Deva Premal & Miten | Photo Blog

Bulgaria-Rain Gods, Romans and Earthquakes

hi friends

plovdiv is a beautiful, ancient city, as our host, stanislav, pointed out as he took us on a short tour.
it is the cultural center of bulgaria, and its history spans 6,000 years.
according to wikipedia it is possibly europe's oldest city.
unfortunately time didn't allow us more than a couple of hours to explore.

this photo was taken the morning after the earthquake that hit bulgaria shook our hotel like a plate of jelly.
it happened at 3 am, and deva and i were on the 5th floor, wondering if our time had come to join george harrison and john lennon.

fortunately not.
the shaking eventually subsided as we hung on to each other and, like a mantra, it slowly disappeared back into the silence from where it had arisen.

happy to be here!

roman amphitheater in down town shopping precinct
it runs under the city and originally could accommodate at least 30,000 blood thirsty romans

the original cobbled streets of the old town

many buildings are still unspoilt by the passage of time

inside this church, manose wears his special hat-with-golden-cross head gear

katja, stanislav's wife, points out her favourite musician in her favourite band!

the amazing concert venue...

sadly, due to the weather, we had to cancel our plans to play there.

as clouds gathered and temperatures dropped, it was decided, the day before, to change the location.

many people were disappointed and complained to stanislav...they were so much looking forward to being with us in this amazing setting, but he felt, rightly as it turned out, that we couldn't take the risk.

the day of the concert was warm and sunny, and we began to regret the decision!

we began praying to all the rain gods

here's why...the alternative
...a souless sports hall

but during sound check it began to transform

and as the people arrived the massive sports hall became our temple

the story has a happy ending:
during the concert a giant storm hit the city – thunder crashed,
rain poured and lighting sizzled...and we were vindicated!!

with love to all our new friends in bulgaria!
dp&m