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Previous: Skopje (Macedonia)
The bus from Skopje dropped me off at its company kiosk near the train station. There were hundreds of busses and kiosks. It was a complete chaos with no central information service. I walked to the Lions Bridge where I found a clean room with bath at the Sun Hotel for 22 $US. Then, I walked to the centre.
These Stalinist style relics from the past in the city centre are a good place to start our stroll around Sofia. The ex communist party headquarters in the background have now been converted into an office building. The building on the left is still the TSUM department store while its twin on the right houses the Presidential Suites, a casino and Sofia's Sheraton Hotel.
Another relic from an earlier past, the Sveta Petka Samardjiiska Church built in the 14th century.
Close by on Maria Luisa bulevard is the magnificent Sveta Nedelya Orthodox Cathedral built in the mid 19th century.
Further south, Maria Luisa becomes Vitosha bulevard where this building houses law courts and part of the national museum.
Moving east behind the Nedelya cathedral we come first to the Archaeological Museum which was unfortunately closed when I was there.
Then, past the city gardens, we find the Ivan Vasov National Theatre.
Further east, the jewel of Sofia, the Alexander Nievski Church whose crypt holds one of the world's finest collection of ancient Orthodox Icons that I visited when I was here last in 1965.
Not far, on Tsar Osvoboditel street is the Russian St-Nikolai Church shown on the left below.
Moving back to Maria Luisa bulevard we find yet another place of worship, the Banya Bashi Mosque shown on the right.
Just one block away from the mosque can be found still another variation on the same theme, the huge Sofia Synagogue.
In between the synagogue and from the mosque is this fine central indoors market.
Finally we end our quick tour of Sofia with this picture of the open air market in the rain.
After searching through the chaotic bus station early in the morning, I finally found one going to Salonica and took it.
