15 Days Serbia Kosovo Albania Macedonia Bulgaria 2015 Tour
Pictures taken from 15 to 29 October 2015 during the above tour
covering following places:
SERBIA
Belgrade - Marshal Tito’s Grave, Church of Saint Sava, Kalemegden Fortress, Parliament Building. Old Palace,
Knez Mihailova Street
Novi Sad - Petrovaradin Fortress, Dunavska Strreet, Saint Mary Cathedral, Clock Tower
Nis - Nis City Centre, Fortress Of Nis
Presevo
KOSOVO
Prishtina - The Mosque of Sultan Mehmet Fatih ,
Monument of Brotherhood and Unity, Skanderbeg Square,
Mother Teresa Cathedral, Kosovo National Library
Pec - Monastery of the Patriarchate of Pec
Decani - Visoki Decani Monstery
Prizren - The Prizren League House
ALBANIA
Shkodra - Rozafa Castle, Old Town
Kruja - Kruja City, Kruja Castle, Skanderbeg Museum
Tirana - National Museum, Skanderbeg Square
Durres
Berat - Berat City, Berat Castle, Onufri Museum, Cathedral of Saint Mary
Mangalemi Neighbourhood
Apolonia Archaeological Park
Elbasan City, Elbasan Castle
MACEDONIA
St Naum Monastery, Water Museum
Ohrid - Ohrid City, Church of St. Sophia,
St. Clement’s Monastery of St. Panteleimon, Church of St. John at Kaneo
Mavrovo National Park,
Skopje - City centre, Skopje Fortress (Kale), The Church of the Holy Saviour, 15th Century Stone Bridge, Alexandre the Great Statue,
Philip Statue
BULGARIA
Rila - Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila
Plovdiv Old Town, Ethnographic Museum, Ancient Roman Theatre,
Plovdiv city Main Street (ancient Philippopolis)
Kazanlak (town in Stara Zagora Province) eastern end of rose valley
Arbanasi
Veliko Tarnovo - Tsarevets Fortress
Sofia - Sofia City Centre, St. Petka Samardjiyska Church, Statue of St. Sofia, (erected yr 2000 replacing Lenin statue),
Serdica Roman Fortress walls, Church of St George, Sofia,
The National Art Gallery (former royal palace),
The Ivan Vazov National Theatre, St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Music: from YouTube Mix of Carmen Cavallaro
First Bulgarian Empire | Wikipedia audio article
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First Bulgarian Empire
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SUMMARY
=======
The First Bulgarian Empire (Old Bulgarian: ц︢рьство бл︢гарское, ts'rstvo bl'garskoe) was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed in southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 681 when Bulgar tribes led by Asparuh moved to the north-eastern Balkans. There they secured Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. At the height of its power, Bulgaria spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the Adriatic Sea.
As the state solidified its position in the Balkans, it entered into a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantium's chief antagonist to its north, resulting in several wars. The two powers also enjoyed periods of peace and alliance, most notably during the Second Arab siege of Constantinople, where the Bulgarian army broke the siege and destroyed the Arab army, thus preventing an Arab invasion of Southeastern Europe. Byzantium had a strong cultural influence on Bulgaria, which also led to the eventual adoption of Christianity in 864. After the disintegration of the Avar Khaganate, the country expanded its territory northwest to the Pannonian Plain. Later the Bulgarians confronted the advance of the Pechenegs and Cumans, and achieved a decisive victory over the Magyars, forcing them to establish themselves permanently in Pannonia.
During the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Simeon I achieved a string of victories over the Byzantines. Thereafter, he was recognized with the title of Emperor, and proceeded to expand the state to its greatest extent. After the annihilation of the Byzantine army in the battle of Anchialus in 917, the Bulgarians laid siege to Constantinople in 923 and 924. The Byzantines, however, eventually recovered, and in 1014, under Basil II, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Bulgarians at the Battle of Kleidion. By 1018, the last Bulgarian strongholds had surrendered to the Byzantine Empire, and the First Bulgarian Empire had ceased to exist. It was succeeded by the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185.
After the adoption of Christianity, Bulgaria became the cultural center of Slavic Europe. Its leading cultural position was further consolidated with the invention of the Glagolitic and Early Cyrillic alphabets shortly after in the capital Preslav, and literature produced in Old Bulgarian soon began spreading north. Old Bulgarian became the lingua franca of much of Eastern Europe and it came to be known as Old Church Slavonic. In 927, the fully independent Bulgarian Patriarchate was officially recognized.
The Bulgars and other non-Slavic tribes in the empire gradually adopted an essentially foreign Slavic language. Since the late 9th century, the names Bulgarians and Bulgarian gained prevalence and became permanent designations for the local population, both in literature and in common parlance. The development of Old Church Slavonic literacy had the effect of preventing the assimilation of the South Slavs into neighbouring cultures, while stimulating the formation of a distinct Bulgarian identity.