Bulgaria First Stop Melnik
- Bulgaria first stop
Melnik.
An absolutely delightful little town still known as a city
because of its historical significance. There is mixed
information but it seems at the beginning of the 20th century
population here
was approximately 15,000 to 20,000 people and in the present
day
now only around 400. There was a mass migration after the
Second
Balkan War in 1913 resulting in all the Greeks moving to Greece and
more of the populations other ethnik people. The first
inhabitants of Melnik were there around the 2nd century BC.
It
has a very mixed history of Romans, Ottomans and Russians to name a
few. Nestled under the sunnyside of the Pirin Mountains and
bizarre sandstone pyramids the houses seem to be stacked on the
hillside. It is now a natural cultural reserve and museum.
We walked up the very steep path to what was the
Monastery
of St. Mary Spileotisa
which we understand is having some restoration by the monks of
Mount Athos Greece. We kept walking along the
mountain top
to the remains of Saint Nicola Church. Built in the 12th
century
it sits on the site of a Thracian sanctuary and also a 5th
century Christian Basilica. It was replaced in the 18th
century
by the Saint Nicola The Wonderworker Church although the Medieval
Church
survived into the 19th century as a monastery church. We
continued walking to the ruins of the Despot Slavova Fortress a very
solid military fortification with four periods of construction
including early Byzantine, two Medieval periods and the fourth period
Despot Alexiy Slav 1208 to 1230. When you stand near the
remaining walls you look straight down on the park and most of Melnik.
Now we had to get down the best way we could. There
are
underground wine cellars in most of the restaurants and the Melnik
Wines are cheap and very unique and the food is great. Around the town
itself there are numerous historical buildings to see.
Wonderful
place.
- Onto the bus again to
the capital Sofia. Despite the
fact that Sofia is very much another big city it does have some very
interesting historical buildings. The position we stayed
enabled
us to go round in a circle visiting the most important places we wanted
to see. Saint Sofia Church and the catacombs (actually part
of a
cemetery from the 4th to 5th century). Underneath the church
includes some significant history and burial sites. Also the
church has some interesting history dating from the 4th century and
includes around five different constructions including Roman, Greek
Orthodox and Ottoman as a mosque and now as a cross basilica.
On
our travels we also visited the Zhenski Pazar (Womens Market) a
fascinating mix of all kinds of foods from fresh to preserved to cooked
and all kinds of other stuff a lot representative of the local culture
probably the largest and the cheapest. Close by is the Sofia
Synagogue the third largest in Europe. Completed in 1909 it
also
houses the Jewish Museum of History and Holocaust history as well.
An amazing building with a massive chandelier. We
managed
to have a good look but there were some major renovations happening.
Another church we wanted to see was the ancient Church of St.
George originally built by the Romans in the 4th century and one of the
oldest preserved buildings in the city. Used as a mosque
during
the Ottoman period a large number of the frescoes dating from the 10th
through to the 14th centuries were only discovered in the 20th century
having been painted over. Fascinating building a little hard
to
find in the square contained between the Sheraton Hotel and the
Presidency and sits down steps below the present street level.
Also in the grounds are other ancient artifacts from the city
of
Serdica. Some of the artifacts dating back to Constantine and
Alexander the Greats. You could probably spend days walking
around this city as it has such a rich and ancient history there are
churches and cathedrals and massive old buildings on every street and
corner. We also found the Antique Market in an open square
close
to the Alexander Nevski Cathedral. Lots of old cameras, coins
,medals, hand knitted socks Russian lacquered dolls jewellery boxes a
setion of artworks and lots more. And of course just up the
road
the magnificent Alexander Nevski Cathedral.
- Next place on the bus
to Plovdiv. Again we were very
fortunate to find a small hotel
right in the middle of the old town. We were very impressed
with
this city as it seems to be very switched on and able to market itself
extremely well presumably down to the local council and the tourist
centre. We were lucky when we got to the main street precinct
to
be invited into a free tour of the main historic parts of the city.
A great introduction to our own wander around the following
day. Although Plovdiv is full of ancient and not so ancient
history the first of many places we looked at was the Roman Stadium.
There are some very good drawings of what the stadium looked
like
but you can actually see the northern end of it exposed below the
street. It was originally 240mtrs. long and 50mtrs. wide and
would seat up to 30,000 spectators. Built at the beginning of
the
2nd century AD there are several other places under the shops you can
see remains of it. Excavation started in 1923 and
continued
at times through to 2010 but because of the buildings and street above
it, it is impossible to excavate further as the whole street would have
to be demolished. The next main place of interest was the
Roman
Theatre one of the world's best preserved ancient theatres.
Built
in the late 1st century AD it can host around 5,000 to 7,000 spectators
and is currently in use. It was almost completely destroyed
by an
earthquake in the 4th century. According to local gossip when
it
was discovered in the 1960's during an archeological dig a number of
homes in the vicinity had to be demolished and the owners re-located
into acceptable premises to get them to move. Like the
stadium it
is a credit to the people of Plovdiv and the conservationists involved.
There is a great deal more to see in Plovdiv including a
variety
of churches also examples of Ottoman type buildings and homes and other
more recent parts of the mixed history of the city. Also
there
are a number of significant local characters preserved in bronze as you
wander the streets and the local tourist information centre is great.
- Onto the next place and
a bus to Veliko Tarnovo. This city
may not be as switched on as Plovdiv but is certainly in the process of
getting that way. The most important site is Tsarevets
Fortress
standing on a hill and on a site that was originally populated around
the second milennium BC. Settled around the 4th century AD
and a
Byzantine City was constructed around the 5th century. A
bulgarian stronghold was begun in the 12th century and became
somewhat as important as Rome and Constantinople in magnificence.
The fortress was eventually sacked by the Ottomans and
destroyed
at the end of the 14th century. Restoration was commenced in
the
1930's and completed in 1981. There is evidence of ongoing
restoration and a lot of the site is well preserved. During
the
summertime a sound and light show is produced and also a changing of
the guard. The Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascencion of
God
sits at the top of the fortress and gives a magnificent view of the
city and the fortress. There is quite a lot to see around the
rest of the city lots of old and ancient buildings, churches and
historic sites.
- Onto the next bus and
the resort town of Sozopol
on the Black Sea Coast. On the 1st
November this major holiday
resort was deserted and like a ghost town but nevertheless very
enjoyable for a rest and good accommodation. It is also
another
very ancient town one of the oldest on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast
founded in the 7th century BC by Greek colonists. One of the
richest Greek colonies it was named at one time as Apollonia after a
temple dedicated to Apollo in the town. Ruled over the
centuries
by Byzantine, Bulgarian and Ottoman empires the ancient buildings and
remains show a number of mixed and varied cultures. The
resort
hotels and restaurants blend in with the ancient walls, gates and
fortifications in the old town and some massive work has been done in
reconstruction and restoration. Would be interesting to see
this
place during the holiday season.
- Onto another bus this
time to
Varna. Pre-historic settlements here
go back as far as the 5th
milennium BC and more evidence shows Middle Paleolithic to 100,000
years ago. Known as Odessos in the ancient world it was also
a
major seaport as it is today. Unfortunately all the ancient sites and
museums were closed on the Sunday we were there, maybe out of season,
but would probably be good to see. It also has what looks
like a
very comprehensive maritime museum but that was closed too.
Managed to get a few photos of various parts including
several
warships mounted on the banks above the beach. The seaport is
interesting plus the massive breakwall with waves coming in.
The
town also has a very good pedestrian area going back into the main part
of the old town.
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