Beautiful Bulgaria
Leaving Turkey I arrived in Bulgaria and headed north to the town of Plovdiv for a few days, and then over to Koshov, a small country village in the north.
In Plovdiv there are some Roman ruins and the Old Town. I dumped the bike on a pavement near the 'Old Town' and went to see the Amphitheatre. Its been there since the First Century AD and unbelievably, they still use it for open air concerts. After that I had a wander around the old town and went to look in an old merchants house dating from the late 1700's. It really was very ornate inside. In its original years it must have been very impressive with the superb level of artistry in the carpentry, and the restoration was equally impressive. How the other half lived in the 17 and 1800's...
A few days later I headed to north to Koshov, which is about 25km south of the city of Ruse - which sits on the border to Romania. On the way I stopped at the Buzludzha Monument, which is a flying saucer shaped monument. It was built in 1981 to commemorate the events of 1891 when the Bulgarian Democratic party was formed, eventually becoming the Bulgarian Communist Party. Inside were galleries and displays of mosaics depicting Communist life. When Communism failed in 1991 the building was abandoned and the interior mosaics and displayed were either stolen or vandalised, leaving the building an empty shell. It's all locked up and now and looking rather sorry for itself, which is a shame as it's so unique.
Heading down the hills again I rode north to another monument, just a few mountains away. The Monument to Freedom was built around 1934 to commemorate the battle for Shipka Pass which took place here in 1877. An invading Turkish army of 27000 men was advancing, and all that was in their way were a detachment of 2700 Russian and Bulgarian soldiers. Over three days of close, bloody and brave combat the outnumbered defenders held off the large Turkish Army. Just as ammunition was about to run out a Bulgarian relief force arrived, but it still took another three days of fierce fighting before the Turkish Army retreated.
Near Koshov I went to visit the Church of the Virgin Mary, which is a series of tunnels built high in the cliffs by monks in 1220. Inside are the most wonderful wall paintings, all dating from the 13 and 1400's. Coming down from tunnels you are in a country park and the peacefulness and the variation of wildlife is truly remarkable. I really enjoyed visiting this part of Bulgaria.
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