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The Balkans - Quick Guide

The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. The Balkans are adjoined by water on three sides: the Black Sea to the east and branches of the Mediterranean Sea to the south and west (including the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean and Marmara seas).

The identity of the Balkans is dominated by its geographical position; historically the area was known as a crossroads of various cultures. It has been a juncture between the Latin and Greek bodies of the Roman Empire, the destination of a massive influx of pagan Slavs, an area where Orthodox and Catholic Christianity met, as well as the meeting point between Islam and Christianity. It was also a destination for Jewish refugees of Inquisition.

The Balkans today is a very diverse ethno-linguistic region, being home to multiple Slavic, Romance, and Turkic languages, as well as Greek, Albanian, and others. Through its history many other ethnic groups with their own languages lived in the area, among them Celts, Illyrians, Romans, Avars, Vlachs, Germans and various Germanic tribes.

Possibly the historical event that left the biggest mark on the collective memories of the peoples of the Balkans was the expansion and later fall of the Ottoman Empire. There is not a people in the Balkans that doesn't place its greatest folk heroes in the era of either the onslaught or the retreat of the Ottoman Empire. For Croats it is Nikola Zrinski, for Serbs Miloš Obilić, for Albanians Skanderbeg, for Bulgarians Vasil Levski, and for ethnic Macedonians - Gotse Delchev. In the 20th century, the Balkan nations—except Greece and Yugoslavia—were made part of the Warsaw pact (as a result of Soviet hegemony after the ending of World War II). Following the pact's collapse and the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Balkan states have acceded to the European Union, or are in the process of doing so.

In most of the English-speaking, western world, the countries commonly included in the Balkan region are: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey (the europian section) but sometime the following are included in the list aswell: Moldova, Romania, Slovenia

Other countries not included in the Balkan region that are close to it and/or play or have played an important role in the region's geopolitics, culture and history: Austria, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy and Russia.

The region's principal nationalities include: Greeks (10.5 million), Turks (10 million), Serbs (8.5 million), Bulgarians (6.5 million), Albanians (6 million), Croats (5 million), Bosniacs (2 million), Macedonians (1.3 million), Montenegrins (0.3 million), Romanians (20 million), Slovenes (2 million), others (Roma, ...)

The region's principal religions are (Eastern Orthodox and Catholic) Christianity and Islam. A variety of different traditions of each faith are practiced, with each of the Eastern Orthodox countries having its own national church.

Eastern Orthodoxy is the principal religion in the following countries: Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church); Greece (Church of Greece); Republic of Macedonia (Serbian Orthodox Church and uncanonical Macedonian Orthodox Church); Montenegro (Serbian Orthodox Church and uncanonical Montenegrin Orthodox Church); Romania (Romanian Orthodox Church); Serbia (Serbian Orthodox Church);

Roman Catholicism is the principal religion in the following countries: Croatia, Slovenia. Islam is the principal religion in the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey.

The following countries have many religious groups which exceed 10% of the total population:

Albania: Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniacs are mostly Muslim, Serbs are mostly Serbian (Eastern) Orthodox and Croats are mostly Catholic. Bulgaria: Islam. Republic of Macedonia: Albanian population is mostly Muslim. Montenegro: Albanians and Bosniacs are Muslims. Serbia: Albanians and Bosniacs are mostly Muslim, Hungarians, Slovaks and Croats are mostly Catholic. [source wikipedia]

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The Balkans - Quick Guide