Monastery in the snow

Bulgaria

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February 16th 2007
The overpowering odor of BO smacked me in the face after leaving Istanbul. Lucky to have the bus seat to myself, a tiny girl watched me for a while before visiting my seat to scribble in my journal. We stopped at the Turkish-Bulgarian border and waited to pass out of Turkey. On the Bulgarian border, there were five identical duty free shops. The people on the bus raced for the shops: ... read more

Europe » Bulgaria » Kyustendil Province » Rila Monastery

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The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, b... ... read more