Bulgaria is the member of the European Union with the largest Muslim minority that is not exclusively immigrant:Turks havе uninterruptedly lived in these lands for centuries. Both the Ottoman and modern Turkish culture have left a significant impact on the national consciousness and identity of modern Bulgarians. However for many and varied reasons that have to do with political attitudes and propaganda especially during Communism, the influences have been downplayed or ignored.
From the aroma of freshly baked borek and borrowed words like keyif, balik and kahir to pehlivan wrestling. Hidrellez songs, and the stories about Nastradin Hodzha and Hitar Petar; from the presence of Jesus in the Qur`an to the scary stories of beans turning into demons; from chotgiya to cholgo and from bulamac to baklava; from the relative calmness of Pax Ottomana to the forcible migrations, name-changings and the so-called Revival Process: The Turks of Bulgaria highlights the history, customs, culture, beliefs, music, cuisine and traditions of the biggest ethnic minority in Bulgaria.
The Turks of Bulgaria is a collection of articles by prominent Bulgarian researchers in history, philology, musicology, archaeology, religion and ethnology, who depict Turkish culture in Bulgaria and analyse how it influences Bulgarian culture, to reach the conclusion that drawing strict demarkation lines is difficult and often impossible. It is a book as much about the Turks in Bulgaria as it is about the Bulgarians themselves.
