It's me again - that guy from the strange little country! Still , I am not quite sure what should I bring to the Steemit table. Then again, I promised to tell you tad more about where I live and what I saw during my travelling. I believe there is some food for thought that I can share with you.
In my previous post it was pointed that Bulgaria is a good touristic destination. Now that is a known fact ( more or less :D ). What really catches my interest is that in such a small region ( 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi)) there are more than 40 000 archaeological sites. The numbers aren't official ( I am quoting a Bulgarian culturologist ) because in my country the government never subsidies such endeavours. To be honest, most of the discoveries in this trade were made by construction workers or treasure hunters.
Like this one:
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This is a hotel construction site in downtown Sofia. It went viral because of its location - people started to share photos from their balconies. In the back of the photo (where the construction workers are ) you can see the remains of a wall which most probably was part of a necropolis.
Sofia ( the capital of Bulgaria) , was an ancient Thracian city called Serdica. When the Romans conquered it around 29 B.C. , they made it a centre of an administrative region. This resulted in the construction of turrets, protective walls, public baths, administrative and cult buildings, a civic basilica and a large amphitheatre called bouleutherion.
Those are the remains of the amphitheatre, and no this is not a museum.It's a hotel lobby ( again ). On the other hand, there are many historical sites that did not share this pleasant fate.
During socialist times in Bulgaria my dad was part of the project that had to construct a subway across the city. You can imagine the expanse of the terrain that was dig through. Soon after work commenced many of the forementioned Roman buildings started to pop up from the ground. As my dad's story continues, the information was held a secret from the public. The ruling party thought of two options. One was to construct a glass floor, underneath which the ancient city of Serdica could be observed in it's magnificence. The other option? Bury every evidence of what was found and move on. I know you already guessed what happened. Anyways, this is just a story , right?
Actually the government realised the open-air museum with the glass ceilings almost two decades after the creation of the subway in Sofia. And again it was surrounded by controversy.
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It might seem that I have focused on the negative part of the story but it's not like that. In fact, I am just trying to add something to the luscious advertising that is going on. There are a lot of photographs and articles about sightseeing in Sofia - go check 'em out if you like. Even better, come for a visit to see the beauty with your own eyes. Although the city has its drawbacks, there are many positives around here. The city is full of trees and greens even in the centre
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and public parks are everywhere!
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Also, Vitosha mountain massif is easily reachable by public transport and cable aerial lift. The area is famous for the ski tracks, and hiking and downhill biking trails.
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I think that is enough info to tickle your interest! :) I hope you liked my "blog". I'll be happy to hear what you think about the topics that I mentioned. Feel free to upvote, follow,comment, resteem or do whatever you like. Cya around Steemers!