Irina Bokova

On May 5, 2009, as part of their visit to Bulgaria, the participants in the international conference on “Protection of Cultural Heritage and Promotion of Cultural Diversity – a Response to Globalization” visited the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city after Sofia.

The participants in the conference visited Old Town Plovdiv with its characteristic houses from the time of the Bulgarian Revival Period and narrow cobblestoned streets. They had the opportunity to see the diversity of temples and churches in the city famous for its religious tolerance. They paid a visit to Plovdiv’s oldest Eastern Orthodox church, ‘St Constantine and St Elena,’ dating back to the beginning of the 4th century A.D., to the catholic cathedral of St Louis, famous for its oversized cross, as well as to the largest mosque in Plovdiv, “Djumaya”, built in the 14th century. The “Djumaya” Mosque is considered to be one of the three oldest mosques preserved on the Balkan Peninsula.

Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe and a contemporary of Troy. It was founded some 6000 years B.C. and has many well-preserved monuments from antiquity. They visited the Ancient Theatre, one of the best-preserved amphitheatres in the world. It was built in the early 2nd century A.D., during the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan. It was discovered during archaeological diggings conducted by the Plovdiv Museum of Archaeology between 1968-1979.

The participants also visited the Trakart Cultural Centre, which is currently exhibiting ancient floor mosaics dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries from the collection of the Plovdiv Archaeological Museum.

The participants in the Conference met with Georgi Shopov, deputy mayor of Plovdiv in charge of Education, Science, Culture and Tourism. Later that evening, the mayor of Plovdiv, Slavcho Atanassov, gave a dinner in honour of the guests.