Sofia:
was founded three thousand years ago, by an ancient Thracian tribe, the ‘Serdi’, and known as Serdica until the beginning of the ninth century. Dramatically ringed by the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Vitosha Mountains to the south, the capital stands on an open plain 550m (1804ft) above sea level in western Bulgaria. Owing to its altitude, the summers are moderately hot and the winters cold and snowy, making spring and autumn the best times in which to visit. The visitors to Sofia will find a typical Balkan mix of Orthodox and Muslim cultures amid a crumbling Eastern Bloc society with an uncertain future. Mass privatisation has come hand in hand with a decline in living standards and initial optimism has been tempered by extreme and growing poverty. A young ambitious professional will pull up outside one of the city’s new chic cafés but across the street a lonely pensioner roots through a dustbin, encircled by a group of stray dogs, all eager for a morsel. However, with an educated populace and a strong desire to see justice and democracy won, once and for all, Bulgaria is slowly but surely regaining credibility and economic stability. The city’s motto, ‘Ever growing, never old’, is as true today as it ever was.
