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Dobrich
Dobrich Region is located in the easternmost part of the hilly Danubian Plain and Dobrudzha. It borders the regions of Varna, Shumen and Silistra. The boundaries with the Black Sea, the Danube River and Romania coincide with the national borders. The relief consists of lowlands and hilly plateaus. Low plateaus of up to 150-200 m high are very typical of this region. The area is arid, one of the driest in the country; with few rainfalls in summer but yet very fertile. It is called the 'Granary of Bulgaria'. Typical of the agriculture in the region is wheat, fodder and technical crops. There is an oil and gas field near Shabla.. The region lies remote from major international transport corridors that pass through the country. The only exception is the road, which connects the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries and Finland with Turkey and the Konstanta-Varna railway line. The oldest lighthouse in Bulgaria was built under a French project on the Cape of Shabla in 1856. The territory of the region is a unique mosaic of natural and archaeological sites of interest. It is also where one of the two major birth migration routes passes - the so-called "Via Ponkika". Near the lakes of Shabla and Durankulak there are law-protected damp areas of international importance. These territories are the most significant winter quarters in Europe for many water birds. Kaliakra Reserve is the only one in Bulgaria, which extends over sea area. The furthest northern riparian dense forest at the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria is located in Balkata. The Lake of Shabla is one of the biggest habitats of water lily and yellow pond-lily (Nuphar lutea) in Bulgaria.
Preserved remnants of ancient Greek colonies and Thracian cultural centers, medieval citadels and ethnographic landmarks are all places of cultural interest. The development of the region was affected by the First National Catastrophe in 1913 (a historical and political term referring to the defeat of Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War) when the territory of Southern Dobrudzha was annexed to Romania, The former summer villas of i the Romanian royal family, situated in a beautiful park in Balchik, date back from that period. There is an interesting ethnic group with distinctive customs and costumes living in Dobrudzha villages. These are the Gagauz - Bulgarian Christians who speak Gagauz, a language of the Turkic group. They are considered to be of proto-Bulgarian or Kuman origin.
The seaside holiday tourism is concentrated mainly in Albena and Rusalka holiday resorts, the towns of Balchik and Kavarna, the village of Kranevo and the camping sites near Shabla. Dobrich Region offers suitable conditions for hunting tourism (four game preserves are located on the territory of the region), business and conference tourism (in Albena and Rusalka), and fang therapy (in the resorts of Shablenska Tuzla and Balchishka Tuzla).