Page 11 - Martin Downs Bulletin - September '22

Martin Downs, Page 11
Travel from page 10 King Ferdinand abdicated in favor of his son Boris III in
1918. Boris III squandered the assets of the country and
alphabet, the second most widely used alphabet in the assumed dictatorial powers in 1934 to 1935. Bulgaria sure
world. The language was developed in the 10 century. didn’t know how to pick them, because they became an ally
th
Twice in their history, the Bulgars conquered the majority of Germany again in WWII. This time the Russians, once
of the Balkan Peninsula between 836 and 1260. However, their ally, took over and imposed a communist coalition
they were defeated by the Ottoman Empire in 1396, that took control of the country in September 1944.
becoming a Turkish province until 1876. It was the Russians
that forced Turkey to release its hold on Bulgaria, giving
them back their independence. This came about as a result
of Turkey’s loss in the Russo-Turkish War (1877 to 1878).
This move by Russia worried the countries of Europe, fearing
the total dominance of the Balkans by the two nations. The
Congress of Berlin (1878) broke up the area, carving out a
small principality for Bulgaria, which was ruled by Alexander
of Battenburg, a nephew of the Russian czar.
Bulgaria fought several Balkan wars against the Turks
and their allies. The second war cost Bulgaria all that it
had achieved in area from the first war, surrendering to the
Turks. Again Bulgaria came up on the wrong side in a war,
siding with Germany in World War I. They had hoped to
gain Macedonia as a conquest, but when the effort failed, Traditional Bulgarian cuisine
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A cat perches outside an old home in the village of Bozenci,
Bulgaria
To make sure that they pleased their new dominating
government, Bulgaria became unquestionably loyal to
the whims of Moscow. Todor Zhivkov ruled the country
for 35 years, ruling with strict communist guidelines. In
1989, Petar Mladenov kicked out the communist, ending
their monopoly, and held free elections. Various parties
within Bulgaria had control of the nation during the 1990s
and there became a growing concern over the spread of
organized crime.
Through various leaders, things didn’t get much better,
and as a result Simeon II, who was dethroned as king
in 1946 when he was 9 years old, was brought back to
power as prime minister 55 years later. Bulgaria became
a member of NATO in 2004, and received a conditional
membership to the EU in 2007 – depending upon whether
it cleaned up its “dirty laundry.”
Bulgaria, officially called the Republic of Bulgaria,
has a population of 6,873,253 (2022 estimate, CIA World
Factbook) that is on the decline. The population in 1990
was approximately 9 million. The country has an area of
43,000 square miles, which is approximately the same
size as Tennessee.
The country is rich in mineral resources, from
gold and silver to coal. It also contains deposits of
nonmetallic materials such as rock salt, gypsum and
marble. Agriculture is mirrored by the population
decrease. However, Bulgaria remains one of the world’s
largest wine producers. There is more farming than stock
breeding in the rural areas. Playing a paramount role in
Bulgaria’s economy are large refineries, transportation
vehicle and equipment manufacturers, electronics and
electrical equipment as well as shipbuilding.
The Bulgarians have a long list of impressive
personalities. From the Thracian era there is Democritus
(c. 460 to 370 B.C), the Greek philosopher and
mathematician whose main contribution to society was
the Atomic Theory – the belief that all matter is made
up of elements he called atoms. Also in the group of
notables from Thrace were Herodicus, the fifth century
B.C. physician considered to be the founder of sports
medicine and one of Hippocrates’ tutors; Maximinus
Thrax, Roman emperor (235 to 238 A.D); and Spartacus,
the Thracian enslaved by the Romans who led a slave
uprising and formed an army of escaped gladiators that
defeated the Roman legions in the Third Servile War.
The 1960 Stanley Kubrick film Spartacus starring Kirk
Douglas and Sir Laurence Olivier gave Peter Ustinov one
of his two Oscar wins for his role as Lentulus Batiatus.
Bulgarians have also been credited with inventing the
digital watch, oral contraceptives and even the first bomb,
which was dropped from an airplane in the Balkan War. They
also have some rather unique body language. A nod of the
head means no and a shake means yes, so don’t get confused.
Don Kiselewski writes from his personal experiences,
having traveled in 122 countries and cruised the oceans,
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Building A, Suite 102-6, Palm Beach Gardens. The agency
has been serving the travel needs of the South Florida
area for over a quarter of a century. Contact him at (561)
694-9696 or Aussie@PBGTravel.com.
Photos by Don Kiselewski