Archive for the ‘Bulgaria’ Category

25
Nov

Week 35: Ruins and Mountains

   Posted by: Rhona Tags: , , , , ,

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The train from Bansko was deliciously slow as we trundled past rural villages and farmhouses. On arrival in Plovdiv we rented a room in an older couple’s house and set out to explore the city. It had a nice vibe to it – despite being Bulgaria’s second largest city it had more of a village feel to it with plenty of small shops, fruit and veg markets and people wandering the streets. Every now and again a Thracian or Roman ruin would stick up out of the modern city and remind us of the incredible history that this part of the world has seen. Underneath the pedestrian shopping mall are the remains of a Roman stadium and up on the hill we went to on the first night are the remains of a fortress, the earliest incarnation of which dates back to the Bronze Age. There is evidence of a Thracian settlement on the site, which was conquered and further fortified by Phillip II of Macedon in 342 BC. These days it’s a hangout for teenagers and cuddling couples who enjoy the view across the city and, apparently in summer, a few beers.

The old town was where we spent a lot of our time; it was a picturesque tangle of cobblestone streets lined with houses that overhung their lower levels. It seemed that very few blocks of land were square and so the upper levels simply hung out over the misshapen street frontages so that the upper levels had regular shaped rooms. Along some of the narrower streets the houses almost touched above our heads as we wandered through. Some of the old houses were open as museums and we explored the revival era (1762-1878) houses with their hand painted murals and decorative flourishes. The Koyumdjioglou house (built 1848), which is now the Ethnographic Museum, had some of the most incredible wooden ceilings I’ve ever seen. Actually, I should say some of the most incredible ceilings as I haven’t seen many wooden ones. They were carved and intricate and my favourite was a huge starburst that erupted away from the chandelier in a way that defied gravity. Read the rest of this entry »

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18
Nov

Week 34: Bulgaria!

   Posted by: Rhona Tags: , , ,

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I have to say, our first impressions of Bulgaria were a little underwhelming. It was a grey day and Sofia’s outskirts didn’t look like much. However after 10 minutes of shocked silence and culture shock digestion things looked a bit better. In a way the dull light suited the flaking paint and crumbling concrete of Sofia’s aging apartment blocks better than a brighter sun would have.

We spent our first full day wandering around the city, but first was a very important visit to the German embassy where I finally picked up my new passport in my married name. We’ve been married nearly 8 months and have been trying to sort this out since March 25th so it was quite an achievement to finally hold it in my hands. We celebrated with some delicious ice cream in a 1909 shopping market in the centre of town.

Nearby was the Sofia Synagogue, built from 1905 to 1909, which has recently undergone an EU sponsored restoration project to celebrate 100 years. There was also a mosque nearby, not to mention the many (many) churches. Quite a few of the ruins and buildings we saw dated from Roman times, around 100AD, when they controlled the lands that are now Bulgaria. The Thracians were here before them (from the 4th century BC) but there are no remains from that era in downtown Sofia, though we may see some as we travel around the country. Bulgaria was also part of the Ottoman Empire from 1396 to 1878. In WWII they aligned with Germany (though saved their Jews from the Nazis) but then changed sides to the USSR after the war. They never actually joined the USSR, but were communist, and Russian is still commonly understood.

One of the more impressive sights we saw in the capital was Alexander Nevski cathedral. It bubbled up from the ground with layers of rounded domes and flourishes with its golden domes glinting in the sunlight and reflecting the brilliantly blue sky. Construction of the cathedral started in 1882 but actually the majority of the building happened between 1904 and 1912. It honours the Russian soldiers who died fighting the Ottomans in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878).

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