The Balkans, often referred to as the Balkan Peninsula, and recently also as "Southeast Europe", although none of the three are coterminous, is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe. Many linguistic families meet in the region, including the Slavic, Romance, Hellenic, Albanian, and Turkic language families. The main religions are Catholic and Orthodox Christianity as well as Sunni Islam.
This part of Europe is strongly subdivided culturally and linguistically. At its core, the term "Balkans" are States that have been shaped by their membership in Byzantine Rome and the Ottoman Empire.
The Balkans are highly mountainous. Mount Musala (2,925 metres (9,596 ft)) in the Rila mountain in Bulgaria is the highest point in the Balkans.
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