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Revision as of 13:14, 22 February 2003 by 212.59.62.65 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)] The Balkan peninsula is a region of southeastern Europe, usually considered to comprise Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, the European part of Turkey and the former (pre-1991) republics of Yugoslavia, with a combined area of 550,000 sq. km. and population of 53 million. The northern boundary of the peninsula is frequently considered to consist of the Julian Alps and Sava and Danube rivers. Some times Romania is also considered a Balkan state.
Countries definitely included in the Balkan region:
- Greece
- Bulgaria
- Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo (Serbia and Montenegro)
- FYROM (also reffered as Skopje by the Greeks)
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (one country, as of as 2003)
- Turkey, but only the European part of it, west of Istanbul, some times called by the Greeks as Eastern Thrace.
- Croatia
- Slovenia
Countries that some people include in the Balkan region:
Other countries not included in the Balkan region that are close to it and play an important role in the region's geopolitics and culture:
Up to 1991, Soviet Union was playing a very important role in the Balkans.
During the Cold War, Balkans were dominated by Communism, except Greece and Turkey. Yugoslavia and Albania were not cooperating well with the Soviet Union: Yugoslavia had different politics than the Soviets and it was more friendly towards the West, while Albania was a satellite or an ally of communist China. Only Greece and Turkey were (and they still are, as of as 2003) NATO members. Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey may become EU and/or NATO members some time between 2004 and 2007 or some other time. Today all Balkan countries are cooperating with the EU and the USA.
Some people believe that the term Balkan is politically incorrect or even abusive, so they prefer the term Southeastern Europe. For example, an on-line newspaper titled Balkan Times has recently (2003) renamed to Southeast European Times. See http://www.balkantimes.com
There are also some people who believe that all Balkan countries should be united politically. This idea is called Balkanism, and those who believe in it are called Balkanists.
Note that during the Ottoman Empire era, the whole Balkans were united under the Ottoman rule.
Once the most developed part of Europe, in the past 550 years it has been the least developed, reflecting the shift of Europe's commercial and political centre of gravity towards the Atlantic and comparative Balkan isolation under the Ottoman Empire from the mainstream of economic advance.
The region's principal nationalities include Serbs (11 million), Greeks (10.8 million), Turks (9.2 million in the European part of Turkey), Bulgars (7 million), Albanians (6 million, with about 3 millions of them being in Albania), Croats (4.5 million), Bosnians (2.4 million) and Macedonians (1.9 million).
The region's principal religions include Christianism (Eastern Orthodox and Catholic) and Islam.
Eastern Orthodox Christianism or Orthodoxy is normally the principal religion in the following counries:
- Greece
- Serbia
- Bulgaria
- Romania
Catholic Christianism or Catholicism is normally the principal religion in the following countries:
- Slovenia
- Croatia
Islam is normally the principal religion in the following countries:
- Turkey
- Albania
Those countries have many religions:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism
- Cyprus (the whole island): Othodoxy and Islam. Usually Orthodoxy is practiced by the Greeks (about 70-72% of the island), while Islam is practiced by the Turks (about 28-30% of the island).
- Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Albanians living there are usually Muslims.
Kosovo, a region between Albania and Serbia, has a considerably large Albanian population, normally believing in Islam.
There is a Muslim minority in Greece (in a region called Thrace).
South Albania (or Northern Epirus, as it is called by the Greeks) has some Greek population, which normally believes in Orthodox Christianism.
Maybe it is logical to think that Balkans include a number of atheists, since most of the Balkan countries had communist governments for about 50 years.
In recent years the region has been affected by conflict in the former Yugoslav republics, resulting in intervention by NATO forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
As a matter of trivia, the peninsula takes its name from the Balkan mountains (Bulgarian "Stara Gora") which run down the center of Bulgaria, and the term 'Balkan' itself is derived from the Turkish word for mountain. In earlier times the mountains were known as the Haemus Mons, a name that is believed derived from the Thracian "Saimon", meaning 'chain'.
See also: