From Sofia with Love ...

While it may not have the charm of Paris or the energy of Rome - Sofia (Bulgaria's capital city) does have a few attractions worth experiencing.

For a start it has a welcoming statue, the statue of Sveta Sofia (holy wisdom), a monumental copper and brass work overlooking the city. I liked it a lot.

city center - Sofia statue in the background

The capital has a mountain "attached" to it - Vitosha mountain - lovely place for picnics and hiking in summer, ski in winter. The mountain can be seen from various locations in the city, and it's a beautiful sight. It can be reached by car, bus, cable car, chairlift.. I went there by metro+bus+ on foot 250 m to the station called Aleco Hut , which is under the mountain's highest peak ,Cherni Vrah.

on Vitosha mountain; panoramic views of Sofia in the distance

Vitosha is also the name of the main shopping boulevard and pedestrian zone,  the name of a metro line, and that of a district.

The bulgarians seem to respect their past royalty. Several streets in the capital are named after czars (tsar)  and kings (knyaz) : Tsar Simeon, Tsar Asen1, Knyaz Boris1, Knyaz Alexander, Knyagyna Maria Luiza.

They also seem to have respect for public property. Although everyone uses an i-phone, the phone half-booths are still in their place. I even checked a few of these pay phones and they  were in order; apparently no vandalism. However, I haven't seen anyone there making a phone call.

phone half booth

Speaking of booths, one of the three tourist information offices in town is in a.. ..glass booth located in the City Garden. Cute. It was closed when I approached it, but I didn;t mind as I had all the info I needed from the main office at the Serdika Metro station.

tourist info office in glass booth

Food is quite cheap, at least compared to where I come from. There's this  chain of discount supermarkets scattered everywhere in the city, called BILLA ,where one can get good food at a fraction of the price. People buy there some wonderful croissantes for their morning and evening coffee; they even buy lunch as there is a grill facility in the store which offers hot grilled meat patties and other such products.

Billa  store (yellow letters) at the central bus station

The main general market, the big open air one,  named the Ladies' Market ( Jensky Pazar) also sells food , besides selling fruit, veggies,clothes and kitchenware.

Ladies'  Marrket

To all the lovers of roses, Bulgaria is well-known for the quality of its rose perfume, rose oil, rose water, and rose - based cosmetics. Bulgaria is one of the top producers and exporters of the above products.

Sofia has a lot of  souvenir shops, 'rose' items being the major souvenir on demand. Prior to departure, I bought a few souvenirs at the Central Market Hall (Halite). This is a covered, compact market in an historical building on Maria Luiza boulevard, across the big Mosque, and not far from the little streets making up the Ladies' Market.

Halite

More on the bulgarian capital in my next posts (if my computer will let me, and won't give me any trouble).

Attention: Neighbours !

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Qatar, an arab peninsular country in the Middle East, has recently become a Hot item in the news. Its neighbours: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrein,and the United Emirates ( a federation of seven emirates- Abu Dhabi and Dubai being the most known of them) have accused Qatar of supporting and funding terrorism. Qatar denies the allegation. 

The four neighbours have cut off  diplomatic relations with Qatar, closed their borders and issued  demands and ultimatums. Qatar has declared that it won't give in to any ultimatum, and that all demands are rejected as they're a trial to undermine the sovereignity of the nation.

Qatar, (with its capital city Doha) is a land rich in oil and gas, so naturally it is one that attracts great interest, and not only from its neighbours. It has also been chosen to host the 2022 World Cup tournament (Mondial 2022). Now, it seems this Mondial is under great uncertainty .

A stroll in the city  (Web image)

All sorts of factors (Kuweit, USA, Russia, Germany, the UN) are trying to moderate in the above diplomatic crisis so as  to avoid escalation and ensuing instability in the region.
It doesn't seem likely at  this point that there's going to be a joint military action of the four neighbouring countries against Qatar. However, the situation is very unpleasant, not to say explosive.

If indeed terrorism is financed by Qatar, this should immediately be stopped; supporting terrorism in any way is an act of war against humanity.  All the other issues (among them the neighbours' demand to close Al Jazeera TV net ,and  a turkish military base) - are internal affairs to be dealt with by Qatar's government.

In any case, Qatar largely depends on import (including food import). Closed borders, boycotts and this sort of thing, will have a disastrous impact on the country even though Iran and Turkey are behind  with "moral" support and food supply, helping her at the moment defy its neighbours.

Never a dull moment in the Middle East.

* web map

Cool and Soothing 'Green Lung'

The modest fountain in the above picture is not  placed, as most of the traditional ones, in the middle of a town square. This fountain with a circular basin , and straight, perpendicular falling water is located in a corner, a very strategic one - facing two long, busy roads, one of which (Ben-Gurion Rd. ) is dividing two cities (Bney- Brak and Ramat-Gan).

the  perpendicularly falling water

Even on hot days as our summer days are, it's quite cool near the fountain, and the sound of the falling water is very soothing. The whole spot is a little gem with grass, flowers, young trees and benches. It looks well kept - no litter, no mosquitos of any kind. There's no children's playground around, so the spot is usually quiet. It is a place mostly for young couples, teenagers, elderly people, passers by.

a cool, quiet little gem

Whenever I'm in the area I take the time to sit on a bench  and enjoy the serenity of the spot. Behind the fountain there's a coffee shop, one of the many coffee shops belonging to the fine chain called 'Aroma'. It's a pleasure to sit at a table outside the cafe with a cup of coffee and a sandwich and contemplate the fountain and its visitors. 

Aroma cafe with its red sign and people sitting outside

chairs and flowers outside the Aroma coffee shop

tiny birds found some food on a bench vis- a -vis the fountain

This spot is a blessed genuine 'green lung' in an urban area. It creates a much needed balance between Man and Nature, development and environment. We definitely need more of the kind.

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Across the street there's an interesting high  statue exhibit named "the sky is the limit,"  composed of human figures in motion . Like the fountain, this outdoor colorful work of art  gives people not only visual pleasure, but also much food to thought.

'the sky is the limit' statue

Tower of Peace

Frankly, I wouldn't like to live in a tower or near the woods - because of safety reasons, fire hazards in particular (See the latest disasters: Grenfell tower -London, and the forest fires in Portugal ).

I 've worked ,however,in a tower for many years, an office tower in Tel Aviv, called Shalom Tower ('shalom' meaning 'peace' in hebrew). 
I wasn't crazy about the place despite the view of the Mediterranean through my window .  I disliked the dependence on elevators and the impatient crowds waiting for them. I did like, though, its central position and proximity to the sea, city market, cultural and  shopping areas.

Panoramic view ,including the sea, from the 19th floor (not digital photo)

Shalom  Tower ,named after Shalom Meir, father of the tower's two developers, has 34 floors, the lobby and the first floor serving as free art galleries (mosaics, paintings, sculptures), and photo exhibitions (of people, maps, projects..) with emphasis on the city's history and urban development.

mosaic wall

mosaic wall

photo exhibits

photo exhibits

When its construction was completed, in 1965, it was the tallest tower in  the Middle East. Since then, many towers, both residential and office towers have been  erected in  the major cities of the country, some of them of  great architectural beauty.

Shalom Tower seen from adjacent Herzel street

Whether we like it or not, these towers are taking over. There's shortage of land, of housing, of parking lots, of green spots - so we're told - and the towers are supposed to solve these issues.

Let's hope that towers and skyscrapers regardless of place will bring real 'Shalom' ('Peace')  to the people that live/work in them.