, kerchief and the so-called “tsarvuli” – woollen or leather traditional shoes/slippers. The male costumes include white or black traditional trousers, shirt, embroidered vest, wide woollen belt and black or white sheepskin hat (kalpak). The shoes (tsarvuli) are hand made from calf leather and are typical for all Bulgarian regions. Other popular traditional textile products are handmade woollen carpets and rugs. The most popular ones are produced in Chiprovtsi, a small town in North Western Bulgaria. Another major centre of the carpet industry is the southern part of Rodopi Mountain. Very popular carpet patterns are abstract geometric shapes as well as flowers and birds shapes.

“Martenitsa” is traditional decoration from red and white thread which is related to the Bulgarian custom “Baba Marta” (Grandma March). It symbolises the end of the winter and the beginning of the spring. Bulgarians give each other and wear “Martenitsa” during the month of March. The belief is that “Martenitsa” brings good luck. It comes in different varieties, but the typical one is in the form of male from white thread with the name of “Pizjo” and female from red thread with the name of “Penda”. On the last day of March most of the people hang their “Martenitsa” on blossoming fruit trees.

Bulgaria is known as the country of the rose and is the biggest producer in the world of rose oil, which is used in the perfume industry. The Rose Valley is the major rose growing region and is located in southern Bulgaria with town Kazanlak being centre of the rose oil industry. The most popular rose souvenirs are vials of rose oil essence typically around 2ml. They are sold in packs of ten or individually hidden in a wooden traditional doll or carved wooden bottle.

Woodcarving and decorative ceramic pottery are the other areas where the Bulgarian customs are very well preserved. Well-liked souvenirs for tourists and visitors are wood carved boxes, wooden dolls in traditional costumes, wine or water bottles (baklitsa) and decorative wine cask (bure). The most popular pottery souvenirs are plates and bowls from the town Troyan which are brown coloured with beautiful white, black and blue droplet patterns.

The traditional musical instruments of Bulgaria are great choice for tourist gift or memorabilia. They have been used through the centuries and the 500 years Turkish rule to preserve the Bulgarian spirit alive. Typical folk music instruments include goat or sheep bagpipe (caba gaida), flute (kaval), traditional two- headed drum (tapan), rebec (gadulka) as well as bells, clappers and whistles.

The roots of Bulgarians are going back in the time to Slavic’s, Thracians and even the mighty Genghis Khan. Whether you are purchasing for close friend, relative or yourself the traditional Bulgarian souvenirs are great piece of the preserved history of this European country.

Kansieo.com

A landlocked nation within the central Balkan Peninsula, Macedonia may be a fusion of various cultures. The mix of cultures is also a consequence of a long history of foreign power Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Yugoslav. The architecture of its capital metropolis, Skopje, manifests this kind of blend, from the Ottoman paved streets, to ancient Yugoslav building, to red-bricked Byzantine churches and Roman houses.

The Skopje aqueduct also shows a Roman impact in the country, but more than that, it’s an apparent of urbanization throughout the olden times. Connecting the past as well as the contemporary locations could be the Stone Bridge, probably the most prominent landmark of the town.

Far south from the capital urban centre is the unique Orhid Location. The town has remains of several fortifications which are of ancient Macedonian kingdom. It consists of an example of the largest lakes in Europe and is even mistakenly acknowledged as a sea. Alongside the lake, thought to be one of the world’s oldest biotopes, is a spectacle of churches, making not just boating and fishing fun, but also side tripping. Nature fanatics can also enjoy inside the Galicica National Park on the lake’s eastern shore. UNESCO has acknowledged this incredible splendor with the lake in addition to the historical structure in the town, therefore it designated the town as component of the only a couple of Earth Inheritance List.

Bitola, the second town of Macedonia comprises about the most perfectly preserved Roman influence in a rural area. In the location, Heraklea, known for its montage of theaters and baths, and Episcopal Church, is discovered. Heraklea has survived the test of time and is able to maintain excellent conditions of such structures.

The climate in Macedonia varies from Mediterranean to continental. The mountainous topography permits several sports like alpinism, sport climbing, skiing, speleological and paragliding. The conventional conventional cuisine is mainly an impact of Turkey.

Caffeinated Content

I basically keep my fridge stocked the same food, week in week out. There are some slight variations form time to time, but it stay’s pretty much the same foods and down to the essentials. I make my healthy meal plans based on what is in my fridge.

Here’s my list.

- Carrots
- Apples
- Bananas
- Some type of berry. What ever is available at a good price. Organics are always better for you too. No toxic pesticides.
- A crate of organic free range eggs. When you first get these, the color of the yolks will shock you. Look for yourself if you haven’t yet.
- Plain Balkan yogurt
- Basil leaves.
- Garlic
- Fish. Usually salmon. The best kind of fish I’ve had so far. Yet to meet its match
- Chicken. Not processed obviously.
- Cereal. The healthy kind.

Basically when your buying anything, you wanna make sure that you look at the label too. Because some labels are very misleading, check the ingredients. Some products say organic, and aren’t organic at all once you read the ingredients. Others will say healthy choice on the label. But you look at the ingredients, and you see that the box that says “healthy choice” is just as unhealthy as the box of the generic stuff right beside it.

I avoid anything that comes in a box. Cookies, pizza, etc. You get the idea. If you look at the labels, you’ll see that all of these foods are WAY over packed with sugar and sodium.

Bottom line, choose healthy food to create your healthy meal plans from.

Enjoy!

Balkan