| "COSMOPOLITAN", "ARISTOCRATIC" AND | | | | BC and named it after himself. The recently |
| "ARTISTIC" ARE ONLY A FEW OF THE | | | | renovated Dzhumaya Mosque also rises nearby. |
| EPITHETS THAT BEFIT PLOVDIV. | | | | One of the oldest in the Balkans, it it appeared |
| The excessive use of superlatives usually raises | | | | several dacades after the Ottomans took the |
| eyebrows and quite rightly so. But Plovdiv is an | | | | city in 1364. Before that crucial moment, |
| exception. You can safely say that it is one of the | | | | Pluvdiv-Philippopolis was an apple of discord |
| most ancient, most aristocratic most | | | | between the Bulgarians and Byzantines. Their first |
| cosmopolitan, most picturesque and most artistic | | | | war for it was in 812, when Bulgarian Khan Krum |
| cities in this country. Oh, and one of the most | | | | conquered it. The conflicts continued until 1344, |
| important too.. | | | | when Emperor John 5 Palaiologos gave it to |
| Each of the superlatives above has its justification. | | | | Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander as a reward for the |
| Situated on the shores of the Maritsa in the | | | | help he got from him when fighting for the |
| Upper Thracian Valley, the city occupies a spot, | | | | throne. |
| which people found suitable for habitation 8,000 | | | | From Dzhumayata, you can go in several |
| years ago and build a prehistoric settlement on | | | | different directions. On Sahat Tepe, you will see a |
| Nebet Tepe Hill. The surrounding valleys wre fertile | | | | string of old urban architecture, the largest |
| and the important route from the Bosporus to | | | | protestant church in Bulgaria and, on top of the |
| Central Europe passed through it. The Romans | | | | hill, one of the oldest clock towers in the Balkans, |
| called it Via Diagonalis while for the present-day | | | | built in the 16th Centure. |
| bureaucrats it is Pan-European Transport Corridor | | | | However, Plovdiv's most picturesque area lies uphill |
| 4. | | | | behind the mosque. Built in the 18th and 19th |
| It is as difficult to briefly describe Plovdiv's history | | | | Century, the houses from a maze of colorful |
| as it is to write a synopsis of War and Peace: in | | | | walls and decorative alcoves, called alafrangi with |
| both cases the details will be lost and they are | | | | murals painted on them and overhung by bay |
| what we find the most interesting. | | | | windows and heavy roofs. Behind the wooden |
| An easier solution is to go to the city centre and | | | | walls, you will find art galleries, cafes, museum |
| let the buildings and the people around you act as | | | | (don't miss the Ethnographic Museum in |
| a kind of guidebook.For example, the exquisite | | | | Kuyumdzhievata House) and historic houses. The |
| houses from the end of the 19th and the | | | | best-known of them is Lamartinovata House. |
| beginning of the 20th Century lining the main | | | | French poet Alphonse de Lamartine stayed behind |
| street, named after Knyaz Alexander 1, are a | | | | its ochre-covered walls for three days in 1833 |
| reminder of the first years following the liberation | | | | while travelling across the Orient. |
| of the city from Ottoman rule. After the Treaty | | | | Whatever course your walk takes I the maze of |
| of Berlin of 1878, Plovdiv became the capital of | | | | Old Plovdiv, sooner or later you will come across |
| Eastern Rumelia, an autonomous province under | | | | an unexpected view: an ancient theatre. Although |
| Ottoman suzerainty. | | | | it was builtn the 2nd Century and lay buried under |
| On 6 September 1885 it joined the independent | | | | people's homes in the Middle Ages and the |
| Principality of Bulgaria - an even still celebrated as | | | | Bulgarian Revival, today it again serves its |
| Unification Day. | | | | purpose: its stage is used for concerts and |
| The main street takes you to Dzhumayata | | | | theatrical performances. |
| Square, where several epochs of the city's past | | | | Plovdiv boasts a much more spirited and diverse |
| come together. In its centre lie the remains of a | | | | cultural life, however. Even if you miss the |
| Roman stadium from the 1st Centry AD, a | | | | festivals, exhibition and days of culture that |
| reminder of the time when Plovdiv was known as | | | | abound in the local culture calendar throughout the |
| Philippopolis and was the capital of the Roman | | | | year, you can always fell Plovdiv's artistic |
| province of Thrace. Near it stands the statue of | | | | atmosphere. You should just go into an art gallery |
| Philip 2 of Macedon. Alexander the Great's father | | | | in the Old city duringthe day or one of the clubs, |
| conquered the Thracian city of Pulpudeva in 342 | | | | at night. |
