Top of page - Menu
|
|
|
Albania
Map of Albania
Map of Central Balkan Region
|
South Eastern Europe page
Links:Amala Summer School / Galbeno A resource center and school dedicated to Gipsy and Serbian Language, Music, Dance and Culture. It is located in the picturesque Serbian hills in the town of Valjevo, 100 kilometers southwest of Belgrade. The site is a resource at it own with gipsy history, soundsamples, online shop and other goodies.Balkan and West Asian Folkdances MP3 Library Description: Over 100 complete village-style folkdance recordings. FREE. Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Kurdistan, Macedonia, Romania, the Roma, Serbia and Turkey. Dance notes for many dances. All popular among international folkdance groups. Artist / Album / Record Label / Link info for each recording so you can buy albums with similar recordings and support the musicians. Balkanfolk With charts, soundsamles, online shop, online forum, workshops, and other. Description: Balkanfolk is a site for folk music, dances, songs and traditions of Balkan countries. It consists of Catalogue, Events, Workshop, Chart. In Balkanfolk shop we offer a great colletion of folklore music CD, video tapes, traditional instruments, costumes and souvenirs. Balkan MusicWith biographies, photos and soundsamples of Bulgarian bands/artists Description: Your Guide to Ethnic Music on the Web TamburaWeb. Description. Goals: To provide an informational and educational resource for Balkan and Eastern European music enthusiasts. To create an awareness of and to promote Balkan and Eastern European music among audiences not familiar with this musical genre. |
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Albania
Map of Albania Map of Central Balkan Region |
Population: 3,5 million
Capital: Tirana
Offisial language: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect)
Major ethnic groups: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs,
Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est).
Background: In 1990 Albania ended 44 years of xenophobic communist
rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven
difficult as corrupt governments have tried to deal with severe unemployment,
the collapse of a fraudulent nationwide investment scheme, widespread gangsterism,
and massive refugee influxes from neighboring Kosovo.
(Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Albania
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina Map of Central Balkan Region |
Population: 4 million
Capital: Sarajevo
Offisial language:
Major ethnic groups: Serb 31%, Bosniak 44%, Croat 17%, Yugoslav
5.5%, other 2.5% (1991)
note: Bosniak has replaced muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid
confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
Background: Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October of 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February of 1992. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosnia's Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place, with troop levels to be reduced to about 19,000 by spring 2000. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Artists from Bosnia & Herzegovina:
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Bulgaria
Map of Bulgaria Map of Central Balkan Region |
Population: 8 million
Capital: Sofia
Offisial language: Bulgarian
Major ethnic groups: Bulgarian 83%, Turk 8.5%, Roma 2.6%, Macedonia,
Armenian, Tatar, Gagauz, Circassian, others (1998)
Background: Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, and Bulgaria began the contentious process of moving toward political democracy and a market economy while combating inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crime. Today, reforms and democratization keep Bulgaria on a path toward eventual integration into the EU and NATO. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Bulgaria
Artists from Bulgaria:
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Croatia
Map of Croatia Map of Central Balkan Region |
Population: 4 million
Capital: Zagreb
Offisial language: Croatian
Major ethnic groups: Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian
0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma
0.2%, others 6.6% (1991)
Background: In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Croatia
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Macedonia,The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Map of Macedonia Map of Central Balkan Region |
Population: 2 million
Capital: Skopje
Offisial language:
Major ethnic groups: Macedonian 66.6%, Albanian 22.7%, Turkish
4%, Roma 2.2%, Serb 2.1%, other 2.4% (1994)
Background: International recognition of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (FYROM) independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 was delayed by Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it considered a Hellenic name and symbols. Greece finally lifted its trade blockade in 1995, and the two countries agreed to normalize relations. FYROM's large Albanian minority and the de facto independence of neighboring Kosovo continue to be sources of ethnic tension. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Macedonia
Nefesli orkestar
Artists from Macedonia:
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Romania
Map of Romania Map of Central Balkan Region |
Population: 22,5 million
Capital: Bucharest
Offisial language:
Major ethnic groups: Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 7.1%, Roma 1.8%,
German 0.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, other 0.8% (1992)
Background: Soviet occupation following World War II led to the
formation of a communist Peoples Republic in 1947 and the abdication of
the king. The decades-long rule of President Nicolae CEAUSESCU became increasingly
draconian through the 1980s. He was overthrown and executed in late 1989.
Former communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept
from power. Much economic restructuring remains to be carried out before
Romania can achieve its hope of joining the EU.
(Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Romania
Artists from Romania:
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Serbia & MontenegroMap of Serbia & MontenegroMap of Central Balkan Region |
Population: 10,5 million
Capital: Belgrade
Offisial language:
Major ethnic groups: Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic
4%, Protestant 1%, other 11%
Background: Serbia and Montenegro have asserted the formation
of a joint independent state, but this entity has not been formally recognized
as a state by the US. The US view is that the Socialist Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia (SFRY) has dissolved and that none of the successor republics
represents its continuation. In 1999, massive expulsions by Serbs of ethnic
Albanians living in the autonomous republic of Kosovo provoked an international
response, including the bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO and
Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo.
(Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
Artists of Serbia & Montenegro:
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Slovenia
Map of Slovenia Map of Central Balkan Region |
Population: 2 million
Capital: Ljubljana
Offisial language:
Major ethnic groups: Slovene 88%, Croat 3%, Serb 2%, Bosniak
1%, Yugoslav 0.6%, Hungarian 0.4%, other 5% (1991)
Background: In 1918 the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new nation, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though communist, distanced itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power of the majority Serbs, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991. Historical ties to Western Europe make Slovenia a candidate for future membership in the EU. (Source: WorldFactbook 2000 CIA)
More Background: BBC Country profile: Slovenia
Top of page - Menu |
|
|
|
Turkey
Map of Turkey |
Population: 66 million
Capital: Ankara
Official language: Turkish
Ethnic groups: Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20%
Background: Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants
of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws
to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN and
in 1949 it became a member of NATO. Turkey occupied the northern portion
of Cyprus in 11034 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island; relations
between the two countries remain strained. Periodic military offensives
against Kurdish terrorists have dislocated part of the population in southeast
Turkey and have drawn international condemnation.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Turkey
Since modern Turkey was established in 1923, till somewhere in the 80's, banning and supression of kurdish and sufi culture has been a part of the political agenda.
Outside the country, Turkish music is more or less synomious with the sufi inspired Whirvling dervishes.
Artists of Turkey: