Portal:Bulgaria

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The Bulgaria Portal

Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤlgˈariɤ]), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България, IPA: [rɛpˈubliˌkɤ bɤlgˈariɤ]), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north, mostly along the Danube.

Bulgaria's civilized history dates back more than six millennia to a prehistoric time and place within the heart of its territory that marks the birth of Europe's and possibly the world's first literary culture. Though relatively small in terms of territory and population, Bulgaria's continuous historical wealth throughout prominent cyclical eras of growth, decline and medieval renaissance rivals that of the much larger and more populous countries of China, India and Egypt.

Part of the Eastern Bloc after World War II, today Bulgaria is a democratic, unitary, constitutional republic, a member of the European Union and NATO. The capital is Sofia, one of the oldest capital cities in Europe.

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Veselin Topalov (IPA: [ve.se'lin to'pɑ.lof], Bulgarian: Веселин Топалов) (born March 15, 1975) is a Bulgarian chess player. He became the FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. Topalov was awarded the 2005 Chess Oscar. In the July 2006 FIDE rating list, he is ranked number one in the world with an Elo rating of 2813, the second highest rated person ever.

Topalov was born in Rousse. He was taught to play chess when he was eight years old by his father. In 1989 he won the World Under 14 Championship in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and in 1990 won the silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship in Singapore. He became a Grandmaster in 1992. His current trainer and manager is International Master Silvio Danailov.

On the strength of his rating, Topalov was invited to the 8 player, double round-robin FIDE World Chess Championship in San Luis, Argentina, in September-October of 2005. Scoring an extraordinary 6.5/7 in the first cycle, Topalov had virtually clinched the tournament at the halfway mark, before drawing every game in the second cycle to win by a convincing 1.5 points and become FIDE World Chess Champion. The average rating of the field in the championship was 2739, and Topalov's performance rating was an incredible 2890.

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Credit: Evgeni Dinev

Sozopol (Bulgarian: Созопол) is a small ancient town located 30 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today the town is mostly a seaside resort known for the Apollonia art and film festival.

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Did You Know?

...that, in opposition to the orthodox architectural canon, a giant undulating apse occupies the entire east façade of the Church of the Holy Trinity (pictured) in Svishtov?
...that after an accident in his teens, Bulgarian poet Pencho Slaveykov had difficulty writing and speaking?
...that Bulgarian Dobri Zhelyazkov founded the first textile factory in the Ottoman Empire?
...that architectural elements akin to those of the Olympic Stadium in Munich were incorporated in the Central Railway Station in Sofia during its latest renovation?
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