Balkans

The Balkan Peninsula and the Balkans is a peninsula and a cultural area in Southeast Europe with different and disputed borders. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch from the east of Serbia to the Black Sea at the east of Bulgaria.

The Balkans meet the Adriatic Sea on the northwest, Ionian Sea on the southwest, the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea on the south and southeast, and the Black Sea on the east and northeast. The highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala 2,925 metres (9,596 ft) on the Rila mountain range in Bulgaria.

Name

Antiquity and early Middle Ages

From Antiquity through the Middle Ages, the Balkan Mountains had been called by the local Thracian name Haemus. According to Greek mythology, the Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment and the mountain has remained with his name. A reverse name scheme has also been suggested. D. Dechev considers that Haemus (Αἷμος) is derived from a Thracian word *saimon, 'mountain ridge'. A third possibility is that "Haemus" (Αἵμος) derives from the Greek word "haema" (αἵμα) meaning 'blood'. The myth relates to a fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon. Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhon's blood fell on the mountains from which they got their name.

Balkan (band)

Balkan (Serbian Cyrillic: Балкан; trans. Balkans) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav hard rock band from Novi Sad.

Band history

Balkan was formed in 1982 in Novi Sad by the guitarist and vocalist Aleksandar Cvetković, a former Leki frontman. The band's sound was hard rock-oriented, but also featured elements of ska and new wave, and the lyrics were inspired by the lyrics of Bora Đorđević and Branimir Štulić and dealt with the problems of the working class.

Initially, Balkan performed as an opening band on Divlje Jagode, Riblja Čorba, Parni Valjak, Drugi Način, Galija and Atomsko Sklonište concerts in Vojvodina. Cvetković recorded Balkan's debut album Gola istina (Bare Truth) with Željko Jerković (guitar), Saša Zavišić (bass guitar) and Radivoj Bugarski (drums). The album was produced by a former Pop Mašina member Robert Nemeček. It featured the song "Tridesetpeta-šesta" Cvetković wrote in 1971 and dedicated to his father. Balkan's second album Na brdovitom Balkanu (On the Mountainous Balkans), released in 1983, was also produced by Nemeček, and besides Cvetković and Jerković featured Zlatko Marušić (bass guitar) and Miroslav Papić (drums). Na brdovitom Balkanu featured lyrics dealing with similar subjects as on Gola istina. In 1985 Balkan released the album Homo Balcanicus, produced by Srđan Marjanović, which also featured lyrics about the poor. On June 15 of the same year, Balkan, alongside 23 other acts, performed on Red Star Stadium, on the concert which was a part of YU Rock Misija, a Yugoslav contribution to Live Aid.

Balkan (village)

Balkan is a village in Stambolovo Municipality, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria.

References

Coordinates: 41°46′2″N 25°34′19″E / 41.76722°N 25.57194°E / 41.76722; 25.57194