From Gallipoli, we crossed the border into Bulgaria. Going across the border was hell. It took hours as we jostled with the traffic. Our new tour guide, Gert from Albania, explained about refugees crossing from Turkiye into Bulgaria and then on to Western Europe.

Gert was a history and tourism lecturer from Tirhana Uni in Albania and he knew the history of the Balkans like the back of his hand.

It was fascinating listening to him talk about the Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, Austrians, Germans, and the Republic of the Venetians. He filled in gaps in our knowledge of the history and wars in the Balkans leading up to the First World War. He clarified the insanity of that event—the ‘who’s who in the zoo’ during those dreadful days.
We passed through magnificent mountain ranges, driving along golden beaches and sprawling parkland until we came to Sofia, the largest city of the Republic of Bulgaria, with a history extending over seven millennia—one of Europe’s oldest cities.

In the afternoon, a local tour guide took us to the:

  • Alexander Nevsky Cathedral – one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in Europe,
  • Memorial of the blinded Samuil soldiers,
  • St George Rotunda,
  • St Sophia Church,
  • National Theatre,
  • The former Royal Palace, which now houses the National Revival Art Gallery,
  • Ethnographic Museum.

St Sofia’s church was the resting place of the unknown soldier and was guarded by a rather serious-looking lion.

St. Sofia Church with the tomb of the unknown soldier.
Serious looking lion.

The Church of St. George is the oldest surviving building in Sofia used for baptismal ceremonies since 300 AD. There is a section of a Roman street with preserved drainage.

St George’s with Roman ruins.

The collection of works of art in the former Royal Palace, now the National Gallery, covers a considerable period – from the adoption of Christianity as an official religion in the Roman Empire in the 4th century to the Age of Bulgarian Revival (18th – 19th century). It mainly consists of icons and 30,000 works of art.

The next day, we consolidated our visit.

What struck us and silenced the group was when the local tour guide showed us ‘Samuel’s blind soldiers’. Let us explain. First, you need to know about the ‘Battle of Kleidion’:

The Battle of Kleidion took place on July 29, 1014, between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. It was the culmination of the nearly half-century struggle between the Byzantine Emperor Basil II and the Bulgarian emperor Samuel in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The result was a decisive Byzantine victory.
The battle took place in the valley between the mountains of Belasitsa and Ograzhden, near the modern Bulgarian village of Klyuch. The decisive encounter occurred on July 29 with an attack in the rear by a force under the Byzantine general Xiphias, who had infiltrated the Bulgarian positions. The ensuing battle was a major defeat for the Bulgarians. Thousands of Bulgarian soldiers were captured and blinded by order of Basil II, who would subsequently be known as the “Bulgar-Slayer”. Samuel survived the battle, but died two months later from a heart attack, reportedly brought on by the sight of his blind soldiers.

Wikipedia
Emperor Samuel.
The blinded soldiers.

During our tour of Sofia, we realised that we had moved out of the world of mosques into the world of the Holy Roman Empire, the Byzantium world.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is something to behold – a modern, but

Saint Alexander Nevsky was a Russian prince. The cathedral was created in honour of the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, as a result of which Bulgaria was liberated from Ottoman rule.

The Ivan Vazov National Theatre was one of the many interesting buildings we saw in the city.

Ivan Vazov National Theatre: Art Nouveau style, which was all the rage in those days. The plafond and the walls of the auditorium seating 848 were painted by artist Rudolf Fuchs from Vienna. The earliest and the most authoritative of Bulgarian stages, having a rich history, firmly anchored in its traditions, with a commanding and protean presence in the modernity of the present.

The lions of Bulgaria are of great significance and beauty. They have the most interesting looks on their faces!


Being the symbol of Bulgaria, the lion is depicted on the national coat of arms and gives the name of our currency. Since ancient times, it has been a symbol of supreme and divine power, nobility, tranquility, prudence, and justice. During the Renaissance, the lion is the most popular Bulgarian symbol. Even the most beloved national hero, the Apostle of the liberation movement, was nicknamed Levski (of the lion). The lion is also a symbol of the authority of the state and the courage and invincibility of Bulgarian warriors, who fought “like lions” during the wars of the last two centuries. Despite the fact that lions are not typical for the fauna of the region, one can notice many statues of lions peeping from every corner of the city. You can find them guarding the Palace of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior, giving water to the thirsty behind the National Bank, reminding of the boldness of enlighteners, hanged by the Ottomans, or of the courage of the unknown warriors, who gave their lives for the country.

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Tomb of the unknown soldier—guarded by a lion.

There are many beautiful churches in Sofia. This one—St Nicholas the Wonderworker, was particularly striking.

Church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker: The church was built on the site of the Saray Mosque, which was destroyed in 1882 after the liberation of Bulgaria by Russia from the Ottoman Empire.
The Statue of Sofia, erected in 2000, stands in a spot once occupied by a statue of Lenin. Sofia pointed in the direction of our hotel—but we were to learn that Sofia was quite something.

When it was erected, people were puzzled by its aesthetics and symbolism. According to the sculptor Georgi Chapkanov, the 8-metre woman of gilt bronze represents the ancient Greek goddess of good fate, Tyche. The laurel wreath in her right hand symbolises triumph, and the owl sitting on one of her arms represents wisdom, which is a direct reference to Sofia’s name. The statue’s crown is in a style known from Antiquity – it imitates the turrets of a fortification wall and was often depicted on the heads of deities who protected a particular city.
But many ever-skeptical Sofianites disagreed. They saw it as a pagan interpretation of St Sophia, the Christian saint the city of Sofia was named after. Even the Bulgarian Church protested against the “blasphemy.”

Sophia was considered too erotic and pagan to be referred to as a saint, and the statue is still highly controversial. 8.08 meters in height, the copper and bronze statue by the sculptor Georgi Chapkanov stands on a 16 meters high pedestal.
Adorned with the symbols of power (crown), fame (wreath) and wisdom (owl), the crown is also a reference to the Goddess of Fate, Tyche, inspired by the old emblem of Sofia dating back to 1900.[4]. Conspiracy theories were quick to pop up, too. Some claimed that the statue’s face was modelled after the then-mayor’s wife or daughter. Others insisted that it depicted the Semitic demon Lilith, or Satan’s wife, or the Mesopotamian goddess of lust Inanna-Ishtar, or Isis, or ancient Greek Hecate, or a female version of Mammon, or something Masonic, or simply… death.

Tour guide ‘gert’

We loved the fountains and the parks. It was sweltering!

Fountains in front of the state theatre.
Fountains in front of the mineral baths.

Bulgaria’s communist past shows up everywhere.

The soviet statue.

In their struggle to discredit the monument to the point that it would make it insufferable even to its traditional defenders, conservative leftists (yes, the majority of leftists in Bulgaria are as dedicated to what they see as traditional family values as are rightwing conservatives), the haters claimed that the statue of the Soviet soldier actually represents… a woman. According to rumours, the female artist who designed the statue of the virile victor, Vaska Emanuilova, was gay and gave the soldier some feminine features: a tender face and a pair of breasts clearly visible under the military tunic.

sofia Tour guide

The most enjoyable part of our Sofia visit was eating traditional Bulgarian food in the mall and washing this down with a complimentary glass of wine or a bottle of coke, which was followed by a huge bottle of Bulgarian beer—most welcome in the intense heat.

First afternoon at the mall.
Back the next day for the bottle of coke and the beer.

The Romans arrived in Sofia around 29 BC. They built a settlement around the hot mineral springs and named it Serdica (or Serdika). It was strategically situated on the Via Militaris, a major road linking the Eastern and Western Empires, and by the 3rd century CE, Serdica had increased in importance. The city expanded, and there were many new buildings. The Roman Emperor Constantine based himself here: he is reputed to have said, ‘Serdica is my Rome.

The most important and extensive site is the Serdica Archaeological Complex. This was discovered during the construction of the Serdika metro station in 2010-12. Most of the remains date from the 4th to 6th centuries, although some are earlier. The Roman ruins include eight streets, an early Christian basilica, baths and other buildings.

We were fascinated by these Roman ruins—well preserved in many places.

Dedrie found an op shop near our hotel and replaced her top she had lost in Ohrid. I waited outside.

The op-shop