Plovdiv, in Bulgaria, is one of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited cities and the old part of the city is a maze of cobblestone streets, charming historic houses, restaurants and museums – all largely only navigable on foot.
The city has been a Neolithic settlement, a focal point of Thracian civilisation, a Roman economic centre and part of the Ottoman Empire – but obviously, not all at once. Aware of their rich cultural heritage, even the Plovdivians were surprised one day in the 1970’s when a mudslide uncovered these Roman ruins and ampitheatre dating from A.D. 98. It is now regularly in use and is generally open to the public – but not on the day I was there as they were setting up for a show.
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Such a stunning architectural work wasn’t it? And so hard to believe it was buried for so long!
Imagine finding that !!!!! Quite unbelievable !!
Stunning! That facade reminds me of the library in Ephesus, Turkey. Amazing people the Romans.
How incredible that something so old went undiscovered for so long. It’s in amazingly good shape. I’m always impressed with how well things were built back then and wonder if anything we’ve built will last as long as these structures xx
It’s one of the places I want to visit. One of the kids in Sofia went to university in Plovdiv and said I was really missing something by “leaving too soon.”
Goodness, that must have been one heck of a find! And not until the 1970s! That’s amazing! 🙂
Now Amanda – have you got the right accent? Plovvv-Divvv (deep booming voice). Bulgaria is such an interesting place – next door to Turkey yet so Eastern European. One thing I recall is that our first meal there was pork, after being in the Middle East for 5 weeks! Thanks for a trip down memory lane.