Well, I know it's been much longer than a week but better late than never I hope. Starting off the line-up of countries is Bulgaria. Please enjoy these facts about the first country I will be heading to 🙂
Bulgaria is a mountainous country with a temperate climate of cold winters and hot summers, which is surrounded by Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey. The country started with a presence of Thracians, where later Greeks and Romans moved into the country. A unified ethnicity was dated to the 7th century. In 1946, they became a communist republic later in 1990 they transitioned to democracy and a free market capitalism. They are now a country comprised of 28 provinces and a parliamentary democracy. Due to local natural resources they have a strong economy in heavy industry, power engineering and agriculture.
During warring times Bulgaria was split into a north and south type state where the Ottoman Empire ruled the south. The population of the Sourth lost its natural consciousness under the oppression and intolerance of the Ottoman Empire invaders, where they were also considered second class citizens. During WWI they were part of the Central Powers and during WWII they were part of the Axis until September of 1944 when they joined the Allies.
In 2001, Bulgaria achieved High Human Development staus and is the 105th largest country in the world. There most powerful executive is their prime minister. They are a member of the United Nations with Sofia being the financial heart of the country. They have adopted a universal heathcare system. They have a high educational standard which consists of 12 grades. Their consititution says they have religious freedom, but appoints Orthodoxy as "traditional" religion. Many Bulgarians rose during the years of totalitarian communist regime; hence they are not religious at all, but still belong to Bulgaria Orthodox Church in a nominal way.
Quick facts:
98% of citizens are literate
72% reside in urban areas
181 physicians per 100,000 people
Population: 7,364,570 (per 2011 census)
76% Orthodox Christian
10% Islam
.8% Roman Catholic
1.1% Protestant
.2% Other
11.8% No religious stance
Their cuisine is similar to Greek and Turkish cuisine.
Salad is more popular than meat in Bulgaria.
Strong sports presence in wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, gymnastics, tennis, & men's volleyball
So, what I feel like I have learned is that Bulgaria sounds a lot like America. Obviously there are differences, but when it comes to thier view of religion, claiming a religion but not living it out seems like looking in a mirror…. ]
I CAN'T WAIT TO CHALLENGE THEM AS I HAVE BEEN!!!!!!!
"But be careful to keep the commandment and the law that tMoses the servent of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul."
– Joshua 22:5
