VT Times, May 2012

Recommendations

Info

Hidden gem Our quiz meister extraordinaire Kris P. Baykon occasionally gets out, too! In this issue, he tells us about Nikopolis ad Istrum, a very important Roman site. Nikopolis ad Istrum is one of these places that tend to be overlooked, as it’s right on your doorstep. It has taken us over three years to finally get round to visiting these Roman ruins and we are glad that we have finally been. It will definitely be on our list of places to take the family when they next come over. The Roman town of Nikopolis ad Istrum was originally built during the rule of the Emperor Trajan and was in celebration of his victory over the Dacians. This was one of several that he ordered to be constructed across the Balkans. Nikopolis ad Istrum stands for City of Victory on the river. It was destroyed by Attila and his Huns in the fifth century but was later rebuilt as a fortress. On a nice warm Spring day, we pulled up outside of this ancient site and parked next to a dam lake. We were greeted by the usual official in such places, given a brief overview of the history and what we could expect to see. Unfortunately it was all in rapid Bulgarian, too fast for us to take it all in, but there are guides written in English that you can buy. The entrance fee was six leva a head; I think that for children the price is reduced. The entrance is through what would once have been the north gate and from what we could deduce there would once have been a moat. Even the run off from the town streets after a rainstorm would have been directed down to this point. This would have run through culverts beneath our feet, as we walked along one of the main streets. These main streets were paved with large slabs of stone. If you are visiting it is advisable to wear sensible footwear, as some of these slabs are no longer level and it could be quite easy to trip. In typical fashion, these Roman streets are laid out with regard to the cardinal compass points, N, S, E and W. Walking along this main street I was immediately struck by the peacefulness of the place. The only things that could be heard, apart from ourselves, were the droning of the bees and birdsong. “It must have been quite a peaceful place even in its heyday.” There are plenty of carvings to be observed on the various bits of masonry and columns that you see, so the stone masons would have been very busy people. I was surprised to find that some of the inscriptions are still quite legible, even after all this time. I was able to recognise not only Latin but also Greek inscriptions. On one of the grave monuments it was possible to see a face upon a sun: maybe a reference to Helios the Sun god in ancient Greek mythology? Although a lot of the ruins have fallen down or been looted over the years, it’s still an impressive place to visit. You can see the remains of the Odeon, a small theatre, surrounded by the remains of small shops. It’s possible to see the remains of the town’s square and where several civic buildings would have once stood. All of the valuable finds that have been excavated have been shipped off to museums in Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo, including some marble and bronze statues. A lot of bronze coins have also been unearthed, possibly because permission had been granted from Rome allowing Nikopolis ad Istrum to mint their own coinage. Getting there: As you leave Veliko Tarnovo heading for Ruse on the E85, you pass through the village of Polikraishte, after about 20 kms. Just after but before you reach the village of Kutsina, there are signposts for the ruins of Nikopolis ad Istrum. It lies near to the village of Nikyup. Excavations are still continuing, so it might be worthwhile getting in touch with the Tourist Information Office in VT to check that it’s open. Especially during the summer months. 36 All our advertising rates are shown on page 40
Sporting fi xtures Start times in local Bulgarian time Premiership Matches 5th May FA Cup Final at Wembley (17:00 K/O) 5th - 6th May Guineas Horse Racing, Newmarket 9th May Europa Cup Final, Bucharest 9th - 11th May May Festival Horse Racing, Chester 11th - 13th May F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Catalunya 12th May Victoria Cup Horse Racing, Ascot 16th - 18th May Dante Festival Horse Racing, York 17th - 21st May England v West Indies First Test Cricket, Lord’s 19th May Champions League Final, Munich 24th - 27th May F1 Monaco Grand Prix 24th - 27th May PGA Golf Championships, Wentworth 27th May - 10th June French Open Tennis, Paris Did you know … all kick off s 17:00 Bulgarian time unless otherwise stated Tuesday 1st May Liverpool v Fulham (21:45 K/O) Wednesday 2nd May Chelsea v Newcastle United (21:45 K/O) Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur (22:00 K/O) Saturday 5th May Arsenal v Norwich City (14:45 K/O) Sunday 6th May Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur (16:00 K/O) Blackburn Rovers v Wigan Athletic (16:00 K/O) Bolton Wand’ers v West Bromwich Albion (16:00 K/O) Fulham v Sunderland (16:00 K/O) Liverpool v Chelsea (16:00 K/O) Manchester United v Swansea City (16:00 K/O) Newcastle United v Manchester City (16:00 K/O) Queens Park Rangers v Stoke City (16:00 K/O) Wolv. Wanderers v Everton (16:00 K/O) Sunday 13th May Chelsea v Blackburn Rovers Everton v Newcastle United Manchester City v Queens Park Rangers Norwich City v Aston Villa Stoke City v Bolton Wanderers Sunderland v Manchester United Swansea City v Liverpool Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal Wigan Athletic v Wolverhampton Wanderers You can � nd details of all the local football matches here: www.bfstar.hit.bg/prgint.html www.vttimes.net • info@vttimes.net • 088 293 1456 37
Page 1 and 2: FREE Please take one Issue 4 • Ma
Page 3 and 4: Welcome This is my favourite time o
Page 5 and 6: spreads. With a student population
Page 7 and 8: St George: a saint for two countrie
Page 9 and 10: A growing concern ... We are deligh
Page 11 and 12: Useful numbers G E N E R A L FREE C
Page 13 and 14: Work on the web There are also many
Page 15 and 16: And now we REALLY reach the crescen
Page 17 and 18: To Sofia: Fast, direct trains only
Page 19 and 20: Doctors д-р ВЕСЕ МИХАЙЛ
Page 21 and 22: In the night skies … 4th May - La
Page 23 and 24: Ul. Stoyan Mihaylovski tadium kola
Page 25 and 26: every week: dates for your diary: A
Page 27 and 28: Classifi ed ads For sale: Wooden fr
Page 29 and 30: But to start actively trading, rath
Page 31 and 32: To Veliko Tarnovo from Pavlikeni 06
Page 33 and 34: Cryptic crossword kindly supplied b
Page 35 and 36: on getting my motorbikes over; now
Page 37: Letters to the editor … Dear edit
Page 41 and 42: Trade directory Builders / Craftsme
Page 43 and 44: IMPORTER OF THE FINEST QUALITY FOOD

VT Times, May 2012

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?