In April I was invited to Plovdiv, for the wedding of two dear friends, an opportunity I couldn't miss, first of all because I really missed seeing my friends, and second - I had never been to Plovdiv before. I must admit it, as soon as I got to the city, it was clear to me that it was going to be my favorite in Bulgaria. I took a guided tour with Free Plovdiv Tour and we spent a few hours walking around and learning about the city.
Plovdiv is the second largest city in the country and it's considered to be the cultural heart of it. It was founded around 8000 years ago as a Thracian settlement and when it was later conquered by Phillip II of Macedon, the name was changed to Philippopolis. Then, for about 500 years, the city was under Ottoman occupation, up until the late 1800s. So you can imagine there's plenty to see, do and eat there, since it's got a mixture of influences, from Slavic to Ottoman to Roman.
And if you need more reasons to go, you should know Plovdiv is a European Cultural Capital for 2019, so rush there for a long weekend at least. Here are the most important things to see:
1. The Roman theater One of the world's best preserved ancient theaters in the world, dating from around the 1st century AD, this Roman theater still hosts concerts, from Tom Jones to Devin Townsend. The theater has the shape of the semicircle and it can hold between 5000 and 7000 people. It was rediscovered in the 1970s, due to a landslide and kept in use ever since. It's incredible to think you can go see a performance in the same place and on the same stones that Romans used to.
2. The Roman stadium Built in the 2nd century AD, it's a well preserved construction of about 240m in length and 50m in width and can seat around 30.000 people. It is located under the main pedestrian street of the city and it used to host games and - guess what - it was even flooded sometimes, for ship parades and battles, as it had an aqueduct. Mind blowing. Now most part of it is underground with only the Northern part being visible from the street.
3. The old town and Nebet hill
The old town is an architectural and historical complex, located on three hills, of which Nebet tepe is probably the most famous, as it is where the ancient city was founded (and the Roman theatre can be found in this area as well). Many buildings in this quarter were restored and now you can get a feel of what Plovdiv looked like in the Revival period of Bulgaria (roughly around the 1700 - 1800s), when it became an important economic center. Some of the most beautiful constructions are the Regional Ethnographic Museum, the Balabanov , Lamartine and Klianti Houses; most buildings dating from that period are richly painted with complex floral patterns, glazes ceilings and wooden carved furniture. Also, they have a thinner ground floor and grow in volume as they grow in height, because of - you guessed it - taxes; the larger the surface on the ground, the higher the taxes, so the rich again found a way to cheat that. And of course, servants lived on the ground floor, since the rooms were smaller.
4. The Dzhumaya Mosque Built in 1363 on the site of a cathedral, it was demolished and rebuilt again in the 15th century. This mosque is one of the oldest Ottoman cult buildings in the Balkans and it's still active. What's more, right in front of the mosque there's the Dzhumaya sweet house, where you can find Turkish coffee, sweets and, of course, tea. Had a full breakfast turned into brunch there, the morning after the wedding, with a big group of wedding guests. Amazing baklava and halva, I can tell you that. Spent like 3 hours there, left 2 kilograms heavier.
5. Kapana Literally meaning "the trap", Kapana is the artsy district of town. The tangled streets that are mostly just for pedestrians now bloom with colors and street art. Galleries, workshops, quirky restaurants and bars, creative little craft shops, they all complete the chill, hip vibe of the place. Just so you make an idea on how chill the place is, they even have a specific slang taken from Turkish, ayliak, which kinda means the art of not giving a sh*t and doing everything in a relaxed manner. I could get used to that.