Europe

[Visited: June 2020]

After a long drive from Melnik, passing through the Pirin mountains and visiting Bachkovo monastery and Asen's Fortress on the way, the skies clear when we approach Plovdiv. The second city of Bulgaria, this is the oldest continuously inhabited city of Europe, and our expectations run high. Once we are installed in our accommodation, it is almost dark, and we walk up Tsar Boris III avenue, climb the stairs, and arrive in the Old Town for a first taste. We walk cobble-stone streets lined with 19th century mansions, many with wooden beams supporting protruding upper floors, painted in various colours and often further embellished with artsy additions. The streets are virtually empty, and it turns out most restaurants are closed, inevitably due to the ongoing pandemic. Then, almost at the end of the main street running up the hill, we see a light, open the door, to discover a garden restaurant with great views over the city, just in time for sunset.
We are out early the next day, and taking a different route to the old town, walk by Roman ruins, where excavations are still going on. Being so rich in history, Plovdiv is built on top of its own history, which is integrated into the modern city, and creeps up from below. We walk up to the entrance of the Roman amphitheatre, a well preserved 2th century marble semicircle which was uncovered in a landslide in 1972. The main artery of the city runs right under it, making for a dramatic setting. It is still used for performances. From here, we start our exploration of the old city, admiring the many mansions, some of which we already saw the evening before. Several of these appealing mansions have been turned into galleries or museums, but we decide to first explore more of the old town first. We have seen the National Revival architecture in Melnik, but these mansions somehow are more impressive, as more effort has been made to embellish them. Some of the mansions have attractive gardens with statues and fountains. Part of the appeal of the old town is that there is very little traffic, so it is quiet, and perfect for exploration on foot.
When we reach the highest section of the hill, we are close to Nebet Tepe, where we find the oldest ruins of the city. First settled by the Thracians (who called it Eumolpias), the city saw Macedonians (the father of Alexander the Great named it Philippopolis in 342BCE), Romans (who called it Trimontium), Byzantines, Ottomans (who renamed it Filibe). The ruins are mostly a place to go for young couples who seek a remote spot to enjoy each other, but the views are fantastic, while the ruins leave much to the imagination. Later that day, we walk down through the newer part of town, where we find the oldest mosque, and up one of the other seven hills where we watch sunset over the old town. The next day, we are up very early for another stroll through the old town, walking under the old city gate, and discovering the artistic neighbourhood where artists still work in small workshops, proudly displaying their works of art and explaining the story behind them. We tear ourselves away from this elegant and irresistible old city, as we are on our way to explore more of Bulgaria.

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Plovdiv Old Town (Bulgaria)

Plovdiv Old Town > Bulgaria > Europe

[Visited: June 2020]

Around the World in 80 Clicks