The church of Sveta Marina would be easy enough to walk by without a second glance. In fact, we almost did, but we decided to visit. It was a very good decision. This was, by far, the most impressive church I visited in Bulgaria.
Browsing Posts in Plovdiv
Of particular note in Plovdiv are its gardens. The parks are huge and are covered in shade trees and gardens. Quite beautiful and a very nice place to just wander or rest.
Plovdiv has a beautiful old town that contains a huge number of museums. So many that we didn’t visit many of them due to a lack of time. However, when going through the museums, it is well worth the time looking around the neighborhood as well.
Bulgaria has a variety of beautiful churches. I’ve already blogged the Church of Saint Nedelya and the Church of Sveta Marina is coming. These are pictures of the outside of the church only. The inside is equally as beautiful, however each time we went by there was an event (either prayer, or a baptism) going on, so I took none inside.
One of the many things to see in Plovdiv is an old roman theatre. It is still in use from time to time, but not when I was there. The entrance fee was a bit higher than most others, so only I went in. On the other hand, the attendant didn’t seem to be paying much attention, so the only places I didn’t go were barred and locked…
The Bulgarian Ethnographic Museum in Plovdiv was one of the better museums we visited during our trip to Bulgaria. It was also one of the few that would let you take pictures, if you paid extra. I paid the extra and think I got my money’s worth. They basically sold you a second ticket for the camera and then you could take pictures. The museum is in a beautiful old building and houses a variety of items. Some looked quite familiar (from the border areas with Montenegro for example) to what can be seen in the Albanian Ethnographic Museum in Pristina.
The Church of Saint Nedelya is located on the edge of old town. It’s a pretty church, but has been badly damaged by a fire. It was one of the few churches where I was able to take pictures inside.
Of the three cities we visited in Bulgaria, we agreed that Plovdiv was the best. Located about an hour east, and just slightly south, of Sofia, Plovdiv had a variety of things to do. It is a very old town that includes a range of architecture from ancient roman to the 1800s and modern day. In fact, while most of our other visits only got one or two entries, Plovdiv will get a variety of blog entries simply because of the variety of interesting places we went in those two days. Those entries will include the Roman theatre, old town, the Bulgarian Ethnographic Museum, and one or two churches. For now, here are some general pictures of Plovdiv.
