Mosque in the landscape
About 10% of the population of Bulgaria are muslim, a relic of hundreds of years of domination by the Ottoman Empire. The moslems tend to be concentrated in certain areas. One such area is here in the mountains to the south of the country. A series of villages visible from the narrow-gauge train between Septemvri and Dobriniste are dominated by minarets rather than church towers or steeples. A strange sight in Europe! In Bulgaria there doesn't seem to be any friction between the communities - unlike in other parts of the Balkans.
Mosque in the landscape
About 10% of the population of Bulgaria are muslim, a relic of hundreds of years of domination by the Ottoman Empire. The moslems tend to be concentrated in certain areas. One such area is here in the mountains to the south of the country. A series of villages visible from the narrow-gauge train between Septemvri and Dobriniste are dominated by minarets rather than church towers or steeples. A strange sight in Europe! In Bulgaria there doesn't seem to be any friction between the communities - unlike in other parts of the Balkans.