The city of seven hills, Ancient and Eternal! Plovdiv is Bulgaria's second largest city after its capital Sofia. It got its nickname from the fact that it was built upon 7 syenite hills, of which 3 are clearly seen in this album cover (Sahat tepe, Djendem tepe and Bunardzik tepe). Obviously, I was standing on top of another (Nebet tepe) while taking this shot.
Came into Plovdiv via the A1 from the Rila Monastery detour and went past the Iskar Reservoir. Arrived just past 6 so the city tour had to wait till the next day. Since the plan was to go to Chudnite Mostove the next morning, we decided to just take it easy and rest ahead of a packed day.
Being a part of a Roman Empire in the past meant that Plovdiv had a lot of cultural heritage intertwined with what is today. Here's what I recollected from the Plovdiv walking tour and history lesson.
Here at the Iskar Reservoir, the largest one in Bulgaria. Official sources from Sofia Water Supply say that it provides almost two-thirds of Sofia's water needs while also generating electricity through hydropower.
I took a similar shot with the Netherlands flag back in Hungary, but that was when it was closer to sunset. Here, the Bulgarian flag is still pretty much flying along with the breeze along the Iskar Reservoir.
Sunflowers along the A1 towards Plovdiv. In huge abundance along the bumpy roads in Bulgaria, but these lot were by far the prettiest, brightest and "sunny" ones.
Exploring the city centre a little before the walking tour began brought me here. This building stands out most among the rest because there was something very different about it.
There was something familiar about it though, like I had seen it from somewhere. Then, I remembered the Banya Bashi Mosque from Sofia. There are similarities, but the Djumaya Mosque is unique in its own way. (Djumaya means Friday in Turkish because mosque services are on Fridays)
It is one of the biggest and oldest of its kind in Bulgaria.
Close by, is the Plovdiv Roman Stadium (or Stadium of Philippopolis). Philippopolis is the Greek name for Plovdiv, which was what it was known by during the Roman Empire, along with its other name, Trimontium, meaning "city of three hills".
The stadium can be found in the city centre just beneath the main shopping street. However, only the Northern portion of the stadium was excavated and restored. The majority of the rest of the stadium is buried below the main shopping street and not restored due to technical and cost reasons.
This model is of the entire stadium. What you saw earlier was only the northern part of the whole stadium. You can probably understand why they've decided not to excavate the rest of it. It's massive, but unfortunately, all buried underground.
Interestingly enough, our guide told us that they only found out about these Roman artefacts when they dug up the ground to try and rebuild the city. Can you imagine how much culture and heritage is actually left buried in the ground and we haven't got the slightest clue about it?
Walked towards the Maritsa River, Марица, intending to find the 2 museums (which I did in the end) but I was captivated by the Monument of the Unification of Bulgaria. There's quite some history into this one.
Bulgaria was split into 2 (Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia) as a result of the end of the Russo-Turkish War and the 1878 Berlin Treaty. As accurately predicted by the St. Petersburg government, this "unnatural division" was not sustainable and the Bulgarians fought for unification, which culminated in a unified Bulgaria in 1885.
This monument was built in 1985 in honour of the 100th anniversary of that. You can see the victory wreath in the hands of Motherland while the wings (representing the 2 divides) coming together. The Unification is commemorated annually on 6th September as a national holiday.
Meeting point for the start of the walking tour was at the Post Office. I'm still a little peeved that they misplaced my postal package in Sofia! The postage wasn't that costly, but the stuff inside had more meaning than just dollars and cents. Hmmph!
Close to the Town Hall, you'll find the Bulgarian Coat of Arms, which features 2 Bulgarian Lions (of course) and the 7 hills. The words below, Древен и вечен (Dreven i vechen), means Ancient and Eternal, the city's motto.
Walking by Sahat Tepe (one of the 7 hills), the impressive graffiti on the rocks are unmissable. This American-born Bulgarian boy is back in his parents' homeland and was really excited, he took over tour guide duties, albeit just for this photo!
Headed into the Old Town after that and the first feature was the Virgin Mary Church, which like so many other structures over Europe, had to be under renovation while I was there. Decided to not include it in the photos, but still give it a mention because of its significance. It's located on Nebet Tepe (another of the 7 hills).
Seen here, is the signature Plovdiv landmark you'll find when you Google it. A strong contender for the album cover but I figured something different was always better.
Was fortunate enough to be watching a rehearsal going on here at the Ancient Theater of Plovdiv. It was only discovered after a landslide in early 1970s unearthed it, prompting major excavation works to restore it.
It is found on the slope between Dzhambaz Tepe and Taksim tepe (another 2 other Plovdiv hills)
Today, it still retains its good acoustics and hosts many musicals and plays (like the rehearsal we were watching) especially during summertime.
Looks like a watch tower, but it turns out it was a gossip tower, or at least that was what I remembered of it. According to our guide, this "tower" became synonymous with the Eastern Gate, just down the street, the gateway to the Far East back in the Roman Times.
Located close by are the St. Constantine and St. Helena Orthodox Church and the Ethnographic Museum.
Here it is, the Plovdiv Regional Ethnographic Museum. Chose to post this instead of St. Constantine and St. Helena because of the uniqueness of the building (and for its sunset glow). It is clearly distinct from the way the other surrounding ones are. Somehow, there seems to be an Asian element to it too, although I do believe I'm thinking too much.
Right at the top of Nebet Tepe with Bunardzik Tepe in the background. My head's blocking out the Monument of Alyosha though.
My turn with the bigger Bulgarian flag. Standing on the rocky ruins on top of Nebet Tepe with Sahat, Djendem and Bunardzik behind.
If you've been counting so far, you would have realized that I've only mentioned 6 of the 7. So where on earth is the 7th?
Turns out, the 7th is called Markovo Tepe and it was destroyed sometime between the late 19th to mid-20th century. The streets of Plovdiv were built and paved with the rocks and sand from the destroyed hill.
That was it for Plovdiv then. This was from the morning after, en route to the sea side!
There was something really special about Plovdiv and I think a lot of it was down to the 7 hills story. The cultural heritage from the remnants of Philippopolis (its former Greek self), the Roman Empire, the Ottomans and its subsequent rebuilding, made it all the more intriguing.
Burgas is next! Time for some seafood! :D
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