Excerpt:
Spanish Professor Miguel Angel de Bunes Ibarra, an expert on Ottoman history, has said that the Bulgarian government has issued a ban on him entering their country on the grounds that he "defends the Ottomans."
Speaking to the Cihan news agency, Ibarra said nationalistic hatred for the Ottomans emerged in the Balkans in the last period of the Ottoman Empire and still continues. He said two complaints were made against him to the Bulgarian government, following which the ban on his entrance to the country was issued.
"After the emergence of Balkan nationalism, Ottoman culture was destroyed. Balkan nationalists are disturbed about the presence of the Ottomans and Turks [in the Balkans]. They tried to destroy the mosques, bridges and Ottoman archives that reminded them of the empire that ruined their culture, according to their belief," said Ibarra.