and Nicolai ( from my Mexico trip) who foolishly made an offer I couldn't refuse. Massive thanks to them for their hospitality in their house in the suburbs overlooking a lake, with the mountains around. Only 20 minutes from the centre and very tranquil. (Taken on the last day so no sun, the view from my room.)
Arriving in sunshine ( what is that I hear my English followers say!) Irena very kindly showed me the centre of the city. It is an interesting mix of really very old churches which have been preserved and more modern buildings including a very garish statue of Sofia.
We first visited the cathedral of Alexander Nevski just stunning from the air. I flew over it and missed a photo much to my disgust but it has golden domes and lovely green lower domes and rooves. It is however, despite how it looks, fairly modern being finished in 1913 so centenary celebrations are imminent.
This is not one of my best photos unfortunately but the queue just visible on the right were making obeisance to a lovely silver icon on the left, churches seem to have much smaller windows perhaps due to the climate, hot summers and cold winters so rather dark inside.
Across the road is the 6th century church of Hagia Sophia from which the city gained it's name in the 14th century. Hagia Sophia means 'holy wisdom' and is not as one might expect the name of a female saint. I'm afraid there is some dodgy tourist in the front of the picture again, apologies. The history of the city is exemplified by this church , built on the remains of even earlier ones it survived various invasions being converted into a mosque during Ottoman control when destruction of frescos took place. Two earthquakes in the 19th century left it damaged but restoration was made in the first half of the 20th century and it is now a very serene, calming place, and one of the finest examples of early christian architecture.
Talking of mosques this is the modern main one in the centre as there is still a large muslim population, and this view was taken from a tiny little chapel,
Saint Petka of the Saddlers a 16th century church now sunk amongst the main roads.
Not far away is St George Rotunda, surrounded by blocks of flats and offices and is the oldest church in Sofia being Roman and built in the 4th century. It is surrounded by remains of Serdica the roman town and inside are wonderful frescoes the earliest of which are 10th century, they were only re-discovered last century having been painted over during the Ottoman period, when it too, was converted to a Mosque. No photos I'm afraid so you will have to go visit yourself.
Finally we passed St Nicholas the Miracle Maker church, wonderful name, another vision in green and gold
built at the same time as the cathedral and officially the church of the Russian Embassy on the site of a mosque destroyed by the Russians when they overthrew the Turks.
The following day was cloudy and we visited the church at Boyana (so this is not my photo) now a UNESCO world heritage site (1979). with some restoration and preservation work undertaken before it was re-opened to the public.
The earliest part of the church dates from the late 10th century and has had later additions over the centuries. It is famous for it's frescoes and we were treated to a special guided tour by the steward as visits inside can only last 15 minutes and as the walls and ceilings are completely covered it was quite helpful. The frescoes for which the church is most famous are those from 1259, below is one (also not mine, no photos any more) they are quite stunning and very lifelike compared to many paintings of the same period. Underneath are older ones which can be seen where the second layer of plaster has been removed but are not of the same quality and at one end more from the later centuries.
We also visited the National History Museum and I was reminded how close to Greece they are with many familiar looking vases and statues from Thrace being present. Most extraordinary was a set of gold goblets (everything 24 carat) part of a ritual set from the 4th century BC, the closest I get to a picture is a fridge magnet but the workmanship is extremely fine as you can see from this stolen picture!
and this one from a different collection the classic greek 'laurel leaf crown'.
On my last day I spent some time having a wander and came across this large statue, a very 'Russian' image
I also looked in the shops, it makes a change to be outside the eurozone and prices are cheaper than at home although I didn't find anything to tempt me. Then I visited the Archeology museum which is not too large with many high class exhibits and where the latest gold find was already on display, having only been discovered on 7th November this year, (3 weeks ago) another stolen photo I'm afraid of an amazing circlet/crown. This is before it was cleaned it positively glistens now. This too is dated to the 4th century BC, the Thracians seem to have been particularly gifted in their ability to use this metal.
There is still I suspect much to discover in the country and work is still going on in the city centre built over the ancient city, and they have been keeping ancient stones as they upgrade their Metro system
This is taken of someone working in the station, he is crouched down underneath glass which is part of the floor!
