It has been a fascinating two months in Bulgaria…  I decided to do a retrospective, akin to an exhibition of photos I have played with, made more ethereal, that would capture my thoughts and feelings of the place… oh, and the photo below of the back of the van?  That is a man selling fish in 40 degree Celsius (104 degrees F) heat on the side of the road… Welcome to Bulgaria!

~ Bella

Continuing our drive through the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains…

…and what greets us as we arrive at the Monastery is an array of souvenirs and local produce and more souvenirs…

The Bachovo Monastery was founded in 1083 by Prince Gregory Pakourianos.

…and all of a sudden I am back in America???

OK, this is not what one wants to see on the highway – a truck that appears to be coming toward you!  🙂

Up ahead is Burgas…

…but then, as we left the city, the most beautiful rainbows appeared!

A simply perfect way to end a perfect day!

~ Bella

Welcome to Restaurant Salasha… and the best food I have had since I arrived in Bulgaria – actully, one of the best meals ever!

While we were there, authorities were attempting to quell a fire that was beginning to rage through the mountainside…

22.80 lev = 11.40 € … and there was enough food to share with my driver AND to take home and make a whole second meal!

…alas, we need to leave this gastronomic delight, and head to the monastery…  Click here to continue…

 

On our way, we drove through a town whose entire reason for being is weddings!  This below is a wedding venue, and driving through the town centre, I have never seen soooooooooooo many bridal shops!

Here a bridal shop, there a bridal shop, everywhere a bridal shop!

…and then making the climb up to Asen’s Fortress…

With drops that are almost vertical, the fortress it is impregnable on three sides. It has been used since the days of the Thracians, who fortified it in the 5th century BC.

Asen’s Fortress has seen three periods of substantial construction/reconstruction – during the 9th, 11th, and 13th centuries, with the first small fortress tower being built by the Byzantines.

…time for lunch!    Click here to continue…

What a marvellous day trip!  …all 13 hours of it…  Leaving Tsarevo on the Black Sea coast, we travelled to Plovdiv, the oldest continually-occupied city in Europe, and the fifth oldest in the world.  Older than Plovdiv are Jericho in Palestine, Byblos in Lebanon, Aleppo in Syria, and Susa in Iran.

I did think it interesting that the first thing I noticed on our journey was a billboard for my beloved Vienna!

Oh, and the beautiful flowing fields of sunflowers are now all dead or dying…  Just part of the process of the crop…  it was still sad, nonetheless…

This tree is known as “running man”…

This photo below is from travelbulgaria.news – I wanted to show you what was on the other side of the columns, but since we couldn’t drive anywhere near there, and it was 38 degree heat, I didn’t get to see it in person…

…next stop, further up in the mountains…  Click here to continue…

 

“Sozopol is one of the oldest towns on Bulgarian Thrace’s Black Sea coast. The first settlement on the site dates back to the Bronze Age. Undersea explorations in the region of the port reveal relics of dwellings, ceramic pottery, stone and bone tools from that era. Many anchors from the second and first millennium BC have been discovered in the town’s bay, a proof of active shipping since ancient times.

The town was founded in the 7th century BC by Greek colonists from Miletus as Antheia. The town established itself as a trade and naval centre in the following centuries and became one of the largest and richest Greek colonies in the Black Sea region.” [Wikipedia]

 

 

 

The Archaeological Museum of Burgas (or Археологически музей Бургас in Bulgarian) is the oldest museum in Burgas city – and that was our destination for the day’s outing!

I hadn’t had breakfast so my trusty driver said I just had to have a “kebabscka” (at least that’s how I heard it)…  YUM!!!  It’s basically a Bulgarian hot dog, but with an incredibly tasty sausage – and the tomato sauce was soooo rich and creamy and smooth……… yuuuuuuummmy!

Those fields….?  Wildflowers near then road and then… All SUNFLOWERS!!!!!  For as far as the eye can see!!!

We stopped for lunch at the cafe beside the museum…

So many choices!

I never did understand why people put ice in wine… until I discovered here they do not refrigerate the wine!

My trusty driver.

I was fascinated by the side of this building – obviously one part has been demolished… but there are only supporting metal gizmos in some placecs…

Sharing some local calamari…

This glass was extraordinary!!!  Over TWO THOUSAND years old!

After the museum and back into the ridiculous heat, a gelato was in order to fortify one for the walk back to the car…

Coffee dispensing machines are EVRYWHERE in Bulgaria – even in small towns…

On the way back, we stopped at a local fruit and vegetable stall for some delicious supplies…

This is another example of traditional Bulgarian housing from the 19th century…

~ Bella

…continued..

 

Yes, that is a ‘beware of camel’ sign…

Despite the heat, it was a truly lovely day!

Depending upon the weather, I may revisit Nesebar before I leave, this time going in to explore the city itself, as opposed to just what I could see from the air-conditioned vehicle…

~ Bella

Friday, I headed about one and a half hours north to the UNESCO world heritage site – the ancient city of Nesebar.

There is a massive seawall that was constructed at the end of the 19th century.

According to my driver, this tiny little boat and its owner sailed solo around the world.

Reminds me of “the boy who cried wolf” – these are everywhere…  One sees them so often, it somewhat defeats the original intent, one might think…

Welcome to Nesebar!

…and across the causeway…  Nesebar!

Not much is known about this windmill, but it is thught to date somewhere between the 17th and 19th centuries.

“Situated on a rocky peninsula on the Black Sea, the more than 3,000-year-old site of Nessebar was originally a Thracian settlement (Menebria). At the beginning of the 6th century BC, the city became a Greek colony.

The city’s remains, which date mostly from the Hellenistic period, include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo, an agora and a wall from the Thracian fortifications.

Among other monuments, the Stara Mitropolia Basilica and the fortress date from the Middle Ages, when this was one of the most important Byzantine towns on the west coast of the Black Sea.

Wooden houses built in the 19th century are typical of the Black Sea architecture of the period.”

[Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/217/]

…reminds me of being back in Mississippi!

…continues in next post…