Unspoiled riches

Travellers looking for the next hot spot as yet untouched by the tourist masses could turn their sights to Bulgaria and book themselves a flight to Sofia.

In a recent article in Sophia Echo, the director of the National Museum of History, Bozhidar Dimitrov, complained that the country's tourism potential was currently being under exploited.

For tourists searching for a touch of the unusual though this could be a bonus, as for a country with an ancient history dating back as far as pre-historic times, with relics from Thracian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic cultures having been uncovered across Bulgaria, very little has been developed or mass-marketed.

As well as 38,000 cultural and historical monuments and the natural beauty of the country's mountains, forests and beaches, there are also ancient religious artefacts on show, with what is allegedly a piece of the sacred cross on display in the National Museum of History.

From the modern redevelopment projects amongst the beautiful old buildings of Sophia to the historic wonder of the Rozhen Monastery, Bulgaria is definitely a country of so far unspoiled riches which with its eye on the European Union, is aiming to raise its current two per cent tourism revenue in the years to come.

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