25 October 2023, Plovdiv, 32.16km
Pai Hostel 40lev [R400]

We are in Plovdiv and are in love! 
Plovdiv, inhabited for over 8,000 years, is the oldest *continuously inhabited* city in Europe. 
Bulgaria's second biggest city (population 348,000) lies along the north and south banks of the Maritsa River in the southern part of the alluvial Plain of Plovdiv. There used to be seven granite(ish) hills in the city, but one was destroyed and the material used to construct the city's streets. 
On this, our first afternoon in the city, we just wandered and wondered at all Plovdiv has to offer, including a Roman stadium built during Hadrian's reign in the second century, which lies beneath a pedestrian street, part of it excavated and visible from street level. 
I offer a visual cacophony, promising more information tomorrow. Enjoy! 
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*"There is evidence of habitation in the area dating back to the 6th millennium BCE, when the first Neolithic settlements were established. The city was subsequently a local Thracian settlement, later being conquered and ruled also by Persians, Ancient Macedonians, Celts, Romans, Byzantines, Goths, Huns, Bulgarians, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks."