Assuming that you’re already in Sofia and want to make a one-day tour to some place that would offer to you some strong taste of Bulgaria – seeing the second largest town in the country – Plovdiv is a must.

A town situated on seven hills, as Rome itself, and maybe older than this famous city . It’s uninterrupted journey through the ages, starts far back in the Thracian times under the name of the Thracian king Evmolpias.

Fiercely attempting to subdue the freedom loving and highly skilled warriors, as the Thracian were, the father of Alexander the Great – Phillip came here in the 3-d century B.C. takes the town of Evmolpias- for some time.

But what lasted eternally was the name of Alexander’s father, which he gave to the town in the form of Phillipopolis (meaning the town of Phillip). The name survived till now day through Thracian translation as Pulpudeva and later Slavic pronunciation as Plovdiv.

Not only the name of the town, but every step of the territory of the present day central part bears the evidences of its continuous existence during at least 25 centuries. Here the restored remains of the  Roman theatre coexist with the fairy-tail living houses of 17-19-th century residents of the Old town(some built upon the remains of the Roman fortress walls) and medieval churches.

And if you have already visited the wine houses and restaurants  in the Old town of Plovdiv, and want to get more in depth familiar with the local tradition in wine production and see and learn more about those who started this tradition decades of centuries B.C.- the legendary and mystical Thracians, there are at least two possibilities to do this in the beautiful vicinities of Plovdiv.  That’s about what may two following proposals are:

the village of Brestovitsa (about 20 km. from Plovdiv) and the village of Starosel (some 45 km from Plovdiv).