Plovdiv

Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city and is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in Europe. It was built on Roman ruins which you find scattered throughout the city.

We headed from these first set up ruins up the small streets and entered the old town through one of the city gates. 

Once inside we made our way up a hill to have an overview of the city and to see which parts were which.

old

new :)

Then we snaked through the old town to see all the oldest elements of the city. The coolest part for me where the houses, they are so beautifully decorated with distinct features.

The Church of St Constantine and Helena was built in 337 at the sight of an ancient pagan temple in the acropolis on one of the fortified hills. It is was named after Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Elena. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times and the one that exists today was constructed in 1832.

The Stadium of Trimontium is also found in the centre of the city and was built in the beginning of the 2nd century AD during the reign Emperor Hadrian (117-138).

These ruins are actually found in the newer part of the centre

We also checked out a restaurant that had more of an Ottoman influence and at one point served as a monastery.

We ended the tour on the edge of the old town and city centre near the Church of the Holy Mother of God and the Dzhumaya Mosque. The mosque was built in 1363–1364 on the site of the Sveta Petka Tarnovska Cathedral Church after the conquest of Plovdiv by the Ottoman army. During the reign of Sultan Murad I in the 15th century the old building was demolished and replaced by the modern-day mosque. 

This is also where the more modern pedestrian area begins. It was quite the contrast to what we had just seen.

Of course as it was Easter, the city was all decked out to celebrate!