Sofia (sô´f-yå) is the capital of Bulgaria. It is a city of almost 100,000 people. All kinds of races are to be found in Sofia, but a large part of the population are Bulgars and Turks. The picture shows a Bulgarian woman standing in the street. Her dress is the kind commonly worn by these women. The tables have been brought from the inn nearby to serve coffee outdoors. Sofia is only fairly important as a commercial city. It is on the railway that runs all the way from Berlin to Constantinople through Vienna. It has also a railroad running to Varna, a port on the Black Sea. Sofia has been much talked of since 1908. It was in that year that Bulgaria declared itself a kingdom with Sofia as the capital. For almost 500 years before, Bulgaria had been under Turkish power. Ferdinand was made king. In 1912 Bulgaria led the Balkan countries in a war on Turkey. The Turks were defeated in many battles by the forces of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece. Then the Balkan countries fell to quarreling among themselves. Bulgaria attacked Serbia, and Greece went to Serbia's aid. Bulgaria was defeated. In 1915, Bulgaria joined forces with Germany and Austria and overran Serbia. Bulgaria is a farming country. Much of it is rough so that many cattle are raised. Corn, wheat, barley, sugar beets, and tobacco are grown. There are also great fields of roses from which attar of roses (a perfume) is made. It has coal, iron, lead, and salt mines. It is a warlike nation, and agriculture and manufacturing are only partly developed. It is about the size of Virginia, and has a population of almost 5,000,000. Ohio has about the same number of people as Bulgaria. What countries border on Bulgaria? What sea? Keystone ID: 17207 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.