Bulgaria, Greece and Italy are the European countries boasting the largest number of archeological monuments and history spanning thousands of years. However, unlike the two southern states Bulgaria has for the time being failed to advertise well enough itself as a destination for cultural and historical tourism.

There is a range of methods that can make a country a preferred place to visit by tourists from across the world. Some of these methods go hand in hand with huge budgets but others can be more effective and do not require much investment.

One example of a low cost scenario promoting Bulgaria as a tourist gem is the initiative Mission Bulgaria of famous archaeologist Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov. It represents a roadshow with lectures on history. The idea for the series came to the professor last October while he was in a meeting with Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva.

“These talks aim to present Bulgaria abroad during the term of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union highlighting the country’s diverse heritage and history”, Prof. Ovcharov said. “We have decided to emphasize earlier periods in history because modern history is by rule strongly politicized. So lectures wind up at the end of the 14^th Century when the Balkan countries failed to unite and to resist the Ottoman invasion.”

The historian from the University of Veliko Tarnovo Prof. Plamen Pavlov has joined the project too.

Nikolay Ovcharov explained that the genuine start of the project had to be the unveiling of the monument to the Cyrillic alphabet in Antarctica but adverse weather delayed the act. He added that he hoped a similar monument would be unveiled in Novosibirsk on the occasion of 24 May, the Day of the Slavonic Alphabet, and of the Bulgarian Education and Culture. Thus the number of such monuments will come to three, after one of them was unveiled in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, in 2015.

The subject of the lectures that the two professors will deliver will be tailored to the respective audiences. The first one is planned for 16 March and will be given in the town of Taraclia, Moldova. By the end of June when the Bulgarian EU presidency closes, the scholars will visit the total of ten countries including Russia, Armenia, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary.

During their visit to Russia the two scholars will try to end speculations regarding the Cyrillic alphabet and its author.

Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov and Prof. Plamen Pavlov have been invited to visit the University of Beijing to give lectures at the end of April. This part of the tour will hopefully help attract more tourists from China’s vast market.

The series of lectures would not have been possible but for the active support of the Bulgarian diplomats in the tour’s countries.

The presentations of the two historians will show monuments from various eras – from prehistory to the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. These include the salt mines near Provadia, the Thracian sanctuary of Perperikon and the Temple of Orpheus near the village of Tatul followed by artefacts from the Roman era at Sofia’s Largo and the rotunda of St. George, the creation of the Bulgarian state, the old capitals Pliska and Preslav and others.

English Daniela Konstantinova