Dokuzak The largest and most abundant waterfall in the Strandzha mountains is fed by nine karst springs, hence its name, which means Nine Springs. You will find it only metres away from the road to Stoilovo village. Hidden amid the thick Strandzha forest, the Dokuzak provides […]
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Sometimes vineyard owners perform a ritual cutting of the vines, then drink themselves silly with its produce. The tradition is a leftover from the ancient Thracians, who honoured the god Dionysus in this way, but some will propound another story: St Trifon injured his nose while […]
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Tikvenik is a traditional Bulgarian pastry consisting of thin sheets of dough that are filled with grated pumpkin, coarsely ground walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon. This pumpkin dessert is a sweet version of banitsa, a phyllo pastry pie that comes in numerous varieties. When baked, tikvenik is […]
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Kapama is a typical Bulgarian dish that is most often prepared in the region of Bansko and Razlog. The key ingredients include sauerkraut and different types of meat such as chicken, veal, pork, and rabbit, while rice and sausages can be added to the dish according […]
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In the dull winter light of 25 December, the grey streets of Kargona neighbourhood in Yambol look drab as usual. This is a suburb of low houses and sidewalks blocked by parked cars, bare trees, dust and cheap stores, a defining feature of much of Bulgaria […]
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One of the staples of traditional Turkish cuisine, sarma consists of a filling that is snugly surrounded by leaves or leafy vegetables. There are numerous versions of this dish but the mixture typically combines ingredients such as minced meat, rice or bulgur, various herbs, seasonings, red […]
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Anyone spending even a short time in Bulgaria will notice that sometimes the locals start acting strangely. They queue to buy carp. They slaughter lambs. They jump naked into rivers in the coldest of winters. They make queer concoctions. They begin hitting the booze at noon […]
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When you see Karlukovo, near Lukovit, for the first time, you’d be hard put to believe that you are in the part of Bulgaria richest in karst rocks. The settlement lies among low, monotonous hills and there’s nothing – not even a signpost pointing to a […]
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In Bulgarian, cherven with the stress on the second “e” means red. When pronounced with the stress on the first “e,” however, the name of the color becomes the name of one of the best places in Bulgaria to be when spring is in full bloom and […]
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