The Balkan Peninsula
is a land of complex ethnic patterns and influences.
This wedge-shaped area of land includes Albania, Bulgaria,
mainland Greece, and the European section of Turkey,
parts of Romania and most of the former Yugoslavia.
Collectively, these lands are known as the Balkans.
The name "Balkan"
means "mountain" in Turkish, and mountain
ranges are the major topographical feature of the
peninsula. The population of this area is about 65
million. The majority is Slavs, including Serbs, Croats,
Slovenes, Bulgars, and Macedonians. The Greeks and
Albanians are non-Slavic people.
