overland-underwater.com - A charity drive from the UK to New Zealand
Pic of the week: (previous - fav video clip)
Pic of the week
Final Statistics: Alex & Maz Total distance: 93,550km
Furthest Point: Rotorua, NZ Now settled in Sydney, Australia
Final Statistics: Martin Total distance: 79,698km
Furthest Point: Hobart, Australia Now settled in Bristol, UK

Bulgaria

Written by overland-underwater team. Uploaded 18 March 2005.

     Bulgaria     

 

Serbia & Montenegro

Turkey

 
Arrive:Wed 24th Aug 05Depart:Tue 30th Aug 05
Days:6Approx km:350
    
Capital: SofiaCurrency: Lev (BGL)
Weekend: Sat/SunTime Zone: GMT +2
Int. dial code:+359Language: Bulgarian
Visa Required: NoReligion: Orthodox, Muslim
Side of road:RightBest time to visit: Spring-Summer
Diesel Price: US$ 0.89Activities: Sightseeing, Diving Black Sea, Caves, Monasteries

Click here to see our mission statement in Bulgarian.

Diary Entry: 24th-29th Aug 2005 - One should always remember that one passes the port to the left

Photo Album for Bulgaria

Country Highlights En Route

The Rodopi MountainsThe Rodopi Mountains

The Rodopi are the most extensive mountain range in Bulgaria, covering a vast area and rolling on south into Greece. A hauntingly beautiful and mysterious region, according to legend this was the home of Orpheus, and his spirit still seems to live on here in the music and culture of the local people. Wherever you walk in the Rodopi you touch its past; amongst the hamlets and villages of stone and timber houses the way of life seems to have changed little over the last few hundred years.

Rila MonasteryRila Monastery

Nestling in a narrow valley, Rila Monastery helped to keep Bulgarian culture alive during the dark age of Turkish rule from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The monastery was founded by Ivan Rilski in 927 and served as a retreat for hermits; it was moved 3km (2mi) to its present location in 1335.

Rojen MonasteryRojen Monastery

The Rojen monastery is an ancient architectural record situated in the south-west side of the Pirin mountain. It was built in the XIVth cent. The church that can be seen today is reconstructed and painted in 1732. The wall-paintings, the icons and the wood-carving of the iconostasis are remarkable. They are a masterpiece of the famous school of Debur, notable for its complicated composition and the great number of figures of people and animals

NessebarNessebar Situated on a rocky peninsula on the Black Sea, the more than 3,000-year-old site of Nessebar was originally a Thracian settlement (Menebria). At the beginning of the 6th century B.C., the city became a Greek colony. The city's remains, which date mostly from the Hellenistic period, include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo, an agora and a wall from the Thracian fortifications. Among other monuments, the Stara Mitropolia Basilica and the fortress date from the Middle Ages, when this was one of the most important Byzantine towns on the west coast of the Black Sea. Wooden houses built in the 19th century are typical of the Black Sea architecture of the period.

Previous: Serbia & Montenegro

Next: Turkey

All content copyright � overland-underwater.com - please do not use without permission.