Roman Ruins and Alyosha (Plovdiv ~ Bulgaria)

October 2019

High above Plovdiv city is a memorial that dates back to the Russian occupation of Bulgaria and commemorates Soviet casualties incurred during the Soviet occupation of Bulgaria and was constructed in the 50's. Most of these types of statues tend to be of historical figures. Not so much in this case as it's a machine gun wielding Russian soldier. The monument is known as Alyosha (which we understand is the nickname for Russian soldiers in the same way a Tommy or GI Joe is for English and American soldiers). Don't think the statue is that popular with the locals as it doesn't appear on any of the tourist maps.

Plovdiv is an ancient city built around 7 hills and there is evidence of occupation dating back thousands of years. Evidence of the Roman occupation is everywhere and pity anybody who tries building as they're likely to hit ruins when they do any excavation works.

The most recent major set of ruins found were an amphitheatre which was discovered in a freak landslide in the 1970's. Has since been restored and now used for shows and concerts.

The partial remains of a stadium are also visible (the rest is under multiple buildings) which in it's hey day would have been impressive

The old quarter dates back about a hundred or so years and is pedestrianised and very pleasant to wander around in as I am assuming there are restrictions on what can operate here (only saw a handful of restaurants). But what does make this quarter so striking is the architecture.

Plovdiv is home to a small archeological museum with a mere 100,000 items exhibited which span about 6,000 years and includes pottery and coins fom multiple ages,  a mosaic floor from a 3rd century AD synagogue and gold artifacts from 3rd century BC. The gold is the Panagyurishte Collection and is a table set made from over 6 kg of gold. Think Bulgaria is lucky that the brothers that found it in 1849 donated it to the state. The level of detail on the pieces is simply astounding.

From here we head off to a small spa town and a bit if mountain walking...