2010 Trip: Sofia
11th May 2010
Today started by hand washing all of my laundry. Glamorous, I know! It took rather a long time and I started out to the city centre rather late.
My first port of call was the mosque of Sofia, I thought it would be fitting given previous experiences and this mosque was also built (in the architectural sense) by Sinan. It should be noted that Sofia used to be part of the Ottoman empire and 11% of the population is still muslim. It is not of a particularly impressive size or design, yet the inside is beautifully finished with magnificent tile work on the walls. While there is a muslim minority, 86% of the population proclaims their religion as Orthodox Christian.
My next stop of the day was the Hagia Nedelja Church. Now, the western versions of Christianity that I traditional associate as Christian tend to have cathedrals that are light, clean and gray, with domes that reach to the heavens. This church knocks you flat as you enter from sheer smell alone. A heady combination of bees wax and insence surrounds you. The building itself is quite dark, after my eyes adjusted, I understood, the smoke has blackened all of the walls to the point where they are almost black and under the soot, magnificient frescoes are still visible.
The traditional actions of people entering such as church as also far more ritualistic. Firstly, they go to a little shop near the door of the church and buy a number of beeswax candles, whcih they proceed to light, plant, and pray over. Then they approach the iconostasis, a gold covered panel that separates the ordinary public from the altar behind, they cross their chests and pray to icons of specific saints. The icons not only adorn the iconostasis, but usually also on specific stands around pillars and even in their own alcoves.
For those who are not familiar with ‘icons’, in the Orthodox Christian sense, they are effectively glorified painting of a specific saint or religious figure (Jesus, Mary, St. Paul, St. Peter etc). They are often adorned with gold leaf, or metallic halos, or even golden fabric. In many cases they follow a standard painting pattern for a particular saint. The most revered icons are those said to have caused miracles. Maybe ash miraculously appeared on them or touching them caused someone to be healed.
Anyhow, while in this church, I got to witness a baptism that was going on. The Orthodox priests are traditionally older men, and apart from being distinguished by their long flowing robes, they all sport the most exceptional long gray beards. We’re talking Gandolf the Gray here.
After wandering the streets looking at various interesting pieces of architecture, I found myself at one of the least seen but most interesting sites in the city. Greek ruins, on which a Roman cult built a temple, which became a Christian church in the 6th century and has been rebuilt several times since. The original Roman hypocaust system to heat the building can still be seen!
Next off, I stopped at the local archaeological museum. Don’t knock it! Very interesting artefacts, particularly from the nearby Roman settlement. Of particular interest, the museum has a large display of Thracian (8th-4thC BC) artefacts from nearby finds. They promote the idea that Thracian civilisation was actually quite advanced and the finds actually provide pretty strong evidence to back up the assertion. Of particular interest was the treasure room, not only due to the sheer amount of gold in the room, but the quality of the Thracian finds - horse armour, breast plates, drink vessels, jewellery, and weapons.
I lunched on a local standard - shopska salad at a central cafe, the Art Club Museum. Chunks of cucumber, tomato, onion and grated local cheese (rather like feta). In true European style, the oil and vinegar are provided separately. Also, good bread to mop up the dregs.
After visiting the pretty Russian Orthodox church, complete with golden onion domes, I headed towards the cathedral, which is considered the most impressive building in the city.
I was waylaid. It just happened to be the final day of the world championship chess match between Anand and Topalov. I just happened to walk past the building where it was being held. I just happen to be fairly interested in chess. So I walked in and after around aimlessly, trying to find a place to watch, security found me and set me straight. I decided to watch from the next door room on a big screen with a mass of Bulgarians, rather than sitting in which cost a rather hefty amount.
I watched for about an hour, then headed off to the cathedral, before returning to watch to watch the final hour of the match. It was suitably exciting. The Bulgarian challenger, Topalov, made a couple of moves that I felt were rather dubious and the current world champion, Anand, only made one and that didn’t affect him badly. All and all it was a very even game. At one point, Topalov even pulled out en passant and I was like ‘Yus’! In the end, Anand cornered Topalov, and Topalov admitted defeat. It is impressive to watch how far ahead they think, it took Topalov almost a minute to explain the logic of his default to Anand.
Anyhow, about halfway through, I sujourned to the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, a most impressive building of many interlocking domes, gilded in Gold. The inside was incredibly dark and it took a long time for my eyes to get used to it. Huge frescos of scenes from Christ’s life and in the centre of the tallest dome, God appearing from the clouds in an only slightly clichéd form. But yeah, pretty impressive!
Finally for that evening, I had dinner at Victoria’s. I had a rather nice salad with blue cheese and walnuts, followed by tagliatelle with boleutus mushrooms. Again, yum! Tomorrow is going to be a suitably convulted day of travel. I hope it will work out!