Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Bulgarian Girl in Plovdiv

Pat in Courtyard 
of Alafrangue Restaurant in Old Plovdiv

Bulgarian Dinner (Mishmash & Kavarma) 
in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Traditional Dance - Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Central Park (Sahat Tepe) - Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Plovdiv, Bulgaria (5/10/2011) - Plovdiv's downtown is scenic (maybe the most attractive in Bulgaria).

The nice shopping promenade (Knyaz Aleksandar Batemberg) has interesting architecture, a fascinating well-preserved car-free old town with 18^th-century wood-shuttered revival-style Bulgarian homes, 2000-year old Roman amphitheater, and many beautiful parks. Many of Bulgaria’s most famous artists lived in Plovdiv.

Influenced by the 500-year Turkish occupation and proximity to Greece, Bulgarian cuisine is good featuring plenty of spices and fresh produce. 

We had a wonderful Bulgarian dinner of mish mash (eggs, cheese, and red peppers) and Kavarna (tender chicken dish baked with garlic, onions, pepper, and mushrooms) in the courtyard of a family-run National Revival house (the Alafrangue - see photo) in old Plovdiv. We also met a lady in our hostel who was traveling with a black cat that had a Bulgarian passport.

Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city and is a very nice stopover when traveling across Bulgaria.

Some history... Plovdiv is an ancient city, one of the oldest in Europe with a history traced back to more than 8000 years. Originally it had seven tall hills, some of which were used for quarries. 

Plovdiv was controlled by the Romans and was called Trimontium at that time. During the long occupation by the Ottoman Empire, a large mosque was built, still present in the Plovdiv's central area as well.

Please also see our 3 other blog posts for Bulgaria:

Sofia (Capital), Bulgaria

Varna Black Sea, Bulgaria

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

 

 
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Sofia, Bulgaria (Capital)

Pat Buying Corn - Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia, Bulgaria (Capital) (5/8-9/2011)

Sofia’s downtown is attractive with green parks with large trees at almost every turn. 

For you Oz fans, Sofia actually has yellow brick roads running along the center of the city. Sofia, with a population of 1.4 million of Bulgaria’s 7 million, is Bulgaria’s largest and capital city.

Aleksander Nevski Church - Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia's main sight is the gold-domed Russian-style Orthodox Aleksander Nevski Cathedral in the center of the city. It is huge - the largest Orthodox church in the Balkans claiming to be able to hold 7,000 people.

'United Buddy Bears' Exhibit - Sofia

Down the street we witnessed two back-to-back weddings at the small Sveta Sofia Church (see photo). We also were lucky to see the United Buddy Bears exhibit that has been shown all around the world (see photo). About 120 of these 6-foot bears representing many of the countries recognized by the United Nations are painted by different artists on behalf of their country. They stand hand in hand in a circle to promote peace and understanding among of the nations of the world. Pretty cool!

Wedding at Sveta Sofia Church

We stayed in Sofia in the very nice Red House B&B, a mansion that was once home to one of Bulgaria’s most famous sculptors. Sofia's Red House B&B is now a cultural center for debates with seven rooms for rent. Matching the name, we had red satin sheets.

Amazing Rila Monastery

A highlight of our visit to Sofia was our day trip to the amazing Rila Monastery, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in 927, this monastery has benefited from generous donations for centuries and was restored several times. Rila Monastery is truly one of the wonders of Bulgaria and is still working as a monastery with 300 monk rooms on four levels. The paintings are amazing with 1,200 brilliant murals in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and hundreds more around the halls. 

River with Spring Flowers 
- Rila Monestary

Bulgarian Countryside

Some history… Sofia was founded around 2,500 years ago. In succeeding centuries, Bulgarian and the Byzantine Empires dominated southeast Europe. By the end of the 14th century the region was then ruled for 500 years by the Ottoman Turks. 

Bulgaria regained its independence in 1878 largely due to the intervention of Russia and Romania. Russia lost 200,000 men liberating Bulgaria from the Ottomans and many more in WWII against the Germans. Many statues and large monuments and churches have been built to honor the Russians.

Adam and Eve Mural - Rila Monestary

Recent history has been tough on Bulgaria. After a series of brutal Balkan wars, Bulgaria had the further misfortune to be on the losing side in both World Wars. Bulgaria then in 1946 fell under communist domination in the Soviet sphere of influence. 

Bulgaria held its first multi-party election in 1989. Bulgaria remains the poorest member of the European Union with issues such as a weak judiciary system, a moderate level of corruption in the local government, large budget deficit, a poor road infrastructure, and a high unemployment rate.

Having said that, we enjoyed our stay in Bulgaria.

Please also see our 3 other blog posts for Bulgaria:

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Varna Black Sea, Bulgaria

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

 

Please enjoy 250+ wonderful places around the world, with award-winning photos, from our BLOG ARCHIVE on the right ---->

Travel for half the cost for all levels of travel from budget to luxury and 100's of other unique travel tips! From a former Economic professor, experienced traveler (106 countries), award-winning travel photojournalist/blogger, featured speaker at large travel shows, host of the travel TV show Plan Your Escape® TV aired on the CW network, and travel columnist for the Huffington Post, our popular 5-star customer rated groundbreaking and comprehensive how-to world travel book Plan Your Escape, Secrets of Traveling the World for Less Than the Cost of Living at Home reveals secrets how you can travel and see more for half the cost for all trips from weekend getaways to longer vacations and trips, experience more adventure and romance, safely realize your travel dreams with comprehensive planning tools and checklists, travel the world for less than $100/day for a couple, and much more!
Buy this popular book on Amazon.com (also available as Ebook for $9.99), CLICK HERE