"I'm close to saying Bulgaria isn't Balkans" ... meanwhile the literal BALKAN MOUNTAIN after which the region is named runs through the MIDDLE OF BULGARIA UNTIL IT MEETS THE BLACK SEA. Plus, if there is one Balkan country that defines it all, the most Balkan of them all... yeah it'd probably have to be Bulgaria. Slovenia is in the Balkans, even Italy has a small handle in the Balkans as well... Another fun fact, while people fear Romania for it's bats and vampires like Dracula, it is in fact Bulgaria the country that has the most species of bat in the entirety of Europe(33 of the 35 species of bat found in Europe live in Bulgaria, while only 32 live in Romania) About the Black Sea itself, yes it is less salty due to the huge river inflow. Plus one really weird, spooky and also cool at the same time features the Sea has is that because the salinity zones of the Sea don't mix, and because there is also lack of vertical currents, at about 200m depth and below there is 0% oxygen, lol. Which is technically a "dead" zone. The Black Sea really would give the "Dead Sea" a run for it's name, since it is in fact more inhospitable to life.
Also, the Black Sea used to be a freshwater lake before it got flooded by the Mediterranian Sea through the Bosphorus around 7,600 years ago. The majority of the ancient cultures at that time lived on the west, south, north and east coast of this fertile lake, and this great flood is probably the origin of the flood myth from the bible since all of the most populated settlements in the area were submerged underwater.
@@uneti463 Yea, it is, Balkan literary means Woody Mountains (and it is Ottoman name for Стара планина (Old Mountain)), mountain range that is specifically mostly in Bulgaria, and partially also in Serbia, Macedonia and Greece. Geographically, Balkan Peninsula is defined by line of River Sava and River Danube, so everything south of Sava and south of Danube after the confluence of the Sava and the Danube is Balkan Peninsula. (That is why Slovenia is part of Balkan Peninsula, Sava source being there, and than running through Croatia, literary geographically splitting Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia to be half on Balkan, and half in central Europe -- geographically speaking. That is why Bulgaria is 100% Balkan, they lay south of Danube, that is their northern border, and holds about 90% of Old Mauntian (Balkan) Range). But that is geographical line, culturally, Balkan includes also Romania and Moldova and partially Hungary.
Bulgaria got thousands of more incredible sights to visit,as the other countries of course. Those countries are beautiful,as the people living there Greetings from Bulgaria
In terms of geography, Bulgaria is like the heart of the Balkan range hence the name. And in a broader sense, the the term includes cultures not just geography
@@xdx2653he didnt say Bulgaria is balkans because it is Bulgarian word…but because the mountain range after which the peninsula was named is located in Bulgaria
Heart of Balkan would be like Macedonia or Serbia we could call it Moravian-Vardarian valley which in historical point of view was main road doors of migration of many ppl it would be highway of old Europe Starchevo-Vincha from even 9000 bc...
It's named that because it meant swamp in Turkish (and other Turkic languages). The western subdivision of Turkmenistan is officially called Balkan as well. It has nothing to do with one hypothetical mysterious mountain that happened to possess the name before time without any relation to any language.
@@HOPEfullBoi01 The word "Balkan" is believed to have a Persian origin, with the most likely derivation being from the Persian term "bālā-khāna" which means "high house" or "big high house", indicating the mountainous nature of the Balkan peninsula; this term was adopted and used by the Turks, where "balkan" in Turkish translates to "mountain" or "chain of wooded mountains.".
@@ke2delight whoops you "accidentally" skipped that Wikipedia article's part where it's explained to come from Proto-Turkic and instead ran with the less likely Persian hypothesis which totally makes it a word originated in modern Slavic Bulgarian...
Kravica waterfall is a year-round phenomenon. Bosnia is full of waterfalls. In the royal city of Jajce, in the very center of the city, there is an incredibly beautiful waterfall. The waterfalls on the river Una are also beautiful. Bosnia is really worth visiting. Beautiful nature and many layers of history.
Greece has incredible lakes, rivers, mountains, hot springs. If you travel the entire country, you will actually feel like you’ve seen every single part of Europe within Greece. It has double the coastline of Italy even though it’s smaller and yet Italy and southern Italy were built by Greeks anyway.
Not being disrespectful but generally speaking, it is always funny when you see Americans flabbergasted about anything that has history longer than 200 years, which btw for Balkans is just a glimpse.
As a romanian I think I should clear up the misconception about the Bran Castle that romanians themselves were brainwashed to believe: The Bran Castle has absolutely NO correlation to Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Țepeș). The owner of the castle very much took the surge of popularity the Legend of Dracula novel got and "tied" it to the Bran Castle to attract tourists and take our money, but that's about it. Vlad never lived anywhere near the Bran Castle, his home was the Poenari Fortress. I do recommend looking itno Vlad's history as it has many badass moments and details, how his "inhumane" or "cruel" image started as rumours spread by merchants that didn't like him and further spread by Hungary's monarch and noblefolk. While the myth that he drank the blood of the defeated has not been proven, there are some letters that suggested that he was crying with blood instead of tears from a possible affection to the glands which is cool. Also the forest of the impaled is a pretty cool part. Vlad the Impaler was a hero, not a monster, probably partly crazy, but a pretty dope hero nonetheless
The name Balkan is given from German which are very young nation in Europe form in 17 sentury. The Serbs are the oldest Europe nation and the origunaly name of Balkan is Helms.
7:18 yes, you are allowed to touch it. Concerts are held in it, we have just had an ice rink in it during the Christmas holuday season. Greetings from Pula, Croatia
Hello, to you and your audience. I came across your video about the Balkan Peninsula and I am amazed at how little you know about it. I know that America is currently a powerful country, but there are things that you will not read in your history textbooks, and that is how this region was formed. And what is worse is that it is heard and spoken only in 1392 AD and you study about the Ottoman Empire, not before it. And what is worse is that Western historians either ignore or do not know, that is, they ignore historical moments.
There is no such name as Balkans in any Greek , Serbia, and Russian history. The concept of the Balkan Peninsula was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered the Balkan Mountains the dominant mountain system of Southeast Europe spanning from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. The Ottomans copied the German when they invaded Europe and used the name Balkans. Today, the name Balkan in American English is obscure. But in European history the Balkan Mountains were called by the local Thracian name Haemus. And the Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment and the mountain has remained with his name. The myth relates to a fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon. Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhon's blood fell on the mountains, giving them their name.
It seems that the German geographer had nothing better to do than draw lines across southeastern Europe. Why stop there, we can draw a line from Venice to, say, Denmark or Belgium and we will have a new peninsula. That is completely ridiculous
My guy Balkan is a turkish word sadly and means mountain second the germans didnt invent Europe Europe as a name for the continent was invented by a greek person loooooooong time ago sit down boi
@@dimi2805 The name Balkans is an outdated geopolitical term related to the Ottoman Empire in southeastern Europe and never existed as a geographical term.
Happy New Year to you Connor, and everyone in the comments. I wish you, and your loved ones, nothing but positivity in the coming year! One love from Scotland. 💙 🦁 🏴 🎆🔔
You are right : the salinity of the Black Sea is about 15 g/l, much less than the average marine salinity of 35 g/l. Former freshwater lake, the Black Sea is a complex system with a current of saltwater at its bottom and less salted water at its surface etc.
The turquoise rivers of Bosnia are in my humble opinion the most beautiful in the world. The green mountains of Bosnia are incredibly beautiful as well. The whole of ex-Yugoslavia, or indeed the Balkans, is so underrated. The coastline of Montenegro and Albania could compete with any in the world. Fun fact: the men in the Dinaric Alps are the tallest on average in the world.
I didn't see the oldest civilization place , from which all Europe was created 7532 years old Lepenski Vir Vinča near Belgrade in Serbia The mother of all civilizations Pločnik near Prokuplje ,Serbia- first meltdown of metal on planet Earth Skul tower in Niš, Serbia ......
14:00 >> Many islands in Croatia also doesnt have water but they get it from the rain. Monastery like this also has system for that. They were very sofisticated and had great knowledge of surviving and "keeping the knowledge".
If you like history, Bulgaria is the place you should visit. Bulgaria is the oldest country in Europe. The oldest processed gold in the world, more than 6000 years old, was discovered in Bulgaria. Bulgaria is home to the oldest city in Europe still inhabited today, Plovdiv (older than Athens and Rome). History is literally everywhere here. In Plovdiv, there is a Roman theater in which concerts are performed even today. The acoustics and atmosphere are incredible.
10:30 - The fortress starts as Roman fort build in the 2nd century, then expanded by the Bulgarians and later by the Ottomans. And risking to depress you more - Plovdiv (the 2nd largest city of Bulgaria) is the oldest still inhabited city in Europe for already 6000 years.
No, no, no. The Balkan peninsula has exact borders, very defined. The Sava and the Danube to the north, the rest are seas. Simple. It is a peninsula, not some unidentified region.
the Balkan mountains represent the continuation south of the Danube of the Carpathian mountains, in Romania. The Balkans cross Bulgaria from west to east. Conclusion: Romania and Bulgaria are in the Balkan peninsula. The name comes from the Balkan mountains in Bulgaria, which north of the Danube become the Carpathian mountains. The Danube River cuts the Carpathian Mountains from the Balkan Mountains.
You put the wrong map of Serbia (without Kosovo). Kosovo is not recognized in the UN as an independent country and the fact that the USA recognizes it means nothing... as soon as the Americans flee from Kosovo (like from Afghanistan), it will again be placed under the jurisdiction of its mother country. Kosovo has always been Serbian and will remain Serbian.
Bosnia HAS more waterfalls THAN Germany etc. 3 lice jednine je has Have su sva ostala lica Kad praviš komparaciju (Bosna ima više nečega nego Nemačka) koristiš reč THAN. From bi u tom slučaju značilo IZ
@@giant_cIit Hajde vrlo vazno.mogo je napisati i u svom jeziku,ionako ima translator ... Odmah se oni samo pametni nadju da dijele nekome lekcije(zeljni satisfakcije)
@@Bosniak803 Njemu možda bude važno. Vidim da dečko barata engleskim i da mu ne fali puno da ga usavrši. Nisam to napisao da bih ga prozivao. A zbog likova kao što si ti, koji promovišu neznanje i javno se hvale da su tupsoni nam svima na Balkanu i ide loše.
9:40 Well you see, the Black Sea used to be a lake before the Bosphorus strait popped and tons of Mediterranean water flooded and made it into a sea. Actually it is plausible that the story of Noah's Ark got inspired by the same catastrophe. Yes, it is less salty.
The Balkans is a historical and geographical term used to describe southeastern Europe. The region is about 550,000 km² and has a population of about 75 million people. The name of the provincial province in the Balkan Mountains, which starts in eastern Serbia and crosses central Bulgaria.
Fun fact: Places in Bosnia are actually places in Herzegovina. Herzegovina is southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Kravice Waterfalls are located on the Trebižat River, which flows throughout the year.
Balkans were considered barbaric by Europeans, that is why they favour Italy, Greece and other locations. We who live in the Balkans, we know of milenia of civilisation in the Balkans: from more than 6000 years( yes, six thousand years ago) in Vinča to the present day, when Europe was barbaric medevial space, in the Balkans we had kigdoms with culture from thousands of years ago. All that the more of a reason they hate us and try to destroy us. And the teritory of the Balkan is beautiful. And yes, you can visit all those old monuments and most of them are used for different evenst, so yes you can touch them and enjoy them: in Arena Pula there are music concerts often, Belgrade Kalemegdan fortres is a living museum and park space to enjoy, and monasteries from 14th to 16th century live and serve the litugries regularly. The best is to come and feel it for yourself
moldova's not balkan, others are. and kosovo is not a country, but a part of serbia. dracula is actually a vlad ''the impaler'' tepesh. ''dracul'' in romanian means ''the dragon'' and that shows that his family were in the ''order of dragon'' an ancient knight order formed by sigismund, the holy roman emperor around the serbian despot stefan lazarević as the main and most prominent figure at that era. order was formed to stop the spreading of ottomans toward europe.
Meteora is beautiful and, trust me, it exist for centuries!!! so it is very safe! Monks live on very litle water and food, so they can stand lot time, do go and visit
Visiting old structures and buildings is the most awesome thing to see along with beautifull nature,much better than be in some modern vacation sites,atleast for me,,greetings from Zagreb Croatia
Really great video. Couple years ago I visited Bosnia and Herzegovina and my mind was literally blown by the nature. I also visited Plitvice lakes in Croatia and it was one of the most amazing places that I've ever seen. I'm from Bulgaria and I live in Plovdiv, which is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, that has a history and prehistory that dates back 8,000 years. Here we have ancient theater of Philippopolis that was built during the time of the Roman emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan (98 - 117 AD). You actually can go to a concert in the theater and the feeling is amazing. The acoustic is just great. You should check some videos about it.
I tried to google how many museums ate within walking distance of my accomodations in Athens. Was not ready for the result of 156 museums in 1.5 kilometers arround. Managed to visit about 40 in a week I was there. I need to visit again.
2:56 Yup, "black mountain" in Venetian. It's called Crna Gora* in Montenegrin** and means the same thing. I imagine the English name comes from a time before the country was independent from the Republic of Venice. *Crna means black and Gora means mountain. **basically the same as Serbo-Croatian, but I was trying to be nice to the Montenegrins when talking about their country.
Considering you said Serbo Croatian,you have angered their nationalists who wanna see those two as separate languages😂😂😂.But in reality 🇭🇷🇧🇦🇲🇪🇷🇸 are one language,and you can add 🇲🇰 to it too tbh.Only Slovenians and Kosovar Albanians speak different language of the majority nationalities in the EX Yugoslavia
The words Montenegro are french pronucation of "Black Forest" thats the real name of the country. Balkans is very foggy term for Eastern Europe no strict limits you can ad or remove countries, but Balkans is turkish word and literally mean mountain.
Kravica waterfall is crated by Trebižat river.This river has 9 different names due to the fact that this river 9 times goes underground and than pops up in some other place, althought it is the same river. Bosnia has more waterfalls than Germany, Italy and France combined. Check out Pliva waterfall located in city center of Jajce town, or Štrbački buk on Una river in National park Una. Last Europe's jungle is located in Bosnia. It's called Perućica and there is also spectacular waterfall there, over 100 m high. As for natural beauty, Bosnia is one of most beautiful Europe's country. Balkan peninsula is southeast region of Europe and all countries you mentioned are part of the Balkan peninsula, except Moldova.
Not sure if someone commented, but rock concerts are regularly held in the Pula Arena, that's how tough it was built...I was there twice, on Jamiroquai and the premiere of a film I worked on, Illyricvm, in which all dialogue is in ancient languages Latin (roman soldiers) - how appropriate and Illyrian.
the roman arena in Pula is open for tourism all year long and actually Diana Krall has held I think two concerts in there bc the natural surround sound is so good 😊
The Balkan countries include those countries that are located from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, which is the eastern border, and the border that connects the Jadranka part to the Black Sea is the Sava and Danube rivers, that part and the countries that are located between those natural borders are Little Slovenia, part of Croatia without Slavonia, up to Sava Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia without Vojvodina, Macedonia, Grocka, part of Bulgaria and one part of Turkey in Europe and Albania
For an American you know pretty much. The Black sea is less salty. Not as salty as the Aegean and the Mediterranean. If Western Europe is more beautiful in nature compared to the Balkans - one cannot say. Because Southern France is very beautiful. Switzerland is very picturesque as well. But why are not the Balkans so popular? The answer is the Iron curtain which existed until 1989.
@nadyadobreva9904 You must be kidding to compare Yugoslavia to East Germany, "bro" (I'm a sis). Yugoslavia was completely open to Western culture with minor restrictions. Movies, rock'n'roll, literature. Citizens were allowed to work and travel in the West. Tourists from the West were allowed to visit with no restrictions, bands and movie stars too. Kids watched American cartoons and learned English. What Iron Curtain you're talking about, Yugoslavia was never part of the Soviet block countries.
@egyptianhibiscus9203 The economy and the politics were Socialist. These freedoms you are talking about were not for everybody. It was a totally totalitarian structure.
@nadyadobreva9904 I'm Serbian, born in the 70s! Don't try to teach me that my country was totalitarian. Yours maybe. We had a normal life. My family were even not members of the communist party and nobody cared. Several family members worked in Germany, returned later. Anyone could go for work in Germany, Sweden if he wanted to. We had English, French, German language in schools (beside Russian). We were not like a Western country, but definitely nothing in common with East Germany.
Hey buddy :) . Black sea is less solty . Many years ago it was named Black lake . After last Ice age in EU it becomes sea. All pepinsula coutry are called from Europe - Balcans .Most of them slavic and all have the famous Balkan mentality :) . Btw you are correct for translation of Monte negro but real translation in english is Black forest ;)
Technically, the Balkan peninsula is everything under the line that starts at the most northern part of Adriatic sea at Monfalcone Italy and ends somewhere in the Black Sea, west of Odesa, Ukraine... So parts of Slovenia, Croatia and Moldova are also part of Balkan peninsula.
Geographically "Balkan peninsula" does not exist. This region is called Southeastern Europe. Croatia and Slovenia are in Central Europe, Greece in South Europe, Moldova in Eastern Europe.
@@aodriseu @aodriseu Yes, you're right.... But, geographically, any landform that extends out of the landmass and is surrounded by water is called a peninsula.... now go check a map and draw a line between Trieste and the delta of the Danube.... And who says that parts of a really large peninsula can not belong to various regions of a larger geographical entity, like the European continent? Hell... even the Europe is just the western peninsula of the Eurasian land mass...
@@alexandrutomescu4146 Technically, the geographical center of Europe is located slightly south of VILNIUS, Lithuania 😉, so there goes your theory about Romania being "the geographical center of Europe 😋... But otherwise, it depends on how you "divide" it.... if the division is "by half" in E/W and N/S direction, then most of Romania lies on eastern part and all of it on southern part....but if E/W division is "by thirds" on eastern ,central and western Europe, then you're right... Romania is in southern part of central Europe.
Yes, you are right about the salinity of the Black Sea. The salinity of the water is as high as the human body, so you can see underwater with the naked eye.
While I agree the places in the video are worth visiting, I feel like Bulgaria is underrepresented. For example the mentioned city of Varna is home of the human kinds oldest golden treasure ~6500yo, only rivaled by2 more founds in Bulgaria. Also the highest peak, highest waterfall in the Balkans, Europes oldest continiously inhabited city of Plovdiv ~6000yo. Stunning nature in general and 3rd in Europe in most historical sites(sadly or probably just the oposite, not as diveloped as in other countries)
9:36 Yes, it's considerably less salty. I've swum in both, after you get out of the Mediterranean sea and dry up, your body gets covered in little salt crystals, also if you dive with your eyes open they burn from the salt. Black sea used to be a lake millenia back ago and got connected with Mediterranean sea after an earthquake which opened the Bosporus.
Yeah, the Black Sea is way less salty than the Mediterranean, it is also less clear, it's a bit muddy and the Mediterranean/Aegean/Adriatic coast is way more beautiful. I still go there from time to time, when I have to organize something at the last minute, and also because I like Bulgarians.
Not only you're "allowed" to touch the Pula Arena stones, but music concerts take place there regularly and some famous performers played there, such as Pavarotti, Elton John, Dua Lipa, 2 Cellos, Simple Minds, etc.
Yes, the black sea is not very salty. This comes with some benefits and some problems though. It's much more easy on your eyes if water comes in them and you don't feel so salty after a swim. On the other side, you get a lot of sea flora, algae etc. Especially in the mid of summer when the sea water gets warm. It really depends on the beach though and the currents, I really like the feeling of getting in the water and feeling super comfortable and still refreshed. No temperature shock at all. And there are beaches where even in the warmest months the water is still crystal clear.
Yes, you're allowed to touch it....gently though :) -->The walls of Pula Arena. Romans knew how to build stuff - with stone and kind of salty concrete mortar thing that "heals" itself.
Wonderful shots and nature. The Balkans and especially Bulgaria are one of the greatest places and the "cradle" of civilization in general! Bulgaria is also the oldest country in all of Europe and one of the three largest empires, along with the Roman Empire, that existed in this region. Not to mention that some of the founders and first emperors of Rome and the greatest dynasties were pure Bulgarians of Thracian origin!To your question about the Black Sea - The Black Sea acquired its modern form about 7600 years ago, but some experts believe that it was about 5000 years ago, when a connection was created with the Mediterranean Sea and the World Ocean through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The Black Sea was previously a freshwater lake. Its water is currently very low in salinity, so it is mixed, yes.
Hi Jibby. You've got a lot of countries to visit (you're always reviewing somewhere new). You'll need your Eurail ticket to even get a look-in - I've never yet met anyone who has even thought about attempting anywhere near all of that by car but I have friends who have done it with Eurail. I estimate you'd need two years by car because you'ld have to hibernate during winter in many countries!! I have experience myself and it will put a damper on your plans - my experience is if you travel more than four hours without a stop, you'll inevitably be by-passing a major attraction of the country you're in - 4 hours max.! And you have to get OFF any highway because there aren't any in cities and also in locations of interest. So that slows you down a lot. And in many of these tourist cities you review, you can't either drive or park anywhere near the centre - strict preservation and pedestrianisation rules.! Best wishes for 2025.
You seem very fascinated with old civilisations and history. You should look up on vinca culture. It's 7000 years old. Basically Greece and Rome are closer to present then to it! It's unknown civilisation in the west.
If you ever want to visit Romania and the Balkans, you can always come to my place close to Bicaz Gauges and the Red Lake. 2 weeks, great food and a good time on me ! I love the interest you show to our area, history and the understanding you came to have only based on videos. Bring a friend if you like !
Geographical boundary to so called Balkan peninsula,it really does not exist...its just named like that,is river Sava. and river Danube.everything south of them is considered Balkan. Kotor was Croatian city for centuries until it was stolen from us in 1918. Crna Gora/Montenegro(black mountain,you were not wrong) was actually known as Crmna Gora(red mountain) and there is still a mountain there called Crmnica. because Montenegro was županija/county,part of Red Croatia,Kingdom of Croatia which celebrates 1100y in less than 10h. Mostar is also Croatian city because Bosnia was Croatian territory,stolen by Otomans. Shame that this dude didnt include one of most beautiful sights in Balkan located in Montenegro....Durmitor. a massif and national park in Montenegro. Black sea is weirdest sea in the world. its salinity is weak at the surface but deeper you go salinity increases. there are actual tunnels beneath the sea,thousands of kilometers of them. you can literally walk beneath the sea from Romania to Turkiye. well you could...the entrances have been shut after ww2 because armies used that tunnels. there are many documentary films about Black sea and how strange and weird it is. suggest you to watch them.
If you know the difference between swimming in fresh water pool and swimming in the sea or ocean the first time you enter the Black Sea you'll tell without any previous knowledge it's less salty - you won't be able to float without any moves like you can in the Mediterian, even if you are a fat boy or girl, but the really less salty sea is the Baltic, significantly less salty than Black Sea, but you'll not be rushing to the water even in the hottest summer day there, because of its lower temperature.
I’ve visited Slovenia and it is the MOST damn beautiful place I have ever been to - there are strong Balkan influences in the culture. Moldova an interesting country. The people are lovely but it still has a feeling of being the total armpit of Europe.
Thats not true ! You just preserve your historical monuments (some of the them) and also have stolen so much history from everywhere - like Eastern Roman Empire and endless more. Your "blood" nowadays is like more african one. Why are you still using Cyrillic ?
The guy got to Varna and didn’t see the Varna necropolis , it’s the oldest golden treasury in the world dating 4600 BC , it’s like to go to Rome and not see the Pope.
Vlad was in fact called Dracula but there are dew myths about the name, one is that in order to save his territories he impaled the turkish soldiers that invaded and he left them on the road leading to the castle, so everyone can see what he can do to defend. Other One is about the Draconian laws that he implemented for the criminals, like cutting arms to the thieves, tongue of the liars or... impaling depending on the crime. Third variant is because of his heritage his father or grandfather was a member of the Dragul (Dragon) order a crusader type of order where everyone worn rings with a snake (Dragon) biting its tail. it is still not confirmed which one is the official origin of the name, but it is a fact that Count Dracula was based on Vlad. Shame that only 2 places were shown in Bulgaria.
One of the best things about countries like Croatia is that if you learn the Alphabet (which takes less than an hour, or more, we don't judge) you can basically read Croatian. Because correct pronunciation of Croatian boils down to one simple rule: every letter is pronounced the same, regardless of its position within a word. In Croatian one letter equals one sound. In Croatian you won't come across consonant clusters pronounced as a single sound (e.g. as with th in English or sch in German). I highly encourage anyone to learn the Alphabet, because not only will you be able to read Croatian, but also Bosnian, Serbian & Montenegrin in most cases,
You are right a out Sovenia and Moldova. And kind of right about Romania. But Bulgaria is eastern Balkans. And the Helm mountains or the Balkans after which the whole peninsula is named is located mostly in Bulgaria.
Not including Ohrid in the list is almost criminal. The place is just amazing
"I'm close to saying Bulgaria isn't Balkans" ... meanwhile the literal BALKAN MOUNTAIN after which the region is named runs through the MIDDLE OF BULGARIA UNTIL IT MEETS THE BLACK SEA. Plus, if there is one Balkan country that defines it all, the most Balkan of them all... yeah it'd probably have to be Bulgaria.
Slovenia is in the Balkans, even Italy has a small handle in the Balkans as well...
Another fun fact, while people fear Romania for it's bats and vampires like Dracula, it is in fact Bulgaria the country that has the most species of bat in the entirety of Europe(33 of the 35 species of bat found in Europe live in Bulgaria, while only 32 live in Romania)
About the Black Sea itself, yes it is less salty due to the huge river inflow. Plus one really weird, spooky and also cool at the same time features the Sea has is that because the salinity zones of the Sea don't mix, and because there is also lack of vertical currents, at about 200m depth and below there is 0% oxygen, lol. Which is technically a "dead" zone. The Black Sea really would give the "Dead Sea" a run for it's name, since it is in fact more inhospitable to life.
Also, the Black Sea used to be a freshwater lake before it got flooded by the Mediterranian Sea through the Bosphorus around 7,600 years ago. The majority of the ancient cultures at that time lived on the west, south, north and east coast of this fertile lake, and this great flood is probably the origin of the flood myth from the bible since all of the most populated settlements in the area were submerged underwater.
Bulgaria is *hithole of Europe 😂
but Balkan is a turkihs word!
@uneti463 its not.
@@uneti463 Yea, it is, Balkan literary means Woody Mountains (and it is Ottoman name for Стара планина (Old Mountain)), mountain range that is specifically mostly in Bulgaria, and partially also in Serbia, Macedonia and Greece. Geographically, Balkan Peninsula is defined by line of River Sava and River Danube, so everything south of Sava and south of Danube after the confluence of the Sava and the Danube is Balkan Peninsula. (That is why Slovenia is part of Balkan Peninsula, Sava source being there, and than running through Croatia, literary geographically splitting Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia to be half on Balkan, and half in central Europe -- geographically speaking. That is why Bulgaria is 100% Balkan, they lay south of Danube, that is their northern border, and holds about 90% of Old Mauntian (Balkan) Range). But that is geographical line, culturally, Balkan includes also Romania and Moldova and partially Hungary.
All ex Yugoslavia countries have just amazing,beautiful landscapes.
Croatia is by far the most beautiful I have been to
@@powderskier5547
Croatia is beautiful. Albania is also fantastic if you know where to go.
And then there is Greece, apart of the mountains, lots of rivers one can raft or kayak in...the Aegean archipelago with it's numerous islands...
Bulgaria is Balkan. The name of the mountain range the peninsula is named after is located in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria got thousands of more incredible sights to visit,as the other countries of course. Those countries are beautiful,as the people living there
Greetings from Bulgaria
In terms of geography, Bulgaria is like the heart of the Balkan range hence the name. And in a broader sense, the the term includes cultures not just geography
with that logic then whole europe is greece because europe is a greek word
@@xdx2653he didnt say Bulgaria is balkans because it is Bulgarian word…but because the mountain range after which the peninsula was named is located in Bulgaria
Heart of Balkan would be like Macedonia or Serbia we could call it Moravian-Vardarian valley which in historical point of view was main road doors of migration of many ppl it would be highway of old Europe Starchevo-Vincha from even 9000 bc...
The Balkans are named after the Balkan Mountain located entirely in Bulgaria and peeking into Serbia
It's named that because it meant swamp in Turkish (and other Turkic languages). The western subdivision of Turkmenistan is officially called Balkan as well. It has nothing to do with one hypothetical mysterious mountain that happened to possess the name before time without any relation to any language.
@@HOPEfullBoi01 Bruh, Balkan or Балкан (in Bulgarian) literally means "mountain". xD
@@u3pog4o and what is the etymological origin of the word good sir? Google is right there ffs.
@@HOPEfullBoi01 The word "Balkan" is believed to have a Persian origin, with the most likely derivation being from the Persian term "bālā-khāna" which means "high house" or "big high house", indicating the mountainous nature of the Balkan peninsula; this term was adopted and used by the Turks, where "balkan" in Turkish translates to "mountain" or "chain of wooded mountains.".
@@ke2delight whoops you "accidentally" skipped that Wikipedia article's part where it's explained to come from Proto-Turkic and instead ran with the less likely Persian hypothesis which totally makes it a word originated in modern Slavic Bulgarian...
I see people are sharing fun facts in this comment section. Here's mine: nobody from the Balkans says "IN the Balkans", it's "ON the Balkans".
Istina
Da, da!
Kravica waterfall is a year-round phenomenon.
Bosnia is full of waterfalls. In the royal city of Jajce, in the very center of the city, there is an incredibly beautiful waterfall. The waterfalls on the river Una are also beautiful. Bosnia is really worth visiting. Beautiful nature and many layers of history.
You are a great ambassador of Bosnia!!!
Greece has incredible lakes, rivers, mountains, hot springs. If you travel the entire country, you will actually feel like you’ve seen every single part of Europe within Greece. It has double the coastline of Italy even though it’s smaller and yet Italy and southern Italy were built by Greeks anyway.
Not being disrespectful but generally speaking, it is always funny when you see Americans flabbergasted about anything that has history longer than 200 years, which btw for Balkans is just a glimpse.
As a romanian I think I should clear up the misconception about the Bran Castle that romanians themselves were brainwashed to believe: The Bran Castle has absolutely NO correlation to Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Țepeș). The owner of the castle very much took the surge of popularity the Legend of Dracula novel got and "tied" it to the Bran Castle to attract tourists and take our money, but that's about it. Vlad never lived anywhere near the Bran Castle, his home was the Poenari Fortress.
I do recommend looking itno Vlad's history as it has many badass moments and details, how his "inhumane" or "cruel" image started as rumours spread by merchants that didn't like him and further spread by Hungary's monarch and noblefolk. While the myth that he drank the blood of the defeated has not been proven, there are some letters that suggested that he was crying with blood instead of tears from a possible affection to the glands which is cool. Also the forest of the impaled is a pretty cool part. Vlad the Impaler was a hero, not a monster, probably partly crazy, but a pretty dope hero nonetheless
The name Balkan is given from German which are very young nation in Europe form in 17 sentury. The Serbs are the oldest Europe nation and the origunaly name of Balkan is Helms.
7:18 yes, you are allowed to touch it. Concerts are held in it, we have just had an ice rink in it during the Christmas holuday season. Greetings from Pula, Croatia
Bulgaria is the MOST balkan country out of all ngl
You freaked with the Roman arena being 2000 years old. The Parthenon in the Acropolis in Athens is 2500 years old.
Hello, to you and your audience. I came across your video about the Balkan Peninsula and I am amazed at how little you know about it. I know that America is currently a powerful country, but there are things that you will not read in your history textbooks, and that is how this region was formed. And what is worse is that it is heard and spoken only in 1392 AD and you study about the Ottoman Empire, not before it. And what is worse is that Western historians either ignore or do not know, that is, they ignore historical moments.
The highest peak of the Balkans is in Rila mountain in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria can not be more Balkans. It is in the middle of it.
Omg he massacred almost every city name 😂
Honestly, I think it's to do with the way English pronounces the vowels. All other languages pronounce the vowels the same way.
@ayannafit2441 and reading C like K, and J... omg he said Ldzhublidzhana for Ljubljana 🤣 Brijuni - Brudzhini 😂
Out of overall 10 million Greeks, 3,5m live in Athens, 1m in Thessaloniki and the rest in smaller cities, towns and villages.
There is no such name as Balkans in any Greek , Serbia, and Russian history. The concept of the Balkan Peninsula was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered the Balkan Mountains the dominant mountain system of Southeast Europe spanning from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. The Ottomans copied the German when they invaded Europe and used the name Balkans. Today, the name Balkan in American English is obscure. But in European history the Balkan Mountains were called by the local Thracian name Haemus. And the Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment and the mountain has remained with his name. The myth relates to a fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon. Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhon's blood fell on the mountains, giving them their name.
It seems that the German geographer had nothing better to do than draw lines across southeastern Europe.
Why stop there, we can draw a line from Venice to, say, Denmark or Belgium and we will have a new peninsula. That is completely ridiculous
@@valis25 To be fair, the Balkans are a more pronounced peninsula with 5 seas surrounding it, adriatic, mediterranian, thracian, marmara and black.
My guy Balkan is a turkish word sadly and means mountain second the germans didnt invent Europe Europe as a name for the continent was invented by a greek person loooooooong time ago sit down boi
@@dimi2805 The name Balkans is an outdated geopolitical term related to the Ottoman Empire in southeastern Europe and never existed as a geographical term.
@@valis25 How you call geographical the peninsula then or for you this is not peninsula?
Happy New Year to you Connor, and everyone in the comments. I wish you, and your loved ones, nothing but positivity in the coming year! One love from Scotland. 💙 🦁 🏴 🎆🔔
You are right : the salinity of the Black Sea is about 15 g/l, much less than the average marine salinity of 35 g/l. Former freshwater lake, the Black Sea is a complex system with a current of saltwater at its bottom and less salted water at its surface etc.
The turquoise rivers of Bosnia are in my humble opinion the most beautiful in the world. The green mountains of Bosnia are incredibly beautiful as well. The whole of ex-Yugoslavia, or indeed the Balkans, is so underrated. The coastline of Montenegro and Albania could compete with any in the world. Fun fact: the men in the Dinaric Alps are the tallest on average in the world.
I didn't see the oldest civilization place , from which all Europe was created
7532 years old Lepenski Vir
Vinča near Belgrade in Serbia
The mother of all civilizations
Pločnik near Prokuplje ,Serbia- first meltdown of metal on planet Earth
Skul tower in Niš, Serbia
......
14:00 >> Many islands in Croatia also doesnt have water but they get it from the rain. Monastery like this also has system for that. They were very sofisticated and had great knowledge of surviving and "keeping the knowledge".
"Bulgaria isn't part of the Balkan..." Okay so we are going to ignore Balkan wars?!
Bulgaria, stamboll, greece, macedonia, romania, albania-kosova, montenegro, bosnia and kroatia is Ballkan 🤫👍🏻
@@glokiglob4850 KiM je Srbija!!!!!!!!!
😂😂
A Bulgarian here. I totally agree that Moldova and Slovenia should not be considered Balkan. You are absolutely right.
Neither is 95% of Romania
@@CataVlad21 Then neither Bulgaria 100%.
If you like history, Bulgaria is the place you should visit. Bulgaria is the oldest country in Europe. The oldest processed gold in the world, more than 6000 years old, was discovered in Bulgaria. Bulgaria is home to the oldest city in Europe still inhabited today, Plovdiv (older than Athens and Rome). History is literally everywhere here. In Plovdiv, there is a Roman theater in which concerts are performed even today. The acoustics and atmosphere are incredible.
10:30 - The fortress starts as Roman fort build in the 2nd century, then expanded by the Bulgarians and later by the Ottomans. And risking to depress you more - Plovdiv (the 2nd largest city of Bulgaria) is the oldest still inhabited city in Europe for already 6000 years.
No, no, no. The Balkan peninsula has exact borders, very defined. The Sava and the Danube to the north, the rest are seas. Simple. It is a peninsula, not some unidentified region.
Yes, Kravitse waterfall is year round active. Just like waterfall in the center of the town Jajce, wild horses in Livno, Buna spring...
5:00 Hey, Bosnian here from Mostar. Yes, Kravica waterfalls are there all year round no matter the season.
Southern Slovenia is still part of the Balkan Peninsula.
the Balkan mountains represent the continuation south of the Danube of the Carpathian mountains, in Romania. The Balkans cross Bulgaria from west to east. Conclusion: Romania and Bulgaria are in the Balkan peninsula. The name comes from the Balkan mountains in Bulgaria, which north of the Danube become the Carpathian mountains. The Danube River cuts the Carpathian Mountains from the Balkan Mountains.
You put the wrong map of Serbia (without Kosovo). Kosovo is not recognized in the UN as an independent country and the fact that the USA recognizes it means nothing... as soon as the Americans flee from Kosovo (like from Afghanistan), it will again be placed under the jurisdiction of its mother country. Kosovo has always been Serbian and will remain Serbian.
Bosnia have more waterfals from Germany, France, Spain and Italy together.
and Dinaric Alps
Bosnia HAS more waterfalls THAN Germany etc.
3 lice jednine je has
Have su sva ostala lica
Kad praviš komparaciju (Bosna ima više nečega nego Nemačka) koristiš reč THAN. From bi u tom slučaju značilo IZ
Nope.
@@giant_cIit Hajde vrlo vazno.mogo je napisati i u svom jeziku,ionako ima translator ... Odmah se oni samo pametni nadju da dijele nekome lekcije(zeljni satisfakcije)
@@Bosniak803 Njemu možda bude važno. Vidim da dečko barata engleskim i da mu ne fali puno da ga usavrši. Nisam to napisao da bih ga prozivao. A zbog likova kao što si ti, koji promovišu neznanje i javno se hvale da su tupsoni nam svima na Balkanu i ide loše.
9:40 Well you see, the Black Sea used to be a lake before the Bosphorus strait popped and tons of Mediterranean water flooded and made it into a sea. Actually it is plausible that the story of Noah's Ark got inspired by the same catastrophe. Yes, it is less salty.
So, I looked it up. The Black Sea is 17-18 PSU (Practical salinity units) and the Mediterranean is 38 PSU. Quite a big difference if you ask me.
The Balkans is a historical and geographical term used to describe southeastern Europe. The region is about 550,000 km² and has a population of about 75 million people. The name of the provincial province in the Balkan Mountains, which starts in eastern Serbia and crosses central Bulgaria.
Fun fact: Places in Bosnia are actually places in Herzegovina. Herzegovina is southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Kravice Waterfalls are located on the Trebižat River, which flows throughout the year.
Balkans were considered barbaric by Europeans, that is why they favour Italy, Greece and other locations. We who live in the Balkans, we know of milenia of civilisation in the Balkans: from more than 6000 years( yes, six thousand years ago) in Vinča to the present day, when Europe was barbaric medevial space, in the Balkans we had kigdoms with culture from thousands of years ago. All that the more of a reason they hate us and try to destroy us. And the teritory of the Balkan is beautiful. And yes, you can visit all those old monuments and most of them are used for different evenst, so yes you can touch them and enjoy them: in Arena Pula there are music concerts often, Belgrade Kalemegdan fortres is a living museum and park space to enjoy, and monasteries from 14th to 16th century live and serve the litugries regularly. The best is to come and feel it for yourself
Interesting he didn t find anything from Serbia interesting enough
He just got some video that he's commenting actually. That unfortunately has nothing from Serbia.
moldova's not balkan, others are. and kosovo is not a country, but a part of serbia. dracula is actually a vlad ''the impaler'' tepesh. ''dracul'' in romanian means ''the dragon'' and that shows that his family were in the ''order of dragon'' an ancient knight order formed by sigismund, the holy roman emperor around the serbian despot stefan lazarević as the main and most prominent figure at that era. order was formed to stop the spreading of ottomans toward europe.
DARDANIA IS ORIGINAL NAME OF KOSOVA AND KOSOVA WAS OCUPATED BY SERBS KOSOVA WAS NEVER SERBIA KOSOVA IS 95%🇦🇱❤🙄YOU AR SO STUPID😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@manjag513 don't talk bullshit
Meteora is beautiful and, trust me, it exist for centuries!!! so it is very safe! Monks live on very litle water and food, so they can stand lot time, do go and visit
Visiting old structures and buildings is the most awesome thing to see along with beautifull nature,much better than be in some modern vacation sites,atleast for me,,greetings from Zagreb Croatia
Guy is gay he missed awesome Serbia!
Really great video. Couple years ago I visited Bosnia and Herzegovina and my mind was literally blown by the nature. I also visited Plitvice lakes in Croatia and it was one of the most amazing places that I've ever seen. I'm from Bulgaria and I live in Plovdiv, which is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, that has a history and prehistory that dates back 8,000 years. Here we have ancient theater of Philippopolis that was built during the time of the Roman emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan (98 - 117 AD). You actually can go to a concert in the theater and the feeling is amazing. The acoustic is just great. You should check some videos about it.
you're right, Romania and Moldova are not in the Balkans, because the Balkan peninsula starts south of the Danube
Yes, but where does the Danube end? Let me tell you... in Ukraine. So south of the Danube includes northern Dobrudja, which is in Romania.
Balkan is south of the Danube ??? Vojvodina north part of Serbia 40% of country is north of the Danube !
@@svetoslavstanchev9977 only5% of teritoriu of România îs Dobrogea
@@alibababauu3217 Yes, also only 3% of Turkey is in Europe but they are still applying for EU membership. It's illogical but it is what it is.
I love your appreciation of history
I tried to google how many museums ate within walking distance of my accomodations in Athens. Was not ready for the result of 156 museums in 1.5 kilometers arround. Managed to visit about 40 in a week I was there. I need to visit again.
Bulgarian peninsula 💪🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬
Yes, Black Sea is less salty than the Aegean Sea which is part of the Mediterranean. Us Bulgarians switch between the two 3-4 times a summer 😁
In Bosnia you can find 800 to 1000 wild horses
5:23 whole year
Bulgaria has the richest biodiversity on the Balkans, it is second only to Greece in terms of artifacts, and has the oldest city in Europe - Plovdiv.
2:56 Yup, "black mountain" in Venetian. It's called Crna Gora* in Montenegrin** and means the same thing. I imagine the English name comes from a time before the country was independent from the Republic of Venice.
*Crna means black and Gora means mountain.
**basically the same as Serbo-Croatian, but I was trying to be nice to the Montenegrins when talking about their country.
Considering you said Serbo Croatian,you have angered their nationalists who wanna see those two as separate languages😂😂😂.But in reality 🇭🇷🇧🇦🇲🇪🇷🇸 are one language,and you can add 🇲🇰 to it too tbh.Only Slovenians and Kosovar Albanians speak different language of the majority nationalities in the EX Yugoslavia
The words Montenegro are french pronucation of "Black Forest" thats the real name of the country. Balkans is very foggy term for Eastern Europe no strict limits you can ad or remove countries, but Balkans is turkish word and literally mean mountain.
Kravica waterfall is crated by Trebižat river.This river has 9 different names due to the fact that this river 9 times goes underground and than pops up in some other place, althought it is the same river. Bosnia has more waterfalls than Germany, Italy and France combined. Check out Pliva waterfall located in city center of Jajce town, or Štrbački buk on Una river in National park Una. Last Europe's jungle is located in Bosnia. It's called Perućica and there is also spectacular waterfall there, over 100 m high. As for natural beauty, Bosnia is one of most beautiful Europe's country.
Balkan peninsula is southeast region of Europe and all countries you mentioned are part of the Balkan peninsula, except Moldova.
Kosovo i Metohija nije država.
Yes
Not sure if someone commented, but rock concerts are regularly held in the Pula Arena, that's how tough it was built...I was there twice, on Jamiroquai and the premiere of a film I worked on, Illyricvm, in which all dialogue is in ancient languages Latin (roman soldiers) - how appropriate and Illyrian.
I love how we Balkans meet here on internet to connect and talk about beauty in our countries,but we hate each others in real life 🤣
the roman arena in Pula is open for tourism all year long and actually Diana Krall has held I think two concerts in there bc the natural surround sound is so good 😊
Slovenia is not Balkans....
11:35 it was formed by reatriting water after Big Flood
The Balkan countries include those countries that are located from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, which is the eastern border, and the border that connects the Jadranka part to the Black Sea is the Sava and Danube rivers, that part and the countries that are located between those natural borders are Little Slovenia, part of Croatia without Slavonia, up to Sava Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia without Vojvodina, Macedonia, Grocka, part of Bulgaria and one part of Turkey in Europe and Albania
For an American you know pretty much. The Black sea is less salty. Not as salty as the Aegean and the Mediterranean.
If Western Europe is more beautiful in nature compared to the Balkans - one cannot say. Because Southern France is very beautiful. Switzerland is very picturesque as well. But why are not the Balkans so popular? The answer is the Iron curtain which existed until 1989.
There was no Iron Curtain for Yugoslavia.
@egyptianhibiscus9203 yes, there was. Even for Eastern Germany. Let alone Yugoslavia. Communism, bro. Communism.
@nadyadobreva9904 You must be kidding to compare Yugoslavia to East Germany, "bro" (I'm a sis). Yugoslavia was completely open to Western culture with minor restrictions. Movies, rock'n'roll, literature. Citizens were allowed to work and travel in the West. Tourists from the West were allowed to visit with no restrictions, bands and movie stars too. Kids watched American cartoons and learned English. What Iron Curtain you're talking about, Yugoslavia was never part of the Soviet block countries.
@egyptianhibiscus9203 The economy and the politics were Socialist. These freedoms you are talking about were not for everybody. It was a totally totalitarian structure.
@nadyadobreva9904 I'm Serbian, born in the 70s! Don't try to teach me that my country was totalitarian. Yours maybe. We had a normal life. My family were even not members of the communist party and nobody cared.
Several family members worked in Germany, returned later. Anyone could go for work in Germany, Sweden if he wanted to.
We had English, French, German language in schools (beside Russian).
We were not like a Western country, but definitely nothing in common with East Germany.
There are events and parties held in Pula colosseum. Acoustics are amazing. So i guess you can touch the stones :)
Hey buddy :) . Black sea is less solty . Many years ago it was named Black lake . After last Ice age in EU it becomes sea.
All pepinsula coutry are called from Europe - Balcans .Most of them slavic and all have the famous Balkan mentality :) .
Btw you are correct for translation of Monte negro but real translation in english is Black forest ;)
Technically, the Balkan peninsula is everything under the line that starts at the most northern part of Adriatic sea at Monfalcone Italy and ends somewhere in the Black Sea, west of Odesa, Ukraine... So parts of Slovenia, Croatia and Moldova are also part of Balkan peninsula.
Geographically "Balkan peninsula" does not exist. This region is called Southeastern Europe. Croatia and Slovenia are in Central Europe, Greece in South Europe, Moldova in Eastern Europe.
@@aodriseu @aodriseu Yes, you're right.... But, geographically, any landform that extends out of the landmass and is surrounded by water is called a peninsula.... now go check a map and draw a line between Trieste and the delta of the Danube.... And who says that parts of a really large peninsula can not belong to various regions of a larger geographical entity, like the European continent? Hell... even the Europe is just the western peninsula of the Eurasian land mass...
@@mirkozlikovski9553 Roumania is in the geographical center of Europe.Europa streches from Portugal to the Ural Mountains and from Norway to Greece.
@@alexandrutomescu4146 Technically, the geographical center of Europe is located slightly south of VILNIUS, Lithuania 😉, so there goes your theory about Romania being "the geographical center of Europe 😋...
But otherwise, it depends on how you "divide" it.... if the division is "by half" in E/W and N/S direction, then most of Romania lies on eastern part and all of it on southern part....but if E/W division is "by thirds" on eastern ,central and western Europe, then you're right... Romania is in southern part of central Europe.
Yes, you are right about the salinity of the Black Sea. The salinity of the water is as high as the human body, so you can see underwater with the naked eye.
Това братле все казва някаква глупост. 😂 Тези хора в Щатите нито история нито география учат. Трагична образователна система.
While I agree the places in the video are worth visiting, I feel like Bulgaria is underrepresented. For example the mentioned city of Varna is home of the human kinds oldest golden treasure ~6500yo, only rivaled by2 more founds in Bulgaria. Also the highest peak, highest waterfall in the Balkans, Europes oldest continiously inhabited city of Plovdiv ~6000yo. Stunning nature in general and 3rd in Europe in most historical sites(sadly or probably just the oposite, not as diveloped as in other countries)
9:36 Yes, it's considerably less salty. I've swum in both, after you get out of the Mediterranean sea and dry up, your body gets covered in little salt crystals, also if you dive with your eyes open they burn from the salt. Black sea used to be a lake millenia back ago and got connected with Mediterranean sea after an earthquake which opened the Bosporus.
Bosnian here :) and yes, the waterfalls are all year long an attraction!
Yeah, the Black Sea is way less salty than the Mediterranean, it is also less clear, it's a bit muddy and the Mediterranean/Aegean/Adriatic coast is way more beautiful. I still go there from time to time, when I have to organize something at the last minute, and also because I like Bulgarians.
Not only you're "allowed" to touch the Pula Arena stones, but music concerts take place there regularly and some famous performers played there, such as Pavarotti, Elton John, Dua Lipa, 2 Cellos, Simple Minds, etc.
I live in Slovenia! Indeed, we have beautifull nature!
Yes, the black sea is not very salty. This comes with some benefits and some problems though. It's much more easy on your eyes if water comes in them and you don't feel so salty after a swim. On the other side, you get a lot of sea flora, algae etc. Especially in the mid of summer when the sea water gets warm. It really depends on the beach though and the currents, I really like the feeling of getting in the water and feeling super comfortable and still refreshed. No temperature shock at all. And there are beaches where even in the warmest months the water is still crystal clear.
Yes, you're allowed to touch it....gently though :) -->The walls of Pula Arena. Romans knew how to build stuff - with stone and kind of salty concrete mortar thing that "heals" itself.
Its all year around i live in Mostar and im going to Kravice at least 3 times per month and its awsome very very cook place
Balkan mountains are located in Bulgaria, N.Macedonia, and Greec
Wonderful shots and nature. The Balkans and especially Bulgaria are one of the greatest places and the "cradle" of civilization in general! Bulgaria is also the oldest country in all of Europe and one of the three largest empires, along with the Roman Empire, that existed in this region. Not to mention that some of the founders and first emperors of Rome and the greatest dynasties were pure Bulgarians of Thracian origin!To your question about the Black Sea - The Black Sea acquired its modern form about 7600 years ago, but some experts believe that it was about 5000 years ago, when a connection was created with the Mediterranean Sea and the World Ocean through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The Black Sea was previously a freshwater lake. Its water is currently very low in salinity, so it is mixed, yes.
Moldavia is basically similar to Romania, on that view and based on culture-very much Balkan. Or, how it was used to be called-Helm.
Hi Jibby.
You've got a lot of countries to visit (you're always reviewing somewhere new).
You'll need your Eurail ticket to even get a look-in - I've never yet met anyone who has even thought about attempting anywhere near all of that by car but I have friends who have done it with Eurail.
I estimate you'd need two years by car because you'ld have to hibernate during winter in many countries!!
I have experience myself and it will put a damper on your plans - my experience is if you travel more than four hours without a stop, you'll inevitably be by-passing a major attraction of the country you're in - 4 hours max.!
And you have to get OFF any highway because there aren't any in cities and also in locations of interest.
So that slows you down a lot.
And in many of these tourist cities you review, you can't either drive or park anywhere near the centre - strict preservation and pedestrianisation rules.!
Best wishes for 2025.
You seem very fascinated with old civilisations and history. You should look up on vinca culture. It's 7000 years old. Basically Greece and Rome are closer to present then to it! It's unknown civilisation in the west.
2:15 yeah, Romania and Moldova aren’t. But Bulgaria is😂.
If you ever want to visit Romania and the Balkans, you can always come to my place close to Bicaz Gauges and the Red Lake. 2 weeks, great food and a good time on me !
I love the interest you show to our area, history and the understanding you came to have only based on videos. Bring a friend if you like !
Geographical boundary to so called Balkan peninsula,it really does not exist...its just named like that,is river Sava. and river Danube.everything south of them is considered Balkan.
Kotor was Croatian city for centuries until it was stolen from us in 1918. Crna Gora/Montenegro(black mountain,you were not wrong) was actually known as Crmna Gora(red mountain) and there is still a mountain there called Crmnica. because Montenegro was županija/county,part of Red Croatia,Kingdom of Croatia which celebrates 1100y in less than 10h.
Mostar is also Croatian city because Bosnia was Croatian territory,stolen by Otomans.
Shame that this dude didnt include one of most beautiful sights in Balkan located in Montenegro....Durmitor. a massif and national park in Montenegro.
Black sea is weirdest sea in the world. its salinity is weak at the surface but deeper you go salinity increases. there are actual tunnels beneath the sea,thousands of kilometers of them. you can literally walk beneath the sea from Romania to Turkiye. well you could...the entrances have been shut after ww2 because armies used that tunnels.
there are many documentary films about Black sea and how strange and weird it is. suggest you to watch them.
If you know the difference between swimming in fresh water pool and swimming in the sea or ocean the first time you enter the Black Sea you'll tell without any previous knowledge it's less salty - you won't be able to float without any moves like you can in the Mediterian, even if you are a fat boy or girl, but the really less salty sea is the Baltic, significantly less salty than Black Sea, but you'll not be rushing to the water even in the hottest summer day there, because of its lower temperature.
I’ve visited Slovenia and it is the MOST damn beautiful place I have ever been to - there are strong Balkan influences in the culture.
Moldova an interesting country. The people are lovely but it still has a feeling of being the total armpit of Europe.
The only balkan thing in Slovenia is all the balkan immigrants which ought to be deported.
Поздрави от България!❤
Greece is absolutely different from the balkan Countries in language race blood culture architecture and everything else
Thats not true ! You just preserve your historical monuments (some of the them) and also have stolen so much history from everywhere - like Eastern Roman Empire and endless more. Your "blood" nowadays is like more african one. Why are you still using Cyrillic ?
yeah sure if that helps you sleep at night
And still we are the tip of the peninsula
In Bosnia war oldest city in Europe name Okoliste, before 5200 years, and have 1000 peopole.
I agree that Moldova is not part of the Balkan peninsula. I am Romanian, and I live in the
the Balkan peninsula.
The guy got to Varna and didn’t see the Varna necropolis , it’s the oldest golden treasury in the world dating 4600 BC , it’s like to go to Rome and not see the Pope.
Vlad was in fact called Dracula but there are dew myths about the name, one is that in order to save his territories he impaled the turkish soldiers that invaded and he left them on the road leading to the castle, so everyone can see what he can do to defend. Other One is about the Draconian laws that he implemented for the criminals, like cutting arms to the thieves, tongue of the liars or... impaling depending on the crime. Third variant is because of his heritage his father or grandfather was a member of the Dragul (Dragon) order a crusader type of order where everyone worn rings with a snake (Dragon) biting its tail. it is still not confirmed which one is the official origin of the name, but it is a fact that Count Dracula was based on Vlad.
Shame that only 2 places were shown in Bulgaria.
One of the best things about countries like Croatia is that if you learn the Alphabet (which takes less than an hour, or more, we don't judge) you can basically read Croatian.
Because correct pronunciation of Croatian boils down to one simple rule: every letter is pronounced the same, regardless of its position within a word. In Croatian one letter equals one sound. In Croatian you won't come across consonant clusters pronounced as a single sound (e.g. as with th in English or sch in German).
I highly encourage anyone to learn the Alphabet, because not only will you be able to read Croatian, but also Bosnian, Serbian & Montenegrin in most cases,
Also Bulgarian!
Ahaaaa. But how many letters does the letter Lj have? Now in cyrillic it would be one "љ" but in latin? One sound, two letters. Gotcha 🤣🤣
You are right a out Sovenia and Moldova. And kind of right about Romania. But Bulgaria is eastern Balkans. And the Helm mountains or the Balkans after which the whole peninsula is named is located mostly in Bulgaria.
In Arena of Pula there is a film festival going on every year stuning .