Eco House Toilet near Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Whilst out on my epic search for new properties in and around Veliko Turnovo yesterday for Yantra Homes ever increasing portfolio of quality Bulgarian Real Estate, in North Central Bulgaria, I stumbled upon an outside latrine in a village very close to Pavlikeni, in the District of Veliko Tarnovo. It dawned on me that due to the colour and vividness of this timber box latrine it could most certainly be a pictorial CD cover for the Johnny Cash timeless classic "ring of fire"!

A "Bulgarian pit-toilet" modernised using a wooden box surround
and a second-hand toilet seat and lid, indeed classified as an eco-toilet
since the materials were all found at a local rubbish tip!

The toilet is located in a garden only a stones throw away from the Bulgarian House, it is based upon the "pit method"of disposing of human waste products, and so long that it is not located near any water wells in the plot, it is a tried and tested way of disposing of human waste. One must remember however, not to put "toilet paper" down these pit latrines, instead place in a covered container and use as fire lighters in your wood-burner during the winter or throw with your waste during the Summer, or for the more adventurous try composting!

Spare a thought for the inhabitants of some African slums who have to put up with "flying toilets" not as sanitary as a pit since it basically consists of plastic disposable shopping bags being filled with excrement, tied up by their handles and thrown with the same poise as a shot-putter as far from the shanty room as possible!

However, should you be interested in buying a house in Bulgaria with an indoor vitreous ceramic pan and water cistern, then why not contact me!

Veliko Tarnovo Real Estate hosts car component manufacturing for Suzuki and Fiat in Bulgaria

Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo has an upholstery manufacturing plant which specialises in fire proof fabrics and supplies upholstery to Fiat and Suzuki, the latter in a "just in time"basis.

Fiat interior's upholstery manufactured in Veliko Tarnovo

The company is called "Arbanassi", investing in Bulgaria, which is quite ironic since the village Arbanasi, 4km away from Veliko Turnovo was threatened by forest fires during the Summer!

Bulgaria, Europe's 'oldest town' discovered....

A prehistoric town unearthed in eastern Bulgaria is the oldest urban settlement found to date in Europe, a Bulgarian archaeologist says. Vasil Nikolov, a professor from Bulgaria's National Institute of Archaeology, said on Thursday that the stone walls excavated by his team near the town of Provadia are estimated to date between 4,700 and 4,200 BC.

The ancient fortifications were discovered near Provadia,
about 410km northeast of Sofia [Reuters]

He said the walls, which are three metres high and two metres thick, are believed to be the earliest and most massive fortifications from Europe's prehistory. "We started excavation work in 2005, but only after this archaeological season did we gathered enough evidence to back up this claim," Nikolov told the Associated Press news agency. The team has so far unearthed remains of a settlement of two-storey houses with a diameter of about 100 metres encircled by a fortified wall. Excavations have also uncovered a series of pits used for rituals as well as parts of a gate. Carbon analysis has dated them to the Chalcolithic age to between 4,700 and 4,200 BC, he said. That estimate dates them to more than a millennium before the start of the ancient Greek civilisation. "New samples of the excavations have been sent to the University of Cologne, Germany, for further evaluation," Nikolov said. Bulgaria, a Balkan country of 7.3 million, hosts numerous Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlement mounds as well as significant remains of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine urban centres. Nikolov said the settlement near Provadia was home to some 350 people who likely produced salt from the nearby rock-salt deposits. "They boiled brine from salt springs in kilns, baked it into bricks, which were then exchanged for other commodities with neighboring tribes," Nikolov said, citing as possible evidence the gold and copper jewellery and artifacts that have been unearthed in the region. The most valuable is a collection of 3,000 gold pieces unearthed 40 years ago near the Black Sea city of Varna. It is believed to be the oldest gold treasure in the world. "For millenniums, salt was one of the most valued commodities, salt was the money," Nikolov said adding that this explained the massive stone walls meant to keep the salt safe. The two-storey houses, as well as the copper needles and pottery found in graves at the site, suggest a community of wealthy people whose likely work was the once-lucrative production of salt. Nikolov expects more finds next summer when his team will return but has complained about inadequate government funding. "We wouldn't be able to continue without private donations," Nikolov said, naming the New York-based Gipson foundation, which provided most of the funds for this year's excavation.
Source: Aljazeera

Invest in specific Real Estate and be offered Bulgaria citizenship

Invest at least half a million Euros in Bulgarian Real Estate and be offered Bulgaria citizenship Under a newly approved amendment, the candidates would have to invest in a Bulgarian company involved in a high-priority investment project in industry, infrastructure, transport or tourism. Whether this would mean that should you invest in a Bulgaria property such as a hotel in Arbanasi for example, you would be granted citizenship remains to be seen The investors are also required to have had residence status in Bulgaria for at least one year.

Bulgarian real estate investment may attract citizenship status

Bulgaria, which joined the 27-nation European Union in 2007 and is the bloc's poorest member, is trying to reverse the severe drop in foreign direct investment from (EURO)6.55 billion ($8.5 billion) in 2008 to (EURO)1.75 billion ($2.3 billion) in 2011. Bulgaria already is handing out passports to ethnic Bulgarians outside its borders, the main beneficiaries being citizens of Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey - countries with living standards at a fraction of the EU average that are years away from possible membership. The latest amendments have been criticized harshly by the opposition, and did not get unequivocal support from the presidency or the Justice Ministry, the two institutions that deal with the issue of granting citizenship. According to media reports, the Interior Ministry and the security services have also voiced concerns about potential risks to national security during a closed-door parliament committee meeting. The political and economic instability in the Middle East following the Arab Spring revolutions could prompt wealthy citizens trying to escape the region's troubles to qualify for the citizenship-by-investment program. Latvia, an EU nation on the Baltic coast, offers a deal where property buyers are eligible to receive residency permits if they buy real estate in the capital Riga worth (EURO)140,000 ($181,800) or places worth (EURO)70,000 ($90,900) in the countryside. Hungary's parliament has begun debating a proposal that would give foreigners purchasing at least (EURO)250,000 ($324,600) in special bonds the possibility of obtaining residency rights but not citizenship. Lawmakers who drafted the proposal, which could be approved this year, say Chinese investors are among the groups targeted. Other EU countries trying to cut public debt and attract foreign direct investment are also considering economic residency programs. Spain is studying a plan to give residency to foreigners who buy a house or apartment worth (EURO)160,000 ($207,800) or more. The country has more than 700,000 unsold houses following the 2008 collapse of its real estate market. Government officials, however, are cautious about the idea. "It is not government policy. Nor is it likely to become so," the spokeswoman for Spain's Economy Ministry said on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss future policy discussions. Spain's residency idea for foreign home buyers would not give permanent residency or the privilege of working. It still would beat other offers from bailed-out EU countries like Ireland and Portugal, where residency papers are offered to foreigners buying houses worth more than (EURO)400,000 ($519,400) and (EURO)500,000 ($649,300) respectively.