Traditional Bulgarian culture contains mainly Thracian, Slavic and Bulgar heritage, along with Greek, Roman, Ottoman, Persian and Celtic influences. Nine historical and natural objects have been inscribed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
- the Madara Rider
-the Thracian tombs in Sveshtari and Kazanlak
- the Boyana Church
- the Rila Monastery
- the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo
- Pirin National Park
- Sreburna Nature Reserve
- the ancient city of Nesebar.
Nestinarstvo, a ritual fire-dance of Thracian origin is included in the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Fire is an essential element of Bulgarian folklore, used to banish evil spirits and diseases. Bulgarian folklore personifies illnesses as witches and has a wide range of creatures, including lamya, samodiva (veela) and karakondzhul. Some of the customs and rituals against these spirits have survived and are still practised, most notably the kukeri and survakari. Martenitsa is also widely celebrated.
CUISINE
Bulgarian cuisine is similar to those of other Balkan countries and demonstrates a strong Turkish and Greek influence. Rakia is a traditional fruit brandy which was consumed in Bulgaria as early as the 14th century. Bulgarian wine is known for its Traminer, Muskat and Mavrud types.
DANCE
Bulgaria is a relatively small country but within its modern boundaries a wide diversity of folk dance styles can be found
Bulgarian folk dances are normally line dances, with hands joined either in low "V" hold, belt hold (na pojas), crossed in front or "W" hold. Footwork can vary from fast intricate steps (as in the Šop Region) to slow sustained cat-like movements (as in some of the dances from the Pirin region).
Dances from the north have some of the characteristics of dances from southern Romania, just across the Danube, i.e. fast crossing steps, dances from the Pirin Region in the West have much in common with dances from Yugoslav Macedonia, and dances from the Šop region round Sofia have similar characteristics to those from eastern Serbia. This illustrates how boundaries of dance styles do not necessarily conform with politically imposed nationally boundaries.
Regional dance styles
