A LOST CITY Under SOFIA | Exploring BULGARIA'S Capital 🇧🇬
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- Опубліковано 26 тра 2024
- Exploring the best places to visit in Sofia on my first day in Bulgaria's capital. My walk around Sofia includes the cathedral & the lost Roman city of Serdica which is hidden under the city centre.
🇧🇬 See all of my videos from Bulgaria here → bit.ly/mwt_Bulgaria
Following a long bus journey from Plovdiv I finally made it to Sofia - the capital of Bulgaria! Once I’d settled into the hotel I headed to the city centre for the first time to do some exploring. I love arriving in new places and immersing myself into the history, landmarks, culture and just trying to figure out what to do and how to do it! I hadn't done much research so the video is a raw, unplanned and spontaneous walk around what turned out to be a cool, captivating and nonconforming city.
I started in a place that used to be called Lenin Square but has since been renamed Independence Square, which is where I found three important buildings nicknamed the Triangle of Power. Just along the street was the small stone-built Saint Petka Church that dates back to the 11th century.
I also found a lost Roman city called Serdica - some of it had started to be excavated and it was thought provoking to wander around the site thinking of the people who constructed the walls and buildings over a thousand years ago. There were lots more Roman ruins to see in the metro station right in the city centre.
After watching the changing of the guards at the presidential building I stumbled upon St. George Rotunda Church which dates back to the 4th century and is the oldest building in Sofia. As I continued my walk around the city I passed the Banya Bashi Mosque, the decorated Ivan Vazov National Theater & the bright yellow National Art Gallery of Sofia - a building that previously served as the acuity baths.
Next up was the magnificent Alexander Nevsky (Saint Aleksandar Nevski) Cathedral where I flew my drone, photographed inside and out, and admired the Neo-Byzantine architecture and styling. Throughout this vlog I’ll visit the following places…
+ The underground city of Serdica
+ An extensive display of Roman ruins currently being excavated
+ The Triangle of Power
+ Changing of the Guards at the Office of the Bulgarian President
+ The oldest building in Sofia
+ The 16th century Ottoman Banya Bashi Mosque
+ The old bath house of Sofia, now a museum
+ The former Communist Party headquarters in Sofia
+ Ivan Vazov National Theater
+ The church that gave the city its name
+ The grand cathedral of Saint Aleksandar Nevski
CHAPTERS:
📖 00:00 Greetings from Sofia Bulgaria
📖 01:04 Independence Square in Sofia
📖 02:06 History of Sofia
📖 02:54 Lost Roman City of Serdica
📖 05:00 Roman Ruins & a Metro Station
📖 06:16 Former Communist Party HQ
📖 06:50 Changing of the Guards (Presidential Building)
📖 07:46 Sofia’s Oldest Building
📖 08:25 Banya Bashi Mosque
📖 08:58 National Art Gallery (Former Baths)
📖 09:40 Ivan Vazov National Theater
📖 09:58 St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
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😶Thanks for the share! Just awesome! 😍
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow i've never been to Bulgaria. Fascinating look, nicely filmed Matt. Hello from Vegas! New supporter # 5.03K plus the bell🔔+👍
Thanks and please keep in touch.
Awesome! Thank you! I've visited Vegas a few times over the years, love the area! Certainly will keep in touch!
Hi Matt. I've been to Bulgaria but I've never been to its capital properly, only passing by, so it was good to see it on your video. It's fascinating that even nowadays they still keep discovering the remnants of the times gone by underground. It still doesn't cease to amaze me how well developed the Ancient Roman civilisation was, they even tried to do underfloor heating using the natural hot springs! It's cool l that they leave it all around integrated with the life of the city.
Hey Olga, I wonder how many Roman places we're yet to discover - it seems that they were everywhere! So interesting! Yes I love how they've done it too, it's certainly a great feature of that underground station, I mean if you have a few minutes to kill then you can check out some of that lost city whilst you're waiting for your train. I really enjoyed my visit to Sofia, didn't really know what to expect but it really grew on me throughout the day.
Another interesting video Matt - Sofia is an amazing city by the looks of it.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes it's one you don't hear about too much but it's a fascinating place.
would have to agree. @@MattWhitingsEurope
Looks a wonderful city and full of history, love the old buildings and sure is a place we would visit , also EasyJet or Ryanair thank god lol cheers
Oh boy! Wizz must have really upset you? I always find that these budget airlines are great when things go to plan but if they don't then you're pretty much on your own! Wonderful city, different from Plovdiv but still very interesting.
2 weeks before I go. Looking forward to it and lots of the sights seem free
Yeah most of them were free which helps if you're on a budget. Thanks for watching and have a fantastic trip!
This intro is 🔥🔥🔥The close ups of the guards, the music, the drone shot (at golden hour?). I couldn't image finding all of these amazing ruins when developing Sofia. Nice luck seeing the changing of the guards. Not often you can get thermal water while walking around a capital city. The Aleksandar Nevski cathedral is quite impressive!
Thanks very much, yes those drone shots were at the end of the day - kinda by accident really but when I got the drone up I realised that the time of day was really adding to the shots. Glad you liked the intro 😄
Hello Matt! You missed another ancient sub-street level place while walking right past it - the necropolis under St. Sophia church dating back to 4th century. The entrance is inside the church and is opened to the public for small fee. Not many people know about this place so it's OK that you missed it.
Ah what a shame, I would have loved to visit it - sounds like my kind of place. Thanks for pointing it out, if I return I'll try and check it out. 👍
The church down is st. Petka
Thanks for the information!
Excellent video Matt, subscribed to your channel great content.
I want to do a day trip flight to a Balkan city, would you recommend Sofia or Bucharest?
Thanks very much, Lewis. Glad you're enjoying the videos! I think they're both wonderful cities, I don't think you can go wrong with either. You'll certainly get a flavour if you stay for a day but consider 2-3 if you want to see all the sights. Hope that helps!
Great!
Thank you! 😀