Plovdiv
A brief history
The city of the seven hills, of which only two are actually left, is one of Europe’s oldest cities. Archeological remains found on Plovdiv’s territory testify that there was a human settlement there as early as 7000BC. The twists and turns in the city’s history are numerous and complicated and Plovdiv had both its glorious days – as an important crossroad for the Roman Empire, referred to as “the largest and most beautiful of all cities" by Lucian, and downfalls – as a run-down place under Byzantine rule and damaged by Tsar Kaloyan in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Traces of these and its other rules are left all over the city, but the list of names Plovdiv had through the centuries indicates its long and varied history: the Thracians called it Eumolpias and later Pulpudeva; the Greeeks – Philippopolis; the Romans – Trimontium (after the three hills on the city’s territory); and during the Middle Ages the Bulgarians referred to it as Paldin or Plavdiv, while the Ottoman Empire named it Filibe.
Not to miss:
1. A good place to start your tour is the central square. You could do like Plovdiv’s old intelligentsia and have a coffee in the Trimontium Princess hotel, though its former cult status and charm have diminished as a result of a change in ownership and modernisation. From there, walk north on the main pedestrian drag, Knyaz Aleksandar I street. This is where Plovdiv’s youth go to shop, have coffee, stroll around, look and be seen. If you take a right on Stanislav Dospevski street and walk for a couple of blocks, you will reach the Roman theatre. It is often used as a concert and theatre venue, but even when there is no event scheduled, its stands provide a wonderful view to the Rhodopi Mountains in the distance.
2. Djumaya – the main drag’s northern end is the Djimaya square. In the middle of it, there is a large pit containing part of a horse-shaped Roman stadium ruins. You can also see a monument of one of the city’s early conquerors, Philip II of Macedon, whom the city was named after. The most impressive site of this area, however, is the Djumaya, meaning ‘Friday’, mosque, which dates from the fourteenth century. Though current reconstruction works present visitors from going inside, its diamond-patterned minaret can be observed from the outside.
3. From the Djumaya square, head east on Suborna street and into Plovdiv’s Old Town. The best way to explore is to simply follow any of its steep, cobbled streets or winding alleys, while admiring the National Revival architecture which dominates in the quarter and occasionally stopping for a drink in the pleasant coffee shops or a peak in the numerous galleries and antique stores. If you like a more systematic approach, walking along Suborna street will let you see some of the most interesting sites. Among them are: the Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa, with its pink and blue bell tower and frescos; the nineteenth-century Apteka Hipokrat pharmacy, which has been preserved and now turned into a museum; the State Gallery Museum; the Zlatyu Boyadzhiev House, devoted to the work of one of Bulgaria’s best-loved painters; the Museum of Icons, containing religious images from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; and the colourful Church of St. Konsantin and St. Elena.
4. Banya Starinna, on 6 Septemvri boulevard, is located at the northwestern edge of the Old Town. The beautiful sixteenth-century Ottoman building, which was used as a public bath until not too long ago, now houses Plovdiv’s Center for Contemporary Art. The ancient, crumbling walls, the pointed arches and the smell of antiquity provide an impressively contrasting space for the exhibition of contemporary art works.
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