Small town Bulgaria
05 Sep 2015I had a really good time visiting Mira's family in Sevlievo, Bulgaria. I am intrigued by the culture and sensibilities in small town Bulgaria.
We started with visiting the old St. Prophet Eliah Church. The last place I was allowed to take photos was the entrance. It was pretty quaint on the inside, but we were not allowed to take any pictures.
St Prophet Eliah Church 
Church entrance
There are a few more churches around the corner, and none are like the churches I am used to seeing in India and in the US.
Another orthodox church 
Yet another orthodox church
Interestingly, the insignia on one of the church doors, often associated with the Byzantine empire, looked a lot like Gandaberunda, the official emblem of the state of Karnataka.
Notice the double headed eagle on the church door 
Karnataka state insignia
As I read up more about it, I discovered that two headed birds are ubiquitous in state insignias and mythologies.
As it turns out, there is a mosque in town as well, but only muslims are allowed in. So this is pretty much all I got to see.
Next, we head to the city center. The old town. Not the most happening place, but nice nevertheless. Mostly clean streets with plenty of space to relax and lounge. Here is a sample of small-town Bulgarian main streets.
The main street continues on with businesses on either side 
Start of a main street in town center largely for pedestrians 
The other side of the same main street. 
Notice the wide sidewalk , and benches to sit on.
The city center also has an impressive statue on a pillar. Apparently, the pillar it stands on is an original Roman pillar from the Nicopolis ad Istrum, and the statue was made in Vienna.
The pillar is from Nicopolis ad Istrum 
Close up of the statue from Vienna
In true European fashion, Sevlievo is also home to some old european houses that once belonged to the rich, but are now run down, but maintained. I remember seeing similar houses in New Castle Upon Tyne, Madrid, and other old cities in Europe.
Medieval aristocrat's dwelling? At least, it looks like it. 
Looks like an old time house whose owner was a rich and influential person.
Interestingly, Sevlievo is also home to one of the oldest clock towers in Bulgaria, built in 1777/1779.
Moving on, the city also has a "palace of culture", which ironically looks rather drab.
Speaking of culture, the town also has plenty of monuments and installations from the communist days. I was surprised by the monotony of these installations. Here is a sample to give you an idea of what I mean.
In fact, it appears that everything was pretty monotonous during the communist days. Sevlievo retains some a of communist-era buildings that served as stores and supermarkets. Here are a couple of them.
For contrast, compare them to the new bookstore that right down the street.
Among all the things uniquely Bulgarian, the most intriguing is the death notice. We are all familiar with the obituary section in the newspapers. In Bulgaria, there are such obituary notices all over town to announce a death, or a death anniversary. For instance, here is a tree that is used as a obituary notice board.
People also post similar notices on the doors of their homes as well, and at times, it is accompanied by a black ribbon tie.
