The mosque Banya Bashi

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The mosque Banya Bashi is situated in the center of Sofia, on Maria Luisa boulevard. It was built by the initiative and with the financial support of Mullah Effendi Kada Seyfullah and is also known as Mollah Effendi Mosque. It was designed by the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, who also built the mosque of Sultan Selim on Edirne and the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul.

Because of the number 974 above the entrance arch, the mosque is considered to be built in 974, the Hijri (Islamic calendar) or in 1566 – 1567 AD. The main building has a square shape and four corners and one central dome, and a minaret. There is an outhouse (tetimme) with three small domes in the front part of the complex, built in memory of Kada Seyfullah Effendi’s wife.

The mosque was built in accordance with the trends in architecture in the 16th century. It was made of stone and bricks. There are small towers on the four floors, under which the supporting facilities descend through hoops.

The prayer hall and the arches are completely made of stone. The columns were carved of one full stone piece and are of opaque color, the dome is lead-plated.

Nowadays, a public worship with about 500, and during Bayram – with nearly 1,000 believers, is carried out every Friday in the mosque.

The Synagogue in Sofia

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The Sofia Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Southeastern Europe, one of two functioning in Bulgaria and the third-largest in Europe.

Constructed for the needs of the Bulgarian capital Sofia’s mainly Sephardic Jewish community after a project by the Austrian architect Friedrich Grünanger, it resembles the old Moorish Leopoldstädter Tempel in Vienna and was officially opened on 9 September 1909 in the presence of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Prior to the construction of the new synagogue, the lot in central Sofia had been occupied by an older synagogue.

One of the architectural monuments of Sofia, the synagogue, located in the very centre of the city near the Central Market Hall, can accommodate 1,300 worshippers. The Sofia Synagogue’s main chandelier weighs 1.7 tons and is the largest in the country.

The architectural style is essentially Moorish Revival, with elements of the Vienna Secession and, in the facade, Venetian architecture. The main premise has a diameter of 20 m and is 31 m high. It is topped by an octagonal dome. The interior is richly decorated, featuring columns of Carrara marble and multicoloured Venetian mosaics, as well as decorative woodcarving. The entire building takes up 659 m².

Since 8 May 1992 the Sofia Synagogue also houses the Jewish Museum of History, which includes the Jewish Communities in Bulgaria and the Holocaust and the Salvation of the Jews in Bulgaria expositions. A souvenir shop is also in operation.

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Women Market

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The Women’s market is one of the main markets in Sofia. It is located in the center near the Lion’s Bridge. The old name of the market is “George Kirkov” and other former names were “Wheat Market” and “Horse Market.” It exists even before the liberation from Ottoman rule in 1878.

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The house of Ilka Popova

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Ilka Stefanova Popova is a Bulgarian opera singer, mezzo-soprano. She was born in 1905 in Sofia in the family publicist Stephen Mavrodiev. In 1913 she started singing in a children’s amateur choir, and from 1921 studied opera singing with Ivan Vulpe at the State Conservatory. The following year, only seventeen, she debuted at the Sofia Opera in the role of Amneris in the opera “Aida” by Giuseppe Verdi. After graduating in Sofia she continued her studies in Italy, Austria and France. In 21 years working at the Grand Opera in Paris and achieved international renown. She is the first Bulgarian singer, sang in the opera La Scala in Milan. She died in 1979.

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St Ivan Rilski Church

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Saint Ivan of Rila (876 – c. 946) was the first Bulgarian hermit. He was revered as a saint while he was still alive. The legend surrounding him tells of wild animals that freely came up to him and birds that landed in his hands. His followers founded many churches in his honor, including the famous Rila Monastery. Today, he is honored as the patron saint of the Bulgarian people and as one of the most important saints in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

He is traditionally regarded as the founder of the Rila Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site regarded as one of Bulgaria’s most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments.

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Lions’ Bridge, Sofia

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The bridge was built in 1889 from stone at the place of an older bridge called Sharen Most (Шарен мост, “Motley Bridge”) because it was decorated with red and yellow stripes. The name of Lions’ Bridge comes from the four bronze sculptures of lions, its most recognizable feature. All metal elements of the bridge were produced by the Austrian company of Rudolph Philipp Waagner, and electric lights were installed in the early 1900s. The entire construction of the bridge cost 260,000 golden leva.
The bridge is over Vladayska river at the intersection of Maria Louisa Blvd and Slivnitza Blvd, and it connects the central railway station and the central bus station to the city center. The bridge is one of the sightseeings in the city. Right next to it is located the Lion bridge square.

Under the bridge is located the self-named metro station.
There are projects for huge reconstruction of the bridge to take place. The plans are for the intersection to become two-level.

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The House of Stefan Dichev

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Born and raised in Veliko Tarnovo, in 1938, the writer Stefan Dichev graduated from high school in his hometown, and then studied civil engineering in the Czech Republic (then Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia). He graduated in law from Sofia University in 1943, where his affinity for political-science was provoked, but after the 9^th of September’s coup he devoted himself to writing and editorial work.

Stefan Dichev was the director and cofounder of the Bulgarian language series “World Classics” of “Folk Culture” publishing house. After approving the release of “Master and Margarita” by Bulgakov before its release in USSR, he was fired. From 1962 to 1990 he was editor of its youth-based magazine “Cosmos”.
It is located on 17, Midzhour Str.

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The monument of the First Balkan War Victims

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The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria) against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success. As a result of the war, almost all remaining European territories of the Ottoman Empire were captured and partitioned among the allies. Ensuing events also led to the creation of an independent Albanian state. Despite its success, Bulgaria was dissatisfied over the division of the spoils in Macedonia, which provoked the start of the Second Balkan War.

The Treaty of London ended the First Balkan War on 30 May 1913. All Ottoman territory west of the Enez-Kıyıköy line was ceded to the Balkan League, according to the status quo at the time of the armistice. The treaty also declared Albania to be an independent state. The human loss for Bulgaria totaled 87 000 people, including 14 000 killed in battle, 18 000 diseased, 50 000 injured and more than 3 000 disappeared

Hristo Botev Monument

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Hristo Botev  (6 January 1848 – 1 June 1876), born Hristo Botyov Petkov, in Kalofer, was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary. Botev is widely considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero.

In 1885 a commemoration committee was founded on the date of Botev’s death 1 June. He saw the a radical revolution as the only possible tool for liberation. Soon Botev became a mythical figure in the Bulgarian National Revival, and is even today commemorated as one of the two greatest Bulgarian revolutionaries alongside Vasil Levski.

Every year at exactly 12:00 on 2 June, air raid sirens throughout all of the country resonate for a minute to honour Hristo Botev and those who died for the freedom of Bulgaria. People everywhere stand still for 2 to 3 minutes until the sirens are stopped.

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Temple St. Konstantin and Elena

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The idea of building a temple dated 1999. After the formalities and elaboration of the project were completed, in August 2003 the beginning of construction of the temple was launched. Construction is done with the blessing of the Sofia Holy Bishopric and personal support of His Eminence Nikolay (then vicar bishop of Sofia Holy Bishopric).

The consecration of the Temple was on 8 October 2006 by His Eminence Nikolay, in the presence of Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov, in the Vatican built relics of St. Tryphon. Later that day was welcomed a piece of relics of St. George. Currently, the temple is open all day, performing Sunday and festive liturgies. Chairman of the church board is a priest Vasilii Vassilev.

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