Бугарија
Shiroka Laka is a village in Southern Bulgaria with special status, because it's an architectural and folklore reserve with no match in the country. The village got its name from the proto-Bulgarian word "laka", which means convulsion, bend...just as the road that gets you there. This is one of the homes of the rhodope song. Big part of the best and most famous singers and bagpipers came from Shiroka Laka. In 1972 in the village the socialist party created a middle school for folk songs and instruments. Shiroka Laka is the hometown of Ekzarh Stefan I who renewed the freedom of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church by removing the schism. The village is well known for its outstanding traditional rhodope houses, just as the picturesque mountain views.
