Balkans in a Week
The Balkans, or the Balkan Peninsula, is a cultural area in Eastern and Southeastern Europe with various and disputed borders. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch from the Serbian-Bulgarian border to the Black Sea. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea on the northwest, the 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 northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala 2,925 metres (9,596 ft) in the Rila mountain range. The abstract term "The Balkans", unlike the geographical borders of the Peninsula, is defined by the political borders of the states composing it. The term is used to describe areas beyond the Balkan Peninsula, or inversely [ clarification needed ] in the case of the part of Italy in the Peninsula, which is always excluded from the Balkans and as a totality is gen