About Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a country of contrasts. The stunning mountains contrast with the battered industrial infrastructure left behind by communism. Burningly hot summers, shared with Greece to the south, give way to frozen continental winters reminiscent of Russia. The centre of the capital, Sofia, looks very much like any western city, but if you venture into the rural areas or the poorer areas of the cities the atmosphere of modernity rapidly disappears. This is a place where shopping is done at market stalls rather than supermarkets; where harvesting is sometimes still done by hand; and where poverty is as severe as it ever was. The contrasts also extend to the cultural life of the country, which, as with everywhere in the Balkans, has an enormous range of influences, ranging from the Soviet Union to the Ottoman Empire, and latterly Western Europe and America. There is also a large Muslim minority in many parts of the country, and the centre of Sofia features a variety of churches, mosques and synagogues, all within a few miles of each other. The level of religious and cultural tolerance is high when compared to other Balkan countries, but there are exceptions.

Bulgaria suffered greatly under communist government, which fell from power in 1989. The transition to a market economy has, however, been difficult for many, especially the poor. As in many ex-communist countries, a small number of individuals became extremely wealthy from the sell-off of state assets without benefiting the majority of the population, with organised crime becoming a visible influence. While improvements are taking place, and the country is much more economically stable than it was initially, progress is still slow, and the apparent prosperity on show in the centre of the cities still only affects a small minority of the population. Poverty is still widespread, especially in the rural regions. Bulgaria is scheduled to join the EU in the next few years, but still has a number of hurdles to overcome before it can join, not least of which are the ethnic divides within the country. The final years of communism saw governmental discrimination against non-Bulgarians and particularly the Turkish minority, which has left behind mistrust and bitterness. More seriously for the moment, the exclusion of the Roma (Gypsy) minority from mainstream society is still a serious problem; discrimination in employment, housing and a variety of other areas is endemic. As a result of this, the vast majority of Sofia's street children are Roma, despite the minority only making up a small proportion of the overall population.

In terms of population, the country is dominated by Sofia, a busy city full of shops, markets and cafés, which houses 1.1 million people - nearly an eighth of the entire nation. Despite this, the country is much less urbanised than most of western Europe, with the next largest city, Plovdiv, having only 300,000 inhabitants. The main language, Bulgarian, is a Slavic language, similar in many ways to Russian and Serbian. It is also written using the same Cyrillic alphabet, although as Bulgarians are keen to stress, the alphabet was invented not in Russia, but by a Bulgarian monk, at one of the many ancient monasteries which are scattered across the country.

For the future, Bulgaria's tourist industry looks like it could be a major growth area. The country's climate is, again, one of contrasts, with hot summers similar to those of Greece to the south, and bitterly cold winters which in the mountains generate more than enough snow to support numerous ski resorts. Few countries can combine so many potential tourist attractions in such a small geographical area. The gradual stabilisation of the rest of the Balkan region is already reducing the physical barriers to trade, creating a better climate for investment in manufacturing and agriculture. The prospect of EU membership in the later part of the decade can only improve matters, but in the meantime, a lot remains to be done.