Bulgaristan'ın Başkenti Sofya Gezisi - Bölüm 1 | Bulgaristan

Sofia (Bulgarian: София Sofiya) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. Its population is approximately 1.3 million. It is located in the Sofia Basin in western Bulgaria, in the center of the Balkan Peninsula. Covering a large area of ​​the Sofia Valley, the city is bordered by the Stara Planina mountain range to the north, the Sredna Gora to the east and southeast, Mount Vitosha to the south and southwest, and the Lyulin, Viskar, and Chepin mountains to the west. The city is situated on the banks of the Iskar River and its tributaries. Sofia's history dates back to ancient times. In the 8th-7th centuries, a Thracian tribe called the Sardi lived in the area where the present-day city center is located. After successive victories in the Balkan Peninsula, Rome ended the independence of the Thracians. The Romans, who placed importance on establishing administrative and military order in the places they conquered, named the city Serdika. Thus, Serdika, meaning "city of the Serdi," became an important commercial and administrative center. As a crossroads city of the Eastern Roman Empire, Serdika was constantly subjected to raids. During these raids, the city suffered significant damage. The city never regained its former greatness; only the fortress and the Hagia Sophia Church, which is also the name of the capital today, were repaired. In the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I, Serdika once again became an important city of the Eastern Roman Empire. Immediately after this, the city was subjected to raids by the Slavs who attacked the Balkan peninsula and became completely Slavicized. In the 9th century, during the reign of the Bulgarian Khan Krum, Serdika took the Slavic name Sredets and became an important military, political, and cultural center of the vast medieval Bulgarian state. The city remained under Byzantine rule from 1018 until the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185. With the Bulgarian state falling under Ottoman rule in the 14th century, Sofia also came under Ottoman control in 1382, and the Beylerbey of Rumelia settled there. The city of Sredets remained under Ottoman rule from the late 14th century to the last quarter of the 19th century. Meanwhile, the city took the name Sofia at the end of the 14th century. According to some documents, during the years it was under Ottoman rule, the city was famous for its beauty and won the great admiration of the Ottomans. After the Ottoman rule ended by the Russian armies on January 4, 1878, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, it was declared the capital of Bulgaria on April 3, 1879. At that time, Sofia was a wealthy city with strengthened defenses and well-developed trade and commerce. After the end of Ottoman rule, due to its geographical location and suitability for economic development, national importance was given to the development of the city's infrastructure, which was declared the capital of Bulgaria. The numerous archaeological monuments, works of art, and defensive structures found in the city prove that ancient Serdika was an important and developed center. Sofia, during World War II, was occupied by the Germans and bombed by Allied aircraft in late 1943 and early 1944. Bombing of Sofia during World War II. It was liberated by Soviet Red Army troops in 1944. As a result of the Soviet occupation, the Bulgarian government, an ally of Nazi Germany, was overthrown. A People's Republic was established in Bulgaria in 1946. Significant changes occurred in the city's appearance during the Republic of Bulgaria. Sofia's population increased due to migration from other parts of the country. All new residential areas were built on the outskirts of the city, such as Druzhba, Mladost, and Lyulin. #bulgaria #sofia #placestovisit #travel #trip