free roaming ruins
With Plovdiv winning European Cultural Capital 2019, this past fall has brought a lot of plans for development. All around the city, things are happening – sidewalks and bike paths, . . . . . . . .
balcony breach
the company of the first floor balconies.. . . . . . . .
resident babas
Sitting at the entry bench, checking our shopping bags and letting us know if the vegetables we bought are good.
messenger pigeons
"It's nothing, we can talk from here, I'll just yell for you."
the biggest pain
'The whole concept, the whole point!!..'
municipal lands
The municipality showed up in our backyard this morning.
In their uniforms and with their bright blue trimmers, they went to work on the fresh, though already overgrown, grasses.
She . . . . . . . .
glass boxes
for some reason, usually rarely inhabited.. . . . . . . .
easter egg hunt
It's white pvc glows in the Easter morning light, a beacon of the private prevailing over the soviet designed apartments.
ins and outs of individuality
"Through orientation!"
"Their view!"
"Their balcony!"
"And most importantly, looking at the building from the outside!"
full glass
switching out materiality.
ac honors
'it is in honor of Rusi Slavov - a fugleman who saved the lives of thousands of Bulgarians from Aegean Thrace......
future of the block businesses
big box foreign stores now line the main artery of Trakiya, all built within the last 15 years.. . . . . . . .
valley of the roses
a few months too early... . . . . . . .
Word and Voice
Grandpa would always send me out with 20 stotinki to buy Word, cigarettes, and gum.
forgotten mosaics
in moments.
buzludzha.
click for more.
a disgrace in bloom
"Don't you think it's ugly, everyone doing their own thing? It's a disgrace to the architect."
heating and cooling of churches
a stove pipe and an a/c unit.
. . . . . . . .
fancy train
from bucharest.. . . . . . . .
modern mosque
Tubul Mosque, Shumen Bulgaria. . . . . . . .
shades of grey
"You got here at the worst time"
concentrated corners
. . . . . . . .
shades and tones of green
along with energy standards, have changed over the years. . . . . . . .
hanging by a wire
me and tosho on the roof.
the internet cord. . . . . . . .
ticket u’s
. . . . . . . .
empty fountain playgrounds
play pens parents stick the little ones in to keep them in one area,
soccer pit where boys aspiring to be the next …. take turns making shots at one . . . . . . . .
checking on the neighbors
“susedite mozhe da gledat si rabotata!”
the neighbors can mind their own business!. . . . . . . .
advertising
the signage strategy of the shoe cobbler in block 71. . . . . . . .
landscape of garages
illegal and informal… yet well laid out.. . . . . . . .
women’s day
"This is why March is a women's month.."
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
more coming soon… just need to post it…. . . . . . . .
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
more coming soon….. . . . . . . .
monuments of Trakiya
and they gather around them, looking up their skirts, comparing who is the bash maestera
gumazhiya
the tire man's fingerprints surround each well used tool.
new construction contrasts
Trakiya, as the fall of communism interrupted its construction, is still obtaining new buildings among the panel blocks.. . . . . . . .
doggy in the window
“Nobody really owned dogs during communism… now there are these massive dogs in these tiny apartments..”. . . . . . . .
bird cages
the latest in ornate security.. . . . . . . .
iron curtains
the softer side of things.. . . . . . . .
muffin tops
"It's like putting on a shirt that's way too small...."