Wed, Jun 19 2013
About 41 results were found.
The Dobrich Art Gallery recently held an exhibition of works by four artists from Bulgaria and Finland. At hand for the opening ceremony was Finnish ambassador Kauko Jamsen. He began by drawing on events from the past: "The Finnish army in 1878 took part in Bulgaria's fight for freedom." In addition, 2008 marked the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Every year the townspeople of Donchevo (population 1000) hold celebrations to commemorate the settlement of their village. About 90 per cent of Donchevtsi are descendants from, or members of, 100 ethnic Bulgarian families that had relocated there in 1940 from Asirlik, a village in what is now southeastern Romania (following the Second Balkan War and World War 1, the Bulgarian-Romanian border moved south). The Dobroudja regional government then allotted plots of land to them in Donchevo.
For the past year-and-a-half, much of the world has tuned in to the 2008 United States presidential election. And for good reason: what happens in America reverberates everywhere else. To help gain a better understanding of this year's election process, the commercial attache of the US embassy in Sofia, Scott Pozil, gave a presentation on the matter at the International University College in Dobrich.
As we strolled about the maze of shops and establishments in Zlatni Pyasutsi (Golden Sands), stomachs growling, a sign suddenly leapt at me - the Грузински Ресторант. A small billboard in front of the restaurant gave passersby a glimpse as to what traditional Georgian cuisine looked like. Curious as to what lay behind the international text, my friend and I climbed the stairs to the second floor of the medium-sized, largely Bulgarian-styled building.
The front stage contained the usual high-tech apparatus and lighting set befitting for any loud, rock concert. Except that those filling in the seats of the Summer Theatre in Dobrich on July 30 looked less like teenagers, and more like grandparents. At 8.30pm out from the backstage, they made their appearance. Everyone began clapping as three young male musicians took up positions with their respective
Football. Football. Football. And more football. This had been the world of Bozhidar Dimitrov (18) and his pals in Donchevo, a town of 1000, an hour and 45 minutes by train from Varna. That is, until September 2007. Since then, as well as kicking about a 23cm ball on the municipality pitch, they whack 42.7mm ones with irons and woods. That golfing has taken hold here stems from the efforts of Roumen
The truth is that it is Greek. But still the debate continues. "Odessa is a Ukrainian name," Anastasia Kalutskaya, a 13-year-old from Kiev, says. Varna resident Stoyan Radoulov (15) maintains that the original name of his hometown, Odessos, is Bulgarian in origin. Whatever the conclusion, Anastasia, six other teenagers and two grown-ups spent an educational holiday along the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, representing
The Dobroudja region is ideally situated for the cultivation of corn, sunflower, wheat and sheep-rearing. And yet a bit of Paris has taken hold here. The French Library (section actually), part of the Regional Library of Dobrich, houses a collection of 4000 books, magazines and audio and visual material. "You can find everything about France here," explains librarian Elena Yurchenko.
A special feature, dedicated to the Beijing 2008 Olympics, will be only one of the highlights of Issue 31 of The Sofia Echo, coming out on August 1. The four-page supplement delves into the Olympic industry and trivia, hosts an interview with Boris Georgiev - the first Bulgarian athlete ever to win an Olympic medal - and includes the various places to watch the Olympics in Sofia, among others. On the domestic front,
Train buffs may find themselves at a loss at certain railway stations in Bulgaria. Given that the British had built the first railway line from Rousse to Varna in 1866, along with Germany providing the lion's share of tourists, in this age of globalisation (which some see as a euphemism for Americanisation), why is it that many station signs are spelled out in Cyrillic and Latin - French Latin?
Locals know him as "the French Guy". But for all intents and purposes, Regis now sees himself as a Bulgarian, having had 17 years to ponder this over. During this time, he has made about 50 friends in Dobrich, and whenever he goes for a walk, he inevitably runs into some of them. They shake hands, exchange news, maybe go for a coffee.
At nearly opposite ends of Europe, Bulgaria and France would seem to have very little in common. In fact, both nations once shared a common border. Really. This came about by 805 CE when the Bulgars, led by Khan Krum from the east, and the Franks under Emperor Charlemagne to the west, wrestled the land in between them from the Avars
They looked like a cross between the grim reaper and an American footballer. They engaged in tactics taken straight from Star Wars. And they made strange shrill-like noises. Such was the scene in Hall 220 of Varna's Palace of Culture and Sports where 25 of Bulgaria's top kendokas, representing clubs from Bourgas, Plovdiv, Rousse, Shumen, Sofia and Varna, had gathered to battle it out for the title of state kendo champion. The tournament, which ran from April 18 to 20, was held under the auspices of the Bulgarian Kendo Federation (BKF) and JICA, the Japan International Co-operation Agency, an NGO engaged in the spheres of economic assistance, culture and education.
The HRC Culinary Academy in Dobrich, open since February 8, held its official inauguration ceremony on May 15. But, before that, educators, students, parents, journalists, diplomats, government and business leaders from Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States, as well as Dobrich, got a rare opportunity to investigate the premises. At one end of several corridors was a cocktail lounge where a two-person band provided live entertainment. Opposite them a wine table offered various drinks. From the safety of large one-way window panes, guests could observe student chefs preparing hors d'oeuvres in an adjoining prep kitchen; or actually help themselves to them after negotiating another maze-like passage. The entrees included sliced hard cheese, skewered chicken pieces and fried ham and cheese sandwich squares.
Bulgaria's tourist count in 2006 stood at 4.36 million, a 45.8 per cent increase since 2002. This has brought smiles to many faces. Much of the credit goes to the promotional efforts of hoteliers and travel agencies in tandem with the Bulgarian State Agency for Tourism (SAT). Despite the importance of destination market research and a plethora of studies in other Eastern European countries, not much has been forthcoming regarding Bulgaria.
From the outside it resembled a clubhouse, with teenagers milling in and out or just romping around. A glance inside, however, revealed something else. There the same people now faced one another across one of dozens of tables outfitted with cardboard chessboards and plastic men. Following every move, the players tapped their double-faced clocks and made notes, giving the hall a certain, Cold War-like
What do Bulgaria and Finland have in common? Not very much, according to Dragomir Tsoukev, apart from having to remove your shoes when entering someone's home. "Outside larger cities like Helsinki, Finland feels more like America, with wide open spaces, and houses and scattered shops," he said. This can be attributed to its 5.3 million citizens inhabiting an area three times the size of Bulgaria, albeit
"Take a look at these pictures," university rector Todor Radev told some instructors in the staff room. Displayed on the computer screen that he indicated were the photos of several young women. "Now, which of them do you think is the most beautiful?" At first they thought it was a dating site, or perhaps some kind of joke. Emil pointed to the second photo. "Daaattttt! Wrong," Radev said. "You should have
Three-o-five pm, and still no entourage. "That was Stella Hristova, the co-ordinator of this speaking event," announced a college administrator as she folded her cell phone. "She said they'll be an hour late." The audience began fidgeting and sighing. A few exited the lecture hall. Finally at 3.30pm, a grey-haired man surrounded by local journalists made his entry, and proceeded to set up a laptop-aided presentation.
After numerous delays, our trip to the Balkan Range, or Stara Planina (literally Old Mountain) finally got under way on September 6. Originally slated for August 9, our college in Dobrich had not been able not muster a cost-effective number of participants, on account that most of the staff were either tending their gardens in their cottage retreats, or still recovering from the previous academic year. We departed by
"I heard that protesters have set up a tent city in the main square," Hristo Boev said over lunch. Images of a sea of pointed structures like those greeting IMF, WTO and G-8 summits reeled through my mind until we came upon a portable canopy under some trees. Next to it laid a single blue one-person tent. Placards were impaled in the ground not far away. One of the four people presiding over it, Vassil Frankov, a
Eight years of captivity for five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor in Libya came to an end on July 24 after their death sentences were commuted and they were allowed to return home. Everyone knows this only came about because Bulgaria had become part the European Union in January. Many here feel especially grateful to EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and French
Mention the words "farm fair", and most people conjure images of jumbled stalls with farmers in overalls and straw hats proudly displaying a bountiful produce of corn, apples, pumpkins and eggs in wooden buckets, with cows, chickens, sheep and pigs standing on mats of straws mooing, clucking, baahing and oinking. The 15th annual International Specialised Exhibition entitled Agriculture and Everything
There are about 50 to 60 million insect species on earth - we have named only about one million and there are only about 1000 pest species. Already more than 50 per cent of these thousand pests are already resistant to our volatile, dangerous, synthetic pesticide POISONS. We accidentally lose about 25 000 to 100 000 species of insects, plants and animals every year due to "man's footprint". But,
It must be a carnival, an amusement attraction, thought casual strollers as they approached the entrance of Primorski Park (Sea Garden) in Varna on July 18. Closer inspection revealed a bunch of clowns dithering about in front of a giant, inflatable red sphere. But something about it was amiss. Instead of the usual, children-friendly, zany smile, it took on a menacing, threatening countenance - like a monster. With
Nothing but billions of corn and wheat stalks, as far as the passengers could discern as their bus jostled along the bumpy, pot-holed road somewhere between Shoumen and Silistra. The organiser of the tour, Elena Yurchenko, a native of the area, sought to assuage everyone. "This place may look provincial and boring...but I've got a big surprise for you." Passing through one Poluchik Veshanovo village, she revealed
Despite repeated reassurances from Washington that it is not seeking out another country for a military venture, nobody believes them. Among those thought to be on the hit list is Iran, which, along with Iraq and North Korea, was labelled the "Axis of Evil" in 2002. The media has vilified Iran's leaders for, among other things, an appalling human rights record, the country's unshakable resolve to enrich uranium on an
It was while travelling down the Danube River in 1867 that Austrian musician Johann Strauss the Younger, known as the "Waltz King" wrote one of his most famous works, By the Beautiful Blue Danube, which went on to become a popular lullaby to generations of children. The river has since vividly changed its colour and composition. Whatever may be said about the Danube, the words dull and listless do not
They came in their hundreds from all around - the villages of Zhitnitsa, Stozher, Karapelit as well as Dobrich itself. The reason: to take part in a hospitality job fair organised by the Regional Labour Bureau. Its director, Vassil Sivkov, told the gathering in the lobby of the International College Albena in Dobrich of how the coming together of job seekers, educators and the business community in one venue would
Before setting off, Milena Saha latched a small trailer filled with glass jars and used clothes to her Lada. "Students helped me gathered these during a collection drive," she explained. We then stopped at a market to load up on provisions. Her 13-year-old car proved surprisingly adept, flying in the face of Cold War propaganda regarding the quality of Soviet products, lugging us the 46km from Rousse to the hamlet of
© 2000-2013, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.
Web Design by RIZN
Sofia Echo Media is part of the Economedia Group.
The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted.
Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only
with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site.
Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com.
Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments.
The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the
price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes,
and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.
