Plovdiv

Plovdiv is another ancient city in Bulgaria with a 6000-year history. In 72 AD it was seized by the Romans and was incorporated into the Roman Empire, becoming an important crossroads city.

Below are two Roman amphitheaters. The first was discovered under a main street.  They left a large hole in the middle of the street so you can look down to see part of what once was there.  The rest of it disappears into the underpinnings of the street.

Below is a beautiful amphitheater that was not destroyed and is currently being used in the summer as an opera stage for one of the 9 opera companies in Bulgaria.  Ah, that we could have such an amphitheater in Midway, Utah (though it might limit what types of shows you could present)!!

 This is a closer picture of the Roman statues on the "backdrop."

Most of the houses in the Old Town in Plovdiv were built in the 1700-1800s. Because ground space was limited, when people wanted more living area, they simply added it to each floor above the ground floor by cantilevering it outward and filling it with windows (ariel windows).

Another common thing was to decorate the outside of the houses, as below.  This is a very beautiful example.

A modern example of outside decoration.

Plovdiv has the typical European corner house.

This is a very beautiful interior of one of the houses -- an art gallery and restaurant -- and the following picture is the ceiling in one of the rooms of this house.

SOFIA

Not to be outdone, Sofia has beautiful buildings as well.  This is the Russian Church in Sofia - just had a gold-overleaf redo. 

 

Next stop:  Slovakia via Vienna.  Stuart has been invited to speak to judges in Slovakia on court reform and avoiding corruption and Hungary may jump in.  I'm trying to get tickets to some cultural event in Vienna for May.  First off, the opera and a musical are both sold out three weeks ahead of the productions.  Secondly, the least expensive ticket available for any event is $50-$75!  Welcome to the real world.