It Still Does What It Was Built to Do
October Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Site or Sight”
Fulfilling its purpose, century after century.
Built in 98–117 AD, the Ancient Roman Theater in Old Town Plovdiv still stands, welcoming performers and audiences from around the city, the country, and the world.
In fact, when I was in 9th grade, my high school celebrated its 40th anniversary right here. At the time, I thought nothing of it. The ancient theater was part of the city — my friends and I roamed around it regularly.
Impressive it was not to a gaggle of teenagers.
Today, the theater is fenced off, and you need a ticket to enter. The city has also embraced it as a focal site for cultural, musical, and theater performances. It’s absolutely worth a visit.
In the summer, an initiative started 10 years ago by the Plovdiv Opera House through the Opera Open program — enables city residents and guests to enjoy an opera performance, sitting on ancient slabs of stone under the open sky.
I did just that this summer, attending the premier of The Addams Family.
Nestled between two of the seven hills Plovdiv was built around, the ancient theater is a sight in its own right, but it also offers panoramic views of the city, with the Rhodope Mountains in the background.
If you happen to visit Plovdiv in the summer and decide to attend an event at the ancient theater, I recommend sitting higher up. You’ll get to enjoy the sunset as you admire whatever’s taking place on the stage.
As this is an open-air theater, you’ll most likely get soaked if it starts raining, and the performance may be interrupted — which is what happened last summer when I tried to attend an Opera Open event.
I'm glad I had a do-over with much lovelier weather this time around.
Thank you, Sandi, for this month’s prompt!
A small selection of what has grabbed my attention this month:
Sanghita Pal — What a Sight to Behold!
Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles — Golden Barrel Cactus — Never In a Hurry
kasey sparks — A Trulli Enchanting Site
Evie Hill — The View from the Van
Rodrigo S-C — I Almost Dismissed It
Aaron Paulson — Misty Morning, Moose Pond — Ontario Shield Country
Dennett — Iconic Movie / Iconic Café
chel writes — After-Work Serenity
Anne Bonfert — The Mountain That Holds a Lifetime of Memories