Bulgaria

I spent four weeks in Bulgaria in 1999, working on a documentation contract in Sofia, which is perhaps one of Europe's least known capitals. I also managed to visit Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second city, by train and took a car trip up the Iskur Gorge to the north of Sofia.

Click on a thumbnail for a larger version of the picture. As a rough guide to download time, I have given the approximate file size in Kbytes.

The Roman Amphitheatre, Plovdiv (65K)

Maybe it's a reaction against working all day with the latest technology, but I love seeing ancient works of engineering. They're a reminder that ingenuity is not new! Incidentally, Plovdiv is a very ancient city indeed - the Bulgarians are always keen to point out that it was a city before Rome or Athens!

The Roman Amphitheatre in Plovdiv is still used in the summer for drama and music. The black objects on the seats are cushions ready to be set out for a concert in the evening.

I wonder how many buildings erected in the past 10 years will still be in use in the year 4000?

The street in Sofia where I stayed (51K)

Many foreign visitors to Sofia stay at the famous Sofia Sheraton Balkan Hotel right in the centre of the city, but I stayed in an apartment in this street in the inner suburbs.

There's a saying: "Don't judge a book by its cover". If to Western eyes the apartment blocks in this picture look in need of a clean-up, well, maybe they do - many buildings in Sofia are like that. But inside the apartment was clean, spacious and comfortable. A consequence of my staying in an apartment was that I had to go shopping for basic commodities and that is always a challenge in a country where you don't speak the language. It was fun - and the shopkeepers and market traders of Sofia were very helpful, patient - and honest.

The picture illustrates an interesting aspect of life in Sofia's suburbs. Because the cars are parked on the pavements (sidewalks), pedestrians have to walk on the roadway.

The Beer Festival, Sofia (63K)

I had always wanted to attend one of those European Beer Festivals with miles/kilometres of tented bars. Finding that my stay in Sofia coincided with the Sofia Beer Festival, I seized the opportunity. While Bulgaria is known for its wine rather than its beer, some Bulgarian lager is excellent.

The picture shows the bar sponsored by the Angels Night Club at the Sheraton Hotel (no, I didn't visit it). But I thought that Marilyn Monroe's posthumous presence deserved capture on film. Later in the Festival she was wearing a T-shirt over her dress.

The Balkan Mountains north of Sofia (49K)

North of Sofia the Iskur River flows through a narrow valley which provided the natural route for the main highway and railway to the north. It's a celebrated beauty spot, so one weekend, four of us expatriates hired a car and driver and savoured the delights of rural Western Bulgaria.

The Balkan Mountains to the north of Sofia are smaller than the Rhodopes to the south and, as the photo shows, densely forested. The chalet-style houses lend the area a Swiss touch.

J.J. Murphy's Irish Pub, Sofia (52K)

It could be anywhere in the world - but it's Sofia. This was my favourite eatery during my stay. The vast menu is bilingual (English/Bulgarian), the waitresses speak English and the food is excellent. It's a popular meeting place for the expatriate community in Sofia.

I do recommend their Irish Breakfast (served all day) and, if you ever get the chance, do try the Bulgarian version of an Irish shepherd's pie.

The Old Town, Plovdiv (54K)

This is one of the Revival-style houses in Plovdiv's renowned Old Town.

This quiet cobbled area which looks as though it has hardly changed in hundreds of years is delightful to explore - and it's right next to the amphitheatre.

The Rotunda of St George, Sofia (55K)

I think that of all my experiences in Bulgaria this made the greatest impression on me. Nestling in the courtyard of the Sofia Sheraton Balkan Hotel is a delightfully restored 4^th-century church beside a 2^nd-century Roman street. Sofia was called Serdica in the ancient world.

England boasts of its 12^th-century cathedrals, but this is almost a millennium older, built during the reign of the Emperor Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to become a Christian. The Rotunda is no longer used for worship services, but is open to the public as a museum.

In Sofia the Kentucky Fried Chicken comes in Trabants! (70K)

I couldn't resist this colourful scene with the bright red Trabant cars parked around the restaurant that is the headquarters of Sofia's Kentucky Fried Chicken and Dunkin' Donuts delivery service.

In the background you can just make out St Nedelya's Church, which stands arguably at the very centre of Sofia.

As my knowledge of Bulgarian is limited to a handful of useful phrases that I picked up during my stay, I have long been intrigued to know what the words on the green sign (OR'ZHEEN MAGAZIN) mean. Actually, MAGAZIN, I knew was "shop" (cf French magasin). With the aid of a Russian dictionary and a Bulgarian web site I have now identified OR'ZHEEN as "gunsmith" or "armoury". That is, of course, unless you know better. If so, please let me know and I'll publish a correction.

The Book Market, Sofia (60K)

Slaveikov Square was the location of the office where I worked. The Book Market which meets in the Square is fascinating. Besides books you can buy music CDs and software.

Note the Macdonalds sign in the centre of the picture. Most Western brands in Bulgaria retain their Roman-alphabet logos, but this Macdonalds sign is in Cyrillic on this side - on the other side it is in Roman.

St Nikolai's Russian church, Sofia (66K)

This beautiful Russian Church with its gold onion domes was built early in the 20^th century.

Back to Photos

	The Roman Amphitheatre, Plovdiv (65K) Maybe it's a reaction against working all day with the latest technology, but I love seeing ancient works of engineering. They're a reminder that ingenuity is not new! Incidentally, Plovdiv is a very ancient city indeed - the Bulgarians are always keen to point out that it was a city before Rome or Athens! The Roman Amphitheatre in Plovdiv is still used in the summer for drama and music. The black objects on the seats are cushions ready to be set out for a concert in the evening. I wonder how many buildings erected in the past 10 years will still be in use in the year 4000?
	The street in Sofia where I stayed (51K) Many foreign visitors to Sofia stay at the famous Sofia Sheraton Balkan Hotel right in the centre of the city, but I stayed in an apartment in this street in the inner suburbs. There's a saying: "Don't judge a book by its cover". If to Western eyes the apartment blocks in this picture look in need of a clean-up, well, maybe they do - many buildings in Sofia are like that. But inside the apartment was clean, spacious and comfortable. A consequence of my staying in an apartment was that I had to go shopping for basic commodities and that is always a challenge in a country where you don't speak the language. It was fun - and the shopkeepers and market traders of Sofia were very helpful, patient - and honest. The picture illustrates an interesting aspect of life in Sofia's suburbs. Because the cars are parked on the pavements (sidewalks), pedestrians have to walk on the roadway.
	The Beer Festival, Sofia (63K) I had always wanted to attend one of those European Beer Festivals with miles/kilometres of tented bars. Finding that my stay in Sofia coincided with the Sofia Beer Festival, I seized the opportunity. While Bulgaria is known for its wine rather than its beer, some Bulgarian lager is excellent. The picture shows the bar sponsored by the Angels Night Club at the Sheraton Hotel (no, I didn't visit it). But I thought that Marilyn Monroe's posthumous presence deserved capture on film. Later in the Festival she was wearing a T-shirt over her dress.
	The Balkan Mountains north of Sofia (49K) North of Sofia the Iskur River flows through a narrow valley which provided the natural route for the main highway and railway to the north. It's a celebrated beauty spot, so one weekend, four of us expatriates hired a car and driver and savoured the delights of rural Western Bulgaria. The Balkan Mountains to the north of Sofia are smaller than the Rhodopes to the south and, as the photo shows, densely forested. The chalet-style houses lend the area a Swiss touch.
	J.J. Murphy's Irish Pub, Sofia (52K) It could be anywhere in the world - but it's Sofia. This was my favourite eatery during my stay. The vast menu is bilingual (English/Bulgarian), the waitresses speak English and the food is excellent. It's a popular meeting place for the expatriate community in Sofia. I do recommend their Irish Breakfast (served all day) and, if you ever get the chance, do try the Bulgarian version of an Irish shepherd's pie.
	The Old Town, Plovdiv (54K) This is one of the Revival-style houses in Plovdiv's renowned Old Town. This quiet cobbled area which looks as though it has hardly changed in hundreds of years is delightful to explore - and it's right next to the amphitheatre.
	The Rotunda of St George, Sofia (55K) I think that of all my experiences in Bulgaria this made the greatest impression on me. Nestling in the courtyard of the Sofia Sheraton Balkan Hotel is a delightfully restored 4^th-century church beside a 2^nd-century Roman street. Sofia was called Serdica in the ancient world. England boasts of its 12^th-century cathedrals, but this is almost a millennium older, built during the reign of the Emperor Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to become a Christian. The Rotunda is no longer used for worship services, but is open to the public as a museum.
	In Sofia the Kentucky Fried Chicken comes in Trabants! (70K) I couldn't resist this colourful scene with the bright red Trabant cars parked around the restaurant that is the headquarters of Sofia's Kentucky Fried Chicken and Dunkin' Donuts delivery service. In the background you can just make out St Nedelya's Church, which stands arguably at the very centre of Sofia. As my knowledge of Bulgarian is limited to a handful of useful phrases that I picked up during my stay, I have long been intrigued to know what the words on the green sign (OR'ZHEEN MAGAZIN) mean. Actually, MAGAZIN, I knew was "shop" (cf French magasin). With the aid of a Russian dictionary and a Bulgarian web site I have now identified OR'ZHEEN as "gunsmith" or "armoury". That is, of course, unless you know better. If so, please let me know and I'll publish a correction.
	The Book Market, Sofia (60K) Slaveikov Square was the location of the office where I worked. The Book Market which meets in the Square is fascinating. Besides books you can buy music CDs and software. Note the Macdonalds sign in the centre of the picture. Most Western brands in Bulgaria retain their Roman-alphabet logos, but this Macdonalds sign is in Cyrillic on this side - on the other side it is in Roman.
	St Nikolai's Russian church, Sofia (66K) This beautiful Russian Church with its gold onion domes was built early in the 20^th century.