Hisarlaka Fortress

On the next day after our hike on Ruen, husband and I decided to visit the ruins of the ancient fortress above Kyustendil - Hisarlaka. Kyustendil is a fairly big town at the foot of Osogovo mountain, near the border with Serbia and Northern Macedonia. Hisarlaka was the fortress, built on a hill above town. It was originally constructed by the Romans around 400 AD and was later one of the important medieval fortresses during the Bulgarian kingdom.

Wee were very pleasantly surprised by the exposition of the fortress. It was recently partially reconstructed and is now a very pleasant park, free and open for the public, with alleys, benches and gorgeous tall coniferous trees.

The partially rebuilt walls and observation towers provide a glimpse at the appearance of the place in the past, when it served as an administrative and religious center in the course of centuries, until it was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 15th century.

The walls of the fortress were build using the Roman technique of alternating stones and bricks, bound by powdered brick mortar.

The fortress has been destroyed three times - by the Huns and was rebuilt by Justinian I, then by the Avars and the Slavs, after which it was rebuilt by the Bulgarian rulers, after the region was integrated into the First Bulgarian Kingdom and finally by the Ottoman empire, after the country fell under Ottoman rule and the fortress ceased to exist.

The fortress had 14 towers, of which 3 were reconstructed. The latest reconstruction works were completed in 2014.

I was really impressed how walkable the place is and as far as I understood, there is an eco-trail, making it possible to walk from the town to the fortress. The entire fortress is within a big park with alleys and places for recreation.

 A view to the town of Kyustendil

Krakra Fortress, Pernik

Yesterday we drove to Pernik for the 25th International Festival of Masquerade Games. We arrived in the miners' town early in the morning and after taking a wrong turn and driving in circle for a couple of miles finally found the way to the medieval fortress, built on top of the rocky plateau above the town. The fortress was of major significance for the defense of Sofia (then Sredetz) from attacks by the Byzantine empire and during the march of the crusaders of the Third Crusade through these lands. The fortress was later destroyed and is now under excavation. The forecast promised a sunny day and temperatures up to 10C, but early in the morning the plateau was cold and covered in mist and we were the only visitors. It was so cool, to have the entire fortress to ourselves! The mist gave it a spooky, mysterious and somewhat fairy-tale feel.
I had read some negative comments on the way the fortress was reconstructed and was prepared for disappointment, but the place surpassed every expectation - it is abundant with information boards, there are platforms and a tower for views above the ground, broad visitors' paths, cleared from the snow, benches for rest. We loved it and are definitely coming back in the summer!

Weekend in Kavala

This weekend we decided to escape for a day from the cold and rain and to visit sunny Kavala - a port in Northern Greece, across the island of Thasos, some 320 km from Sofia.

It's early spring in Greece - the trees are coming into leaf, industrial peach gardens along the road are in pretty pink blossoms and the decorative tangerine trees are covered with ripe fruit.

The St. Nicolas church near the port with an interesting mural in front.

Houses in the old town, built on the small rocky peninsula, with charming narrow cobbled streets and houses with hanging loggias.

The statue of Mohammed Ali, founder of the last Egyptian dynasty, who grew up in Kavala. His house is now a museum.

The big and beautiful Panagia (Virgin Mary) church, built right at the very end of the peninsula.

The island of Thasos is right across the sea.

We walked these narrow streets for hours. This one leads down to a small cove, where we had a cup of tea, listened to the waves and the cries of the seagulls and looked out to the sea.

The Halil Bey complex, which includes the red mosque, built on the foundations of an old Christian basilica, the remains of an old minaret, dated around 16th century and a madress (Islamic school).

One of the major sites of Kavala - the Kamares aqueduct, built during the Suleiman the Magnificent period in the 16th century on top of a post-Roman aqueduct. It is 280 m long with maximum height of 24.5 m. Its northern end connected with 6.5 km pipes, which brought water from the Palia Kavala area to the city, feeding the public water fountains, Turkish baths, mosques, etc.

The port of Kavala with a very pleasant sea-side pedestrian area.

Almost all of our pictures from Kavala were taken by hubby on his phone, while the Olympus struggled with focus and diaphragm opening and overexposed the photos :(

A view from the port to the domes of the Imaret - a 4200 m2 Ottoman area for religious, teaching and philanthropic activities, built by Mohhamed Ali in 1817-21 and on top of the hill - the remains of the Byzantine acropolis, built during the first half of the 15th century.

In the acropolis - the watch tower.

A view from the watch tower to the inner court of the castle with the arms and food depots.

The entire wall of the castle is "walkable", which is really cool, the views are so beautiful.

Inside the arms depot, which served as a prison at one time.

The watch tower and the castle wall provide panoramic views over the entire city: