Free mineral water: the springs at the Banya Bashi

For a while this was my favourite place in Sofia; also one to which I was taking all the newcomers to show it to them as one of the city's attractions. Although rough and scruffy, the Banya Bashi area is where one can observe the powers of nature at work: the thermal Mineral Springs.

There is no shortage of springs in Bulgaria. They come in all temperatures, flavours, scents and mineral compositions. In Sofia region alone mineral springs provide around 500 litres of water per second. There are several of them in Sofia; quite a famous medicinal one can be found next to Lake Pancharevo.

The springs next to Banya Bashi, however, are right in the centre of the city; and they are hot, robust and plentiful. The flowing water is organised into some thirty taps that run continuously day and night as if they were little fountains. The temperature of the water is perhaps enough to brew oneself a cup of tea with it.

The place is always full of people: drinking; washing their hands; filling up large plastic bottles to bring home. There are also homeless people washing themselves and doing their laundry. The city's pigeons and cats make sure they get their share too. The access to the water is open to everyone.

Right next to the springs there is a busy tram stop. So far, even in the middle of the night, I have not yet seen the place empty. I like to wait there during the more quiet times of the day; when one can hear the water running, and, if it's cold enough, see the steams. Even if the area is kept neither very clean nor too beautiful it has a surprisingly nice feel to it. It is not the most photogenic place in the world so my advice would be just to go and experience it.

These springs have been in use since at least the Roman times, perhaps even earlier. From the more recent times the roughly a hundred year old yellow building of Central Mineral Baths remains in the neighbourhood. The building used to be a public bathing place up until the late 1980s - it used the readily-warm water straight from the springs.

Today the house is gradually decomposing, although there are some plans to reanimate it and to make it a bathing place again (this time, though, within there would be a 'top notch spa' and a gallery). Noone is certain about how long the renovation is going to take but, as a foreigner, I can say that I would be one of their regular visitors.  

 


The former Central Mineral Baths' building, waiting for the renovation.

Text and photos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.

Etara, the water-powered crafts' village

The smoke, Etara.

Etara (Etar) is an ethnographic village located 8 kms south from Gabrovo, up the river Yantra.

Although officially an open air museum, the whole complex is a vivid hybrid of craftsmen & artisans at work in their shelters (you may watch them, ask them questions, and buy their ready produce right there on the spot); traditional food kiosks & restaurants; and a whole street of traditional 'National Revival' style houses.

Entry to the street of traditional houses.

Each house on the said street is a mini museum depicting how traditional homes of various craftsmen (ironmongers, tanners, silversmiths, carpenters, weavers, to mention a few) looked like back in the day - typically, with working spaces & shops downstairs, and sleeping quarters upstairs.

At the end of the said street there is a large hotel, built in the same style, offering the option to sleep at the museum. If you are not lucky to secure a room in this hotel do not worry as there are several other guesthouses in Etara, outside the ethnographic complex.

Some of the craftsmen shelters.

All the machinery of the artisans is run by water power - the old-fashioned way. The machines are made mainly of wood and iron, and you are welcome to observe their mechanics, e.g. how a water stream spins a large wheel that connects to a wood carver's lathe, or how a saw, all by itself, slices through a long log. 

Lazar Donkov, the initiator of Etara crafts' village.

Etara crafts village was initiated back in the 1960s by the local artist and ethnographer Lazar Donkov. Although it was intended to demonstrate the traditional ways of the past, it becomes relevant nowadays, as the tendencies towards self-sustainability, zero carbon footprint, small scale production increase. It is a good place to get some ideas, not only to learn about the past.

Several times a year, the village hosts popular festivals & culture events. Meanwhile, outside the crowded days one may equally appreciate the village's beautiful settings, inhale the smells of smoke (among other things, prunes are being smoke-dried here to make the Gabrovian chocolate); wood; leaves and flowers; and listen to the ever present water. 

Watch water at work in Etara:

 Spinning a power wheel.

Sawing a log.

Doing the laundry. 

(The latter one could as well be a spring water jacuzzii).

 

Text, photos and videos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.



Underwater Thracian city of Seuthopolis

View from the Shipka Pass, Stara Planina mountains, Bulgaria. The Koprinka Reservoir that covers the city of Seuthopolis is on the plane in the far distance, a bit to the right. The plane is also known as 'the Valley of the Thracian Kings'.

In the previous post I wrote about the Thracians, the ancient inhabitants of Bulgaria, and mentioned the 'Valley of the Kings' in Central Bulgaria (nowadays also a major Rosa Damascena producing region) - the place where a big concentration of the remaining Thracian architectural constructions can be found.

One of such constructions is the Thracian city of Seuthopolis (4th century BC) - shamefully, put underwater by the communist government. To be more precise, it was discovered in 1948 during the building of the Koprinka Reservoir (dam of the Tundzha river) - and it was marked as the best preserved Thracian city to date - but it was decided to continue with the industrial works anyway and the city was flooded with water.

Now Seuthopolis is about 20 metres underwater. There are no organised diving tours to the site as far as I know but the Bulgarian architect Zkeko Tilev has proposed a plan (one worth at least 50 million euros) to re-claim Seuthopolis from underwater and to make it a major tourist attraction (as well as that the move would enable Seuthopolis to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site status).

According to the plan, a circular wall around Seuthopolis would be built within the dam - one, similar to those used in archaeological sea excavations - then the water from inside the wall removed. The city would become a 'deep' island within the reservoir. Visitors would reach it by boats and then observe the city from the water level (20 metres above) or they could take a lift down and explore the constructions immediately.   

The summary of the Tilev's proposed plan can be found here (and I strongly recommend to have a look at it as the concept is very interesting).

Worth mentioning is also the fact that the famous Thracian graves in the area (currently appreciated by many tourists, historians and archaeologists alike) are of people from Seuthopolis. That is yet another reason why uncovering the underwater city would make a perfect sense.

Text and photos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.

Be nice and say 'Happy Bath!'

Not exactly a bath but quite close.

Did you know that Bulgarians congratulate each other upon having a bath?

The odd salutation is 'Честитa баня!' [chestita banya] and literally means 'Happy Bath!'. Ideally, it should be said when the person in question is still damp after his/her cleansing experience.

According to my Bulgarian trainer Ani, the custom was mentioned in G.B.Shaw's play about the Balkan Wars 'Arms and the Man', although, after quickly scanning the text, I was not able to find any evidence. Try it, and perhaps you might have more luck than I did.

Meanwhile, Happy Bath.

Water, Veliko Tarnovo.

Text and photos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.

Murky waters of Pancharevo, a Sofian's weekend escape

Lake Pancharevo.

You get there by a stuffy bus, along with sweaty fellow passengers: a man with a telescopic fishing rod in one hand, a bag of cherries in the other; another fellow whose fingernails seem to be blackened by a fungal infection; yet another one who, judging by his body smells, has not showered for at least a forthnight; he carries a large iron trolley; couples dressed for the beach; big and soft (I know because I had been squeezed into one for a big part of the trip) elderly ladies; shy Roma people who live in a community there by the lake.  

Lake Pancharevo, a Sofian's beloved weekend escape. 

You have four bus stops to choose from.

The first one is for the chlorinated mineral water pool called 'Korali' - 'a very beautiful pool', according to some locals. Well, to me it looks more like a crowded swimming pool next to any package hotel but many Sofians are happy to spend there all day. There is a bar in the middle, providing, besides the usual menu, a loud pop music soundtrack.

From 'Korali' you have views to the actual lake. As swimming in the lake is generally non-practised, soaking in the pool might give you a replacement illusion. I might go to 'Korali' in winter - they say, in winter one may still soak in the open air pool (as the mineral water is warm) - perhaps then I will appreciate the charms of the enclosed swimming place better.

My favourite bus stop is the second one: 'Grebna Baza'. It is for the national rowing sports base 'Sredets'. There, are small wooden piers in the water, and humble boat garages on the shore. Occassionally one can hear invisible someones doing aerobics above the garages; otherwise there are sounds by the rowers, their dogs, and birds. From there one also gets arguably the best views over the whole lake.

The third stop is for the Pancharevo residential area. Looking from a bus stop, the district appears like a walled fortress of nomenclature communist architecture, although I am still to explore it once the weather gets colder and waters of Pancharevo lose their summer charms.

If you get off at this third bus stop you will have to walk for a while to find an access to the actual lake - not an unpleasant walk though, leading along the road on one side; bushes and trees on the other.

The fourth stop, 'Pancharevo beach' is for a popular picnic zone. There is no beach here though; one may only lie on the grass or fish by the riverside (Pancharevo lake originates from the stemmed river Iskar) next to the signs saying 'swimming prohibited'. On summer weekends the area is full of parked cars.

Here is also a very popular pond a.k.a. fish farm that offers an option to catch your own fish (if you are not a fan you may buy one already caught). Among the many fishermen are people from the local Chinese community. One side of the pond is lined with domestic animal & bird cages and food stalls. While snacking one can observe ducks, geese and black swans commuting among the fishermen.
  
*
I feel slight terror as I swim through murky green waters at the rowing sports base. My arms, as I look through the goggles, appear ghostly pale in the background of algae, and I cannot see more than a foot ahead. It feels as if I am swimming over something bottomless and decomposing, and it would suck me in if I tried to dive a little bit deeper. I got in the water from one of the piers, and that's how I am going to get out. Swimming prohibited.

*
If you want to bathe nonetheless, there is one more option - to visit the mouldy local banya, a.k.a. the Pancharevo Bath. Men go to one side, women to the other, all take off their clothes, and enjoy the healing powers of naturally warm mineral waters, in their gender-designated bathing areas respectively. There are soaking baths, showers and taps to choose from. The banya is just behind the 'Korali, on the right side of the road as you walk from the first bus stop at the lake.

*
Lake Pancharevo: some illustrations.

Boat garrages.

Canoeing.

Where the river turns into a lake.

Car park.

Fishing.

Fish shop at the pond.

Ducks.

The pond.

'Korali' pool.

Pancharevo Bath.

Fishing at the farm.

To get to Lake Pancharevo, take the metro, Line 1, till the last stop, IEC-Tsarigradsko Shose, then bus number 1 or 3 for another twentyish minutes.

It costs 8-10 leva to enter 'Korali', depending on the day of the week, and 4 leva to cleanse yourself at the local banya.

There are a few averagely-priced Bulgarian food restaurants around the lake.

Text and photos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.

Bankya, soaked in mineral water

Hygeia, the Greek goddess of cleanliness and sanitation, at the main park of Bankya.
The historic building of Mineral Baths (1910) can be seen in the distance.

It takes 1 lev and half an hour to get by train to Bankya, and so I did on a hot August Saturday. With five-to-six trains a day, Bankya is an easy side trip from Sofia.

The train schedule, August 2013.

The first two words that came to my mind at the initial encounter with Bankya were 'greenery' and 'water'. The greenery is intense and of numerous shades. It truly starts just a few train stops before the town, and is in sharp contrast with barren, littered eastern suburbs of Sofia.

Greenery taking over the rails at Bankya train station. If you are not convinced about functionality of this station have a look at the top right corner of the photo.

Bankya has plenty of parks, and, as one would expect from a (former) spa town, sounds of water are always nearby. Fountains, drinking fountains with mineral water, benches in the shades of trees are the things Bankya is not short of; all enlivened with a couple of statues of naked females.

 

 

I say former spa town because currently Bankya's historic Mineral Baths are closed*. In the same area I have witnessed also a few deserted open air swimming pools - empty and desolate-looking but nonetheless fenced & watched over by a sleepy security guard.

Fenced water-less pools behind the trees, Bankya.

An alternative could be found at the town's only balneological complex suggestively named 'Zdrave' ('health' in Bulgarian). This joint institution - hospital, hotel and a spa centre - offers a day pass to two warm mineral water swimming pools, one indoors one outdoors, jacuzzi and sauna (15 leva); plus sanatorium style treatments for the more desperate. The latter treatments have to be prescribed by a doctor, cost extra, and normally come as part of a package that includes overnight stays. 

'Zdrave' itself is a hybrid of an old school communist building (the hospital-hotel part), and a new glass construction (the spa centre). The communist building, if somewhat old fashioned, inside is acceptably clean and has got at least one receptionist who speaks English. It also has a cafe and a canteen, the latter filled with social elderly ladies at the time of visit. 

Overall, Bankya gives an impression of a busy little town, and you can see some better-off Sofians sitting in cafes in the proximity of 'Zdrave'. There are quite a few places to eat (Balkan style food mainly), and it's easy to kill time at one of the plentiful parks. Good for a chilled, lazy day when one is, for example, hangover.

The park surrounding the Mineral Baths has got a free wi-fi zone - at least so the public signs say; although I did not manage to achieve any connection.

* I believe, refurbishing and re-opening the old Mineral Baths would be the best what a loving soul could do for the benefit of Bankya town. The large, beautiful, more than a century old building, although with a freshly painted facade, at a closer checkup looks fragile and about to crumble. However, with an appropriate renovation, it could once again become a nice public space for locals, Sofians, and tourists alike.    

The painted facade.

When it all started. Women enjoying waters of Bankya, turn of the 20th century (photo from an outdoor exhibition next to Mineral Baths).

How bathers used to commute between Sofia and Bankya back in the day.

A lock on the door (Mineral Baths).

Text and photos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.