The result is known: Boyko Borisov won the 26 March snap election which he himself had called in late in 2016, causing a political crisis, prolonged and acrimonious public debate, and increased expenditure for taxpayers. His party, GERB, garnered over 33 percent of the vote, thus becoming the largest party in parliament. Second is Borisov’s "arch enemy," the BSP, or Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Borisov, whose candidate, Tsetska Tsacheva lost bitterly to Ret Gen Rumen Radev in the presidential election last year thus prompting her boss to resign and invoke a snap election, appears stern as ever, wearing a general's uniform and posing in front of the Bulgarian national flag. Before taking up politics Borisov was in the protection business, then became this country's top policeman.
Some skeptics immediately drew visual comparisons to Gen Augusto Pinochet, the Latin American dictator who ruled Chile with an iron fist during the 1970s and 1980s.
Kapka Kassabova was born and raised in Bulgaria, spent her late teens and twenties in New Zealand and now lives in the Scottish Highlands. She started writing poetry as a schoolgirl, but turned to fiction and non-fiction many years ago – in English, her adopted language. Her narrative non-fiction books, including Street Without a Name and Twelve Minutes of Love, as well as novels such as Villa Pacifica have earned her an international reputation as being one of the freshest literary voices of her generation.
It is not only the generations who were young during Communism that feel this way. Many Bulgarians born too late to have first-hand experience of the regime share the same sentiment.
Welcome to Tsvetnitsa, or Flower Day, one of Bulgaria's most beloved times of the year.
Tsvetnitsa – or Vrabnitsa, Willow Day, – is the local name for Palm Sunday, the feast celebrating Jesus's entry into Jerusalem. Early in the morning, priests all over Bulgaria bless branches of willow – a regional substitute for the palm branches laid on the streets of Jerusalem in the New Testament story. Then they distribute them to churchgoers throughout the day; it is believed that having at least one branch of blessed willow at home will protect the household from all evil.
Quality, innovation and a dedication to offer the best to the demanding international markets are the core principles of ETEM Bulgaria. A Greek company established in 1971, the ETEM Group entered the Bulgarian market in 1999. Today, it is a major producer and employer of more than 500 people.
Ellipse Center is a brainchild of French investor Mr. Claude Tabet and Bulgarian architect Atanas Panov, LP Consult. The visually striking tower will provide top quality offices for companies that seek spaces as creative and bold as their businesses are.
Midnight was approaching, but for the moment it seemed that Easter would never come. On the top of the hill, in front of the church whose silhouette is known to every tourist in this country, a priest was well into a long and tedious sermon on faith, the importance of unification, and a bit of current (meaning 2016) politics, and he showed no signs of being near the end.
Raids and pillage were their main sources of income, and their neighbours, from the rich Greek town of Agatopolis, were their usual victims. As a retribution for the raids, the Greeks called the Thracian settlement Varvara, the place of the Barbarians.
1. When did the April Uprising take place?
A. In 1876
B. In 1877
C. In 1878
2. Which Bulgarian dish should be cooked in earthenware pot?
A. Banitsa
B. Kapama
C. Tripe soup
3. In which mountain is the Bachkovo Monastery?
A. The Stara Planina
B. The Rhodope
C. The Rila
We are breaking the law.
Angel Dzhambazki, an EMP and a member of the extreme nationalist VMRO, or Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation; on his supporters erecting road blocks on the border with Turkey to disrupt the 26 March general election
The Balkans are in a pre-war state.
Boyko Borisov, leader of GERB
Once they were the haunt of those who did not have enough disposable income to buy new stuff. They also attracted collectors, fringe cultures, and optimists believing that they would find a lost Rembrandt among all the knick-knacks. With the advent of cheap, disposable fashion (thanks, China), mass travel and mass hipsterisation, however, those with little cash moved to the malls, and the joy of finding some vintage clothing, or a 1960s piece of furniture that would look great in the living room went mainstream.
Rich merchants and intellectuals lived in the town which boasted some of this country's finest Revival Period architecture.
The town went into decline as soon as the Ottomans left and is now mainly a tourist attraction. Its marvellous mansion-type houses, made mainly of wood, are open for visits and people from around the globe come to admire them. The town is also the location of poetry and folk music festivals.
Where in Bulgaria are you?
Their song was strange, three different voices weaved into a single melody that sounded as if from another time – and its effect was hardly due to the strong homemade Chacha, or brandy, guests are treated to here.
In the beginning, when God was distributing the land to all the nations, we Georgians missed the meeting. The next morning we looked around and realized we were homeless. "Hey!" we shouted to God. "What about our land?"
"Where were you last night?" He asked. "You missed the meeting. I already gave away all the land."
"We were drinking!" we cried out. "We were toasting Your name!"
God was so pleased with us that He gave us the land He was saving for Himself. That’s why we are supposed to relax and enjoy the beauty of God’s earth.
The cities are full with examples for planning and architecture that are a true document of the period of their creation: the scale of Roman construction imposes the might of the empire, and the light proportions of the Renaissance convey the idea of man as the measure of everything. Today, experiment with shape and materials combines with clear understanding of the environment's functionality and energy efficiency, in accordance with the public opinion towards greener living, comfort and interest in bold architectural solutions.
Whatever the event might be, the planning of even the tiniest detail is a must. And the number of tiny details begins to look scarily large to people who have never engaged in such an activity.
Constant staring at the screens of smartphones, computers and TV, polluted air, driving, age, tobacco smoke, air conditioning: modern life abounds with factors provoking the appearance of the "dry eye" syndrome. The artificial tear eye-drops are the most common way for treatment of the condition, but by far not all drops are created equal. In some the effect diminishes after a long period of treatment or leaves you with the feeling that your eyes are drier than before the product's use.
Bulgaria's emblematic dishes are a result of its nature and the skill to take the best of it.
Only 190-kilometre drive separate Sofia from Kulata, the most popular border crossing with Greece. The country is blessed with Mediterranean climate. The summer is hot, sunny and dry, and it is more than guaranteed that the weather will not suddenly turn bad for several days in a row during your vacation – the average number of sunny days in the country is 250. As a result of concurrence of geographical and historical circumstances, Greece has a coastline of 13,676 km – incomparably more than Bulgaria's 354-kilometre Black Sea coast.