You’d hardly think that a megalopolis, located on two continents, can be similar to one of the cities in Bulgaria, which can’t even come close to its scale. We all know that it takes hours to cross Istanbul from one part to the other, and in Plovdiv it can be done in minutes, but we decided to pay attention to 4 things in which they are similar.
Both Plovdiv and Istanbul are known as the City of Seven Hills. We have devoted dozens of articles to the hills in our hometown, but an interesting fact is that historical Istanbul is also surrounded and founded on hills. When Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome, he adapted the tale of the seven hills to Constantinople.
In the past, both Philippopolis and Constantinople were important cities in empires, but to date neither is the capital of the state in which they are located. In fact, the Turkish settlement was the capital of three empires, but since 1923, when Atatürk declared the Republic of Turkey, it was no longer the capital, and Ankara was chosen as such.
The coexistence of different cultures and religions nowadays is also one of the similarities between the two places. As a city with a population of more than 15 million, Istanbul is the third largest in the world. Of course, the most numerous are the Turks who are Muslim, but there are also Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Kurds, Arabs and many other ethnic groups living there. With a history of several thousand years, Plovdiv has also housed and is still home to a variety of cultures and religious communities that coexist peacefully.
"The cities of cats" - everyone who has visited Istanbul even once understands immediately that the real masters there are not the people, but the fluffy, purring creatures. They are everywhere, there is always a bowl for them for water and food, and they walk around like real dignitaries in cafes, shops, museums, markets, and even churches.
In the cultural capital of Bulgaria, the fluffy ones can also be seen walking undisturbed past the tables of the restaurants, along the paved streets in Kapana, or even quite calmly lying down on any spot lit by the sun. More and more often there are separate places for them to eat around entrances and restaurants.
As we recently informed you, there are now regular flights between the two destinations, and getting from the airport to the center of Istanbul is explained in detail in one of our recent articles. All you have to do is go and see if we have found all the similarities!
