Vidin, Bulgaria

Saturday, August 24, 2024

Vidin, Bulgaria

Aug 1

Today we took a walking tour of one of the oldest cities in Bulgaria.

We started from the pier near the town's pedestrian zone and walked through a park to eventually get to the Baba Vida Fortress. The fortress is known as Babini Vidini Kuli, which means Granny Vida’s Towers.

sail in

start of walking tour

Bdinci Square area - the city center and main pedestrian area

Church of St. Nicholas Mirlikiski Miracle Worker

no inside visit this was through the open door

The mausoleum of the first Bulgarian exarch - Antim the First

small cemetery

Osman Pazvantouglu Mosque

cute library in the park

Our guide told us the story of the “Triangle of Tolerance,” which includes St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, the neo-Gothic Vidin Synagogue and the beautifully preserved Osman Pazvantoglu Mosque, is a celebration of multiple faiths living harmoniously side by side. The irony in that is that the Synagogue has only 1 Jew, so it's not used as a place of worship but a museum.

Baba Vida Fortress

steep area we went up for the views

many of the room were now housed displays

Greg ready for battle

Vidin Synagogue

this dog walked the tour with us - town takes care of the strays by getting them fixed and feeding them

Vidin Synagogue

fox statues in the park

our guide's granddaughter was playing in the park with her grandfather

art gallery

gelato that we scoped out for after lunch

After lunch we set out to explore on our own.

we got better photos without the tour group & afternoon lighting

all of the utility boxes had cute painting on them

we popped into the local mall

Saint Demetrius Cathedral

While the local souvenir shops had lots of magnets, none had both the town and the country name so we went back to the castle where many kiosks were set up that morning. A few had closed but I managed to get one that I liked. I also found a pair of earrings that I liked.