Bulgaria is a 13-centuries old state with a current population of 7.6 million people and 111,000 sq. kilometers surface. The country borders the Danube River and Romania to the north, Greece to the south, the Black Sea to the east, Serbia and Northern Macedonia to the west. 

 

Bulgaria is a member of the European Union since 2007 and NATO since 2004.

 

The state is home of the sour milk/yogurt, made thanks to a bacteria, only to be found here (Lactobacillus Bulgaricus), rose water (the most expensive perfume ingredient), and is the world's largest producer and exporter of lavender. 

Bulgaria's impressive nature includes 350 km of coastal sea line, over 500 mineral springs, 2000 caves, six mountains over 2000 m, and 1/4 of the territory is covered with forests. 

The history of Bulgaria can be generally divided into six periods - First Bulgarian kingdom of the Proto Bulgarian tribes, coming in the year 681 AD from the east on the Balkan peninsula; the Second Bulgarian kingdom of the Medieval rulers; the Ottoman rule, when the state was conquered by the Ottoman empire; the Third kingdom, when Bulgaria was a European styled kingdom, the Communist times, and modern times. In 864 AD, Bulgarians became Orthodox Christians and received their own alphabet, the Cyrillic, created by the Bulgarian brothers and monks, Kiril and Metodi, which is now used by 250 million people around the world. Bulgarians were conquered by the Ottoman empire in 1396, and gained their freedom back in 1878, after 500 years of uprisings, re-establishing a European kingdom. During WWII, Bulgaria managed to save its entire Jewish population from concentration camps. For 45 years the country was under a Communist regime; after months of peaceful protests, this regime resigned only one day after the fall of the Berlin wall. The current system of parliamentary democracy was introduced and has flourished into the country we know today.