GOOD NEWS FROM BULGARIA
I fell in love with Bulgaria when I was first there as the Soviet empire was collapsing in early 1990.
There's thousands of years of history - Bronze Age tribes, the Ancient Greeks, the Romans, medieval Christian kingdoms, hidden monasteries protecting Christianity from centuries of Moslem oppression by the Ottoman Turks, finally gaining independence in 1908 only to lose it to the Soviet Union during World War II, and now free at last.
And all through this, Bulgarians forged and kept a Christian culture and heritage. Hundreds of thousands of people come from all over the world to visit the extraordinary monasteries such as Rila the Bulgarians built to preserve their culture from Moslem imperialism.
Even more visitors - millions in the height of the summer - come to vacation on the gorgeous beaches of Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. In the winter, skiers flock to ski resorts high in the Balkans.
It's a country of such profusion of flowers everywhere there's an entire valley called the Valley of Roses. You couldn't ask for a more hospitable warm-hearted people - or ask for a better way to be shown hospitality, for Bulgarians really know how to make good wine and are more than happy to share a glass with you at every opportunity.
And speaking of opportunity... There are more opportunities to make a lot of money in Bulgaria than almost anywhere else in the world. Especially because a major obstacle of those opportunities was removed this week.
