Saturday, March 17
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
Our first stop of the day was for lunch. On the day we arrived we had spied a Turkish restaurant that served grilled skewers. Meat on a stick! How could you go wrong? Well, we did go wrong. We tried to eat lunch at 11:30 and the shop was not ready – none of the food was cooked – so we went in search of other sources of sustenance.
Nearby, along the main pedestrian path, were a series of booths selling all sorts of things. We decided to give one of them a try. We ordered two small sandwiches and a bottle of water. Deborah’s sandwich had falafel balls, salad, french fries and tzatziki sauce all wrapped in a pita. Mine was similar although it had roasted chicken instead of falafel balls. We would hate to see what the large size looked like because we could easily have shared one of the small sandwiches. Altogether the cost was $3.20. No, we didn’t get any pictures – again. We’ve realized that we’re not food bloggers, we’re just travel bloggers. Given that, we don’t feel so bad about the lack of food photos.
Afterward we climbed some of the ancient hills that led back to Old Town. Initially we visited the Church of St Constantine and Helena. It was named for the Roman emperor and his mother. The original church had been built in the 4th century on top of a pagan temple. Extensive modifications were done in the 1800s during Ottoman rule. The Ottoman’s did not forbid the building and/or maintenance of churches but their law stated that churches had to be hidden behind a wall that would obscure them from the street. Thus many churches in Plovdiv, like this one, are only one story high and are surrounded by walls. In many cases bell towers were added as separate structures after 1878 when the Ottomans were defeated in Bulgaria. No photography of the interior was permitted.
(The Exterior of The Church of St Constantine and Helena)
Nearby was an old city gate. It’s origin likely dates from Thracian times, when many of the fortifications had been built. Because of the many sieges it has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. The current incarnation dates from the 14th century. The Ottomans rebuilt it after they conquered the city. Phillip II of Macedonia named it for his sister after he conquered the city in the 4th century B.C. and that name has stuck until the present day. It’s called Hisar Kapiya (Hisar’s Gate).
Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulargia, has a population of around 350,000 people, and is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It may be the only city on the continent that has been continuously occupied for the last 6,000 years. It has been conquered many times. Its rulers have included the Thracians (Darius the Great), Persia (Xerxes), Macedonia (Phillip II), The Romans (Emperor Claudius), The Goths (Attila the Hun), The Bulgarians and the Ottomans. It sits at a strategic location and has been the site of numerous battles. After WWII Bulgaria was behind the iron curtain but was technically not part of the Soviet Union. Plovdiv has been chosen the European Capital of Culture for 2019. Preparations can be seen everywhere.
Next we toured the Ethnographic Museum. The museum is located in a house that was built by a wealthy goldsmith during the Bulgarian Revival period of the 1800s. The collection includes many artifacts of the trade guilds, agriculture and rural life from that same period. The house has three stories with high ceilings and custom wood paneling. It has magnificent views of the valley below. In front of the house is a large, beautifully landscaped garden. For the privilege of taking photos of the interior there was an extra charge of six Лв. You won’t see any photos of the interior.
(The Ethnographic Museum)
We continued to climb and finally reached the top of Nebet Tepe (Nebet Hill). The city’s fortifications had extended to the top of this hill and there were remnants of them everywhere. The hills afford magnificent panoramic views of the entire city and surrounding countryside. It would have been an ideal place to post lookouts.
(The Hills of Plovdiv)
After a quick stop to take a few photos of the exterior of a house where the famous French author Alphonse de Lamartine had stayed for three days while returning to Paris from the Orient we were off to see the main attraction of the day: The Ancient Roman Theater.
(The Ancient Roman Theater)
The Ancient Roman Theater was constructed in the first century under the Emperor Domitian. It was designed to hold 6,000 spectators. Only the rich and privileged were permitted to attend performances in this theater. Fun fact: Roman law stated that theaters were required to hold one tenth of the population of the city in which they were built.
(The Stage)
The theater was discovered in the 1970s underneath a neighborhood containing several houses. The houses were demolished and the occupants were relocated. The theater has been fully excavated and is one of the best preserved examples ever found. Today it is a popular venue for summertime plays and concerts. We were able to visit the entire structure and took dozens of pictures.
(Onstage at the Theater)
Distance walked: 5.0 miles (mostly up hill)