Bulgaria which might claim to be the heartland of the Balkans, has a capital city, Sofia, which is approximately equidistant from the Adriatic and Black seas, and Istanbul, Athens, and Tirana. At an altitude of 550 m (1,800') and surrounded by mountains, it is the second highest capital in Europe after Madrid. Three-quarters of the land of Bulgaria lies below 600 m (2,000') and much of it is arable, the remainder consisting of high mountains. Most of the highlands are forested, and above the forests are summer pastures with a large number of sheep.
