An amazing time in Sofia, Bulgaria

 I was curious to visit Sofia... with no high expectations. However it is a very walkable green city with lots of history. Staying centrally helps! The Grand Hotel Sofia is in a fantastic location, just around the corner from the National Theatre.

A little further along is the Russian Church. of St Nicholas.........

Then round the corner the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.........

Saint Sophia Basilica was just across the street............

underneath one can see vestiges of older construction back to the 4th C Roman times..........

The Eastern Orthodox Church Rotunda of St George from the  4th C was just a very short distance away....... amazingly the area around the church had been totally bombed and now it is surrounded by newer buildings....... but the church itself wasn't touched!

The roman ruins alongside the Rotunda  continued on...... the old Roman city Serdica...... was discovered when building the subway in the city.

The eastern Roman gate to the city of Serdica...... shows the original roman road...

It even shows the remains of a Basilica thought to have had a church conference in 343.... and it was perhaps at that time there was a schism between the Roman Christians and the Eastern Orthodox bishops.

Before going to Sofia I had no idea it had played an important part in the Roman Empire! It actually was the crossroads of Europe!

.... in the center of all the Roman ruins is the Sofia monument...it replaced that of Lenin...

Just up the road  from the monument is the very active Banya Bashi Mosque...... the only functioning mosque in Sofia.

Just one block away the Synagogue.........

and again around the corner the Catholic Cathedral.....

All these religions seem to be happily co-existing!

The buildings were also interesting.....some from the Communist era......

some a little prior.......

There were beautiful small green parks everywhere......

...and we had to see the changing of the guard in front of the Presidential palace......