Nis, Serbia to Sofia, Bulgaria

Friday, May 16

On our way out of Nis this morning, we stopped at the monument known as the Tower of Skulls.  After the Serbs suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of the Turks in1809, the victorious Turks decided to "send a message" to others who might consider rebelling against their rule.  The Turks beheaded their fallen enemies and embedded their skulls in a tower as a prominent warning and deterrent.  The tower became, instead, a prominent monument, source of pride, and  memorial to fallen heroes.  Originally, almost 1,000 skulls were embedded, but as the elements took their toll and family members identified and  claimed remains of their loved ones, the number has been reduced to 58, and the tower is now protected in an enclosure.

As we crossed into Bulgaria this morning, we entered a new time zone and lost an hour.  We arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, early in the afternoon, picked up some supplies at a market, and checked into yet another great apartment.  Our very helpful host was happy to provide maps and guidance for us and we were soon on our way to the local Metro stop for the five-minute ride to the city center.  The metro system is limited but fairly modern and the stations we saw were clean and very attractive.  The main station even has museum-quality displays of archeological treasures unearthed in recent excavations during subway expansion. 

We walked around the center city for several hours, stopping to visit several Orthodox churches, St. Nedelya, the Russian church of St. Nicholas, and St. Sofia, which dates from Roman times and has had several incarnations, including a period when it served as a mosque.  The beautifully frescoed churches seem to be very active, with worshippers visiting to light candles and venerate icons; we witnessed a couple of baptisms as we wandered on this Friday afternoon.  Sofia's most famous church, indeed a symbol of the city, is the massive Aleksander Nevski Church and its golden domes shone in the sun that finally appeared for a bit this afternoon, after several days of rain.  The church was built by the nation in remembrance of the 200,000 Russian soldiers who gave their lives for Bulgarian independence in a war with the Turks in the 1880s.  The church interior is richly decorated with mosaics and frescoes and many icons are displayed and venerated by the faithful.  While we were there, a service was in progress; we were drawn by the beautiful chanting by four male voices, the prayers of the priest, and his movement around the church with a thurible to incense the  small congregation and icons located throughout the church.

We made our way back to the Metro station, remarking on the variety architectural styles we'd seen -- part Parisian, part Viennese, part Soviet.  The General Assembly and Office of the Presidency offer monumental shows of power, until you check out the small details: at the Presidential Offices, two gaudily-uniformed guards were at their posts, but leaning, ever so slightly against the wall of the building they were supposed to be guarding! 

We enjoyed our first taste of the city and the chance to get the lay of the land, and we'll be back for more tomorrow.