In medieval Europe in general and the Balkans in particular, monasteries were centers of culture and government, economy and education, agriculture and settlement. This is evidenced by the names of places named after monasteries, such as the City of Monastir (Monastery) in Macedonia. The monasteries [...]
The Hesychasm tradition of Orthodox Christianity is a meditative prayer technique reminiscent of Buddhist mantras or "Zikr" practices of the Sufis, involving breathing and repetition of a sentence as a means of reaching God. The tradition reached the Second Bulgarian Empire from Mount Athos, and [...]
According to the classical Greek version, Orpheus was the son of the Muse Calliope and the God Apollo, according to most sources he was born in Thrace or Peira in northern Greece. Orpheus was a favorite of the muses, who received from his father a [...]
A trip to the Balkans in general and Bulgaria in particular is not complete without exposure to Folklore. If there is something that the people of the Balkans have excelled at throughout the ages, it is music, dance, singing, rituals and festivals, masks and costumes. [...]
a different way, possessing Christian apocryphal literature and claiming that Jesus taught a secret doctrine to a select few of his close disciples. In Bulgaria, starting from the 10th century until the 14th century, the "Bogomil" heresy flourished, continuing the early Gnostic teachings. The secret [...]
With the beginning of agriculture and the emergence of the Goddess Culture civilizations, a new kind of cosmic religion developed, centered on the Great Mother and associated with the "riddle of vegetation." In addition, the concept of the cosmic tree, which connects the planes of [...]
Balkan Sufism Sufis are the mystical branch of Islam that emphasizes love, acceptance of others, and tolerance as a way of life. They are organized into orders named after their founders, each with its own unique practice, which often includes music, dance, prayer, meditation, and [...]
Bulgaria – A Choir Tour Proposal Bulgaria is renowned for its rich musical heritage. In this one-of-a-kind choir tour, we discover the magnificent singing and instrumental traditions of Bulgaria, alongside its folklore, natural landscapes, wine, and dance. We will journey through mountainous regions and visit [...]
Until a few years ago, the prevailing talk around the table topics were politics, sports, the movies, and so on. Today, the most popular issue in many homes is traveling in the world; where did the participants travel to? Which festival did they participate in? [...]
The most important researcher of the Goddess Civilizations was archaeologist Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994). Gimbutas, of Lithuanian origin, was a professor at Harvard and was considered the greatest expert on the prehistory of Eastern Europe. A turning point in her career was an independent excavation she [...]
The first modern humans in Europe arrived about 40,000 years ago and were known as Cro-Magnon. They looked like us, had developed communication skills (language), art, abstract thinking ability and developed religiosity. They believed in life after death, world of spirits and used shamanic practices. [...]
Maria Gimbutas argued that the original peaceful inhabitants of Neolithic Europe were conquered, and their villages destroyed by Indo-European horse riders who came from the Eurasia steppes starting from the 3rd millennium BC, "History shows us that between 8-10 million women had to die for [...]
The heart of Bulgaria is the Thracian plain, trapped between the Balkan Mountain range to the north and the Rhodope Mountains to the south. It was one of the most important granaries of the Roman Empire, a rich agricultural area the size of the State [...]
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