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.:: Facts about Bulgaria
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Geography |
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Bulgaria is situated in South-Eastern Europe, in the North-Eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Its area is approximately 111 000 sq.km. It neighbors with Romania on the North, Turkey and Greece on the South, Serbia and Macedonia on the West and the Black Sea on the East. |
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History |
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Bulgaria is founded in 681. Two centuries later /in 865/ Christianity was proclaimed to be the official religion. |
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Hymn |
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Mila Rodino |
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Time |
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GMT+2h and CUT +1h. Bulgaria is in the same time zone as Finland. |
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Nature |
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Despite its modest area, Bulgarian territory is most attractive and luring with the rare combination of sea, mountains, plains and valleys, orchards, vineyards and mineral springs. The Black Sea coast strip is 384 km long and the overall sea area is 413 488 sq.km., which is nearly 4 times the territory of Bulgaria. The average depth of the water is 1245 m and it reaches down to 2245 m at places. The water contains different kinds of salts, which have a beneficial effect on the human body. The average temperature in the summer is about 26 ºC. The Black Sea has wonderful large beaches with fine clean sand, it is rich in curative salts, with shallow and clear water and breezes. |
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Mineral springs |
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Bulgaria is stepping up its claim as a place to go for health holidays. There are more than 500 recognized mineral springs with a total debit of 28 000 l/sec. Almost 3/4 of them are warm, with temperature varying between 37 and 100 ºC. The rest of them – the so-called hypothermal springs – are with temperatures from 20 to 37 ºC. Balneological centers have been built around most of them. |
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Climate |
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The climate is temperate continental with 4 clearly distinguished seasons. The average temperature for January is 11 ºC and the average summer temperature is about 25 ºC. |
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Population |
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The estimated population in Bulgaria is about 8,5 millions. Over a million of the inhabitants live in the capital Sofia.
Capital Sofia: Established over 7000 years ago Sofia is a center of the political and cultural life of the country. On its territory are situated 250 archeological, historical and architectural monuments. |
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Religion |
| The main religion is Orthodox Christianity, but the country has a religious freedom. The next biggest religion is Islam, 10% of the population. |
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Bulgarian language and alphabet |
| The official language is Bulgarian. It belongs to the group of Slavic languages. The alphabet is known as Cyrillic after its founders - Sts. Cyril and Methodius, and was founded in 865 AC. In the shops, hotels and restaurants also many other languages are spoken - English, German, French, Italian and Russian. |
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Yaht ports |
| There are ports in Baltchik, Golden sands, Varna, Nessebar, Pomorie, Bourgas, Kiten and Tsarevo. Conditions of using the yacht port can be found from the tour operator and the tourist information center. |
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Official holidays |
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January 1st - New Year's Day
March 3rd - National Holiday: the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman yoke
April - Easter Holiday, different dates from central Europe
May 5th – Day of the Bulgarian army
May 24th - Holiday of Slavic Culture and Writing
22.9 Independence Day
December 25th, 26thÊ - Christmas |
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Fuel |
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The best Bulgarian petrol is the 99 - A "Super formula", which price is about 1,90 lv. /1,90 DM/. Petrol most commonly used is 95-H leadless with price about 1,50 lv. /1,50 DM/ and Diesel - price 0,92 st. /0,92 DM/. |
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Worth noting: |
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- Bulgaria offers excellent, world-famous red and white wines, as well as grape and plum brandy (rakia in Bulgarian). You will find the prices surprisingly low.
- Bulgarians tend to serve food warm, rather than piping hot.
- When ordering a main course in a restaurant, check if it comes with "garnitura" - usually you have to order you side dishes extra. |
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Tips |
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In most of the restaurants and bars it is not necessary to pay extra for the service so it's a custom to leave 5-10% from the value of the order. In the restaurants where the tip is included in the bill its size is mentioned in the menu. Tip can also be left to the chambermaid, the errand-boy and the taxi driver. |
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Water |
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The water in Bulgaria is completely suitable for drinking, but at
places it's highly chlorinated and then bottled mineral water is
recommended. |
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Post Office |
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There are post offices in all resort complexes, which usually work non-stop from 08.00 to 21.00h. Post cards and letters can be left on the hotel reception or can be dropped in the mail boxes in the complex. Stamps can be bought from the reception or the post office. |
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Telephone services |
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Telephone services Use Telia, Radiolinja and Sonera in Bulgaria also! |
| Phone calls can be made from the hotel room, post office or public phones by dialing the code of the country and of the town. Bulgaria can be dialed from abroad with country code ++359, code for the town and the phone number. There are also two phone operators - Mobicom /++35948/ and GSM /++35988/. |
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Passports and visas |
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Entering the country is possible with an international passport. A foreigner can be in Bulgaria without a visa for three months. For prolonged stay, is recommended to call the Bulgarian embassy in Helsinki, 09-4584055. |
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Money |
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The official monetary unit in Bulgaria is the LEV, which consists of 100 stotinki. There are incisions of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 lev and coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 stotinki. There are exchange offices in all banks, hotels, airports, railway stations and border checkpoints. The exchange rate is 1 LEV = about
0,5 € |
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Credit cards |
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The usage of credit cards in Bulgaria is not a general habit. Mainly they are accepted in bigger hotels, trade- and RENT-A-CAR centers. Information for acceptable credit cards can be seen on window stickers where the payment with credit cards is possible. Euro card, American Express, Master Card, Visa and Visa electron are the most commonly accepted card. With all these above mentioned cards can be drawn cash from bank automats. |
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Banks |
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Usually they work from Monday to Friday from 09.00 to 16.00 hrs and in case they work in Saturday - from 09.00 to 13.00 hrs. In the resorts banks work from Monday to Saturday with working time from 08.00 to 20.00 hrs. The exchange offices usually work non-stop from 09.00 to 17.00 hrs. There are also bankomates in some of the bigger hotels. It is recommended to have your passport with you when exchanging currency or cashing cheques. |
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Safety |
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Keep your money, valuables and documents in a safe, which can be found at the reception at every hotel. |
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Hotels |
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The Ministry of Economics categorizes hotels in 4 categories: two, three, four and five stars. |
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Beach |
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There are long, beautiful beaches. They are fully organized with shower facilities, beach chairs, umbrellas and sea sports. Almost all beaches are free of charge. |
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Sport |
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All resorts offer excellent conditions for practicing a wide scale of summer and winter sports. Extra facilities are also provided for practicing table tennis, tennis, pools, basketball, mini-golf, fitness etc. |
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Shops |
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In the resorts shops usually work every day non-stop. The rest work from 09.00 to 19.00h, in Saturday - from 09.00 to 13.00h. |
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Restaurants |
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Most of the restaurants in resort complexes work from 10.00h until customers are available. The rest work from 11.00 to 23.00h. The cuisine varies - traditional Bulgarian cuisine is served as well as European, Chinese and Thailand cuisine. |
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Pharmacies |
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They work from 08.00 to 20.00h. and a part of them work non-stop. Medical service - Each resort has a fully equipped clinic. There are also private medical services. Phone for emergency medical service - 150. |
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RENT-A-CAR |
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Detailed information for RENT-A-CAR offices, prices and conditions of payment can be received at every hotel reception. |
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Taxi |
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Taxi can be found in front of every restaurant or hotel. Can be called on the phone from the hotel or the bar and can be also stopped on the street. |
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Buses |
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Information for state and private bus lines can be found on the reception of the hotel, bus station and information tourist centers. |
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Airports |
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In Bulgaria there are airports in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Bourgas, Rousse and Targovishte.
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Gambling |
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Casino and Bingo halls - Usually in the casino it is necessary to pay an entrance fee. It's also necessary to carry a passport. |
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Electricity |
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Voltage in Bulgaria is 220 V and the frequency 50 Hz. |
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Bulgarian cuisine |
| The most popular Bulgarian salad - shopska salata (chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and peppers sprinkled with Bulgarian white cheese), kyopulo salad (roasted aubergines, peppers, loads of garlic and parsley), tarator (cold yoghurt and cucumber soup); dishes: kavarma (meat and vegetable stew usually served in individual pots), kebapcheta (spicy mince meat, sausage shaped and barbecued), chushki biurek (fried peppers stuffed with egg and cheese), sirene po shopski (white cheese, egg, tomatoes, peppers, baked in a pot), etc. |
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Dimitar Velinov and the Cook’s steaks. Steaks for two persons cost 10 levas
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The Draka Gallery - restaurant is a well-known place in Sofia. It is a favorite meeting place actors and artists. In Draka, one can combine good wine and the pleasure of art.
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