In Bulgarian
culture a nod of the head actually means “no” and shaking the head from side to
side means “yes.” This has confused many tourists over the years and led to
some comical, and not so comical, misunderstandings.
Bulgaria is
one of the oldest European countries.
Bulgaria
and Denmark were the only two countries to save their Jews during the holocaust.
The only
nations in the world that use the bagpipe as an instrument are Scotland,
Ireland and Bulgaria.
Name
Days" are celebrated in addition to birthdays in Bulgaria. As a matter of fact,
most Bulgarians value their ‘Name Day’ more than their birthday. A Name Day, or
"Saints Day" is celebrated by people named after a particular Saint
(eg. everyone named Peter celebrates Saint Peter's day).
A ticket
for the city bus and for the subway in Sofia costs about 30 Euro cents. A one
month pass for all Sofia public transport lines costs 19 Euros. Sofia enjoys
four different means of public transport, as tram, busses, trolley busses and
underground. It covers most of the city from 5 a.m. till midnight.
Making a
toast when drinking liquor is de rigeur. When toasting, raise your glass and
lightly clink it with all the others present, while looking the people with you
in the eye (to not look them in the eye is rude) and saying, (naz drave) (good
health to you).
There are
around four thousand mapped caves in Bulgaria.
The Devil Throat
