Belerus is a small and attractive country with a heroic past. It is located just in the middle of the continent, like a tiny path between Western and Eastern cultures. The territory of Belarus is 207.6 thousand sq km. It stretches from west to east for 650 km and from north to south for 560 km.
The capital of Belarus is Minsk. There are two offical languages in Belarus - Belarusian and Russian. Minsk, the capital of Belarus, is the largest sity. The second largest city is Gomel. Vitebsk, Mogilev, Hrodna and Brest are also among the largest cities of the country.
The real treasure of Belarus is it's wonderful nature. Forests constitute 33 % of the country's area. Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the only place where you can meet mighty European bison in the wild. Pushcha is a natural reserve but some parts of it are opened for tourists to visit and you can spend a day or even a week in beautiful untouched nature. Belarus is also famous for it's clean lakes and rivers. The country is also called a blue-eyed one. In Belarus there are over 20 thousand rivers and lakes. The largest lake is Naroch. The navingation is carried out on the rivers Pripiats, Dnieper, Neman, Berezina and Western Dvina.
Just like any other country in the world, Belarus has it's own traditions. But traditions are not only holidays. Folk songs, dances, games, fairy tales, legends, riddles, proverbs and sayings - they all reflect the wisdom and life experience of Belarusians. It is great that today if you want to listen beautiful old Belarusian songs, you needn't go to the countryside. In recent years, there have appeared a few Belarusian folk music groups that perform traditional music in clubs and at outdoor venues.
One more important part of national culture and traditions is food. Traditional cuisine is an expression of cultural identity. In Belarus there are a lot of traditional dushes. The most popular are draniki ( thick potato pancakes),machanka or vereshchaka ( sausage and meat dish, a sort of dressing for pancakes), homemade sausages, kalduny, kletski ( dumplings ), babka ( baked grated potato pie ).
Welcome to Belarus - real treasure of Europe !!!