Strandzha

Strandzha (Bulgarian: Странджа, also transliterated as Strandja, pronounced [ˈstrand͡ʒɐ]; Turkish: Istranca [ɯstɾand͡ʒa], or Yıldız [jɯɫdɯz]) is a mountain massif in southeastern Bulgaria and East Thrace, the European part of Turkey.

It is in the southeastern part of the Balkans between the plains of Thrace to the west, the lowlands near Burgas to the north, and the Black Sea to the east.

Strandzha Nature Park, established in 1995 in the Bulgarian part of the massif, is the largest protected area in Bulgaria.

Culturally, the Bulgarian part of Strandzha is known for the specific architecture that can be observed in Malko Tarnovo, Brashlyan, and most other villages, the rich folklore and distinctive rituals, such as nestinarstvo (barefoot dancing on live embers), that preserve pagan elements.

This lack of glaciations helped create the circumstances in which flora characteristic for the Tertiary period on the European continent has been preserved in Strandzha.