Cover photo: Dimitra Lefterova
Some things may have made an impression on you, especially if you pay attention to details, while we are sure that there are others that you don’t know, but you can easily find them on your own using a small hint from us at the end.
Do you know that…
Hindiliyan House is the only one that is opened for tourists, where you can see a private bathroom.
It was built between 1834 and 1835 for Stepan Manuk, better known as Stepan Hindlian, also called Hindiuglu by the Turkish settlers. He was a renowned merchant whose deals in the beginning of the 19th century often led him to India. The nickname Hindlian comes from there and became the name of the merchant.
The house itself is one of the few buildings in Plovdiv that are preserved in their original symmetrical forms.
The bathroom was the only one at that time in Bulgaria. It is built from marble and gypsum. The bathroom is constructed on the principle of the Roman hypocausts, and it consists of two rooms. The antechamber and the actual room have arched entrances and domes, through which sunlight enters and gently illuminates the space. Although moisture had its effect, this bathroom is the only one of this type that has been preserved to the present day, and it can be seen in its almost original form. By the end of 2016, the bathroom was restored for the first time in 42 years.
The first-floor heating was introduced in Hindliyan, as well, and it is in the bathroom. It was made of clay pipes, through which warm air passed. The air was heated in the hollow space between the walls of the kitchen and the bathroom by the fire in the hearth. The hot water, which was required for washing and bathing, was heated in bowls, while the cold one was taken from tanks filled from the Maritsa River.
Another little-known fact is that the hatch (leading into the next yard) between Hindliyan House and Balabanov House is not there because they had a friendly relationship, but because they shared the same servants.
Do you know that…
There are rumors that the original clock from Sahat Tepe is kept in the basement of the Regional Ethnographic Museum. Legend has it that in the wall of the museum’s yard, the only remaining part of the biggest caravansary in the town is built in — the massive double gate of the magnificent Kurshum Khan.
The museum is housed in the Kuyumdzhieva House - a cultural monument of national importance. The house is a typical representative of the Plovdiv symmetrical Revival house. The specialists define it as a peak of Baroque architecture in Bulgaria. Its owner was Argir Kuyumdjioglu, who was a wealthy Plovdiv trader. The building has four floors, each with an area of 570 square meters. It has two large salons, 12 rooms (all of them with unique wood-carved ceilings), and over 130 windows.
The eastern façade of the house has "set foot" on the old fortress wall, and is an integral part of the ensemble of Hisar Kapiya.
By the end of the 19th century, the building was a girls' boarding house. Later, it was turned into a hat factory, then into a vinegar factory, and even a flour storage.
Do you know that…
The owner of one of the most visited houses in Old Plovdiv was a Freemason. You could recognize it by the specific symbols included in the decoration.
P.S. Look around for symbols of suns, stars, pineapples…
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