Different Worlds
After 10 days in Iceland, I am back to the starkly different Bulgarian reality. And although I can complain about it, I am not going to do that right now. See, a can of decent beer costs about 1 Euro, and I can go outside wearing a t-shirt. How cool is that? Spending time in a place like Iceland makes you appreciate these things ;)
My last few posts have all been about the country of hard-to-pronounce volcanos, so to mix things up, I decided to upload several pictures from my hometown Plovdiv. Plovdiv - the European Capital of Culture for 2019, home of the biggest gypsy ghetto in Europe, as well as the concrete neighborhood Trakia.
Trakia is where I grew up in the late 80's and early 90's; a place dominated by massive concrete apartment blocks. Needless to say, I and the rest of the boys spent our childhood exploring the huge network of basements, preparing ammonium nitrate smoke bombs on the rooftops, and roaming the green spaces between the blocks. Oh, I am getting nostalgic.
You might not call it charming, but the neighborhood was thoughtfully laid out with lots of space for walking and relaxing. Thins started to change several years ago with the influx of people from the surrounding regions due to the better job opportunities. The city and its neighborhoods had to grow.
How do you think a city should expand: outwards to the countryside, or inwards by filling up the empty spaces? The latter is what happened in Trakia - new apartment blocks started popping up like mushrooms between the older buildings, in place of the huge green areas. On the following picture, the land has been leveled for construction.
I don't like this type of development, but I cannot deny that the construction sites make for some nice photography subjects.
An old apartment block from the 70s and a new one under construction right next to it. I like the bizarre shape of the old one.
There's also a Catholic church between the blocks. In order to fit, it is too made of concrete. As I was walking with a telephoto lens, I only have a photo of its cross. For the record, I have never seen people go inside.
Reykjavik - calm and peaceful. I wonder if I can get used to living in such a place.
Do you find this type of architecture intimidating? If it were you, where would you rather live - in a big city or a small town?
Thank you for stopping by!
Dan
The images are taken with Lumix G80 & Lensbaby 56mm f/1.6 and Fuji X-T1 & Fujinon 35 mm f/1.4
I think that both have their charms. It's also better in my mind for cities to become more dense than to simply spread everywhere. I would vote for a warmer climate every time but that's just my African-born horror of the cold and constant grey skies found elsewhere
Yes, I think so too :) And you might be right that it's better if the cities grow denser; expanding towards the countryside might destroy valuable farmland. Is Johannesburg densely populated? :)
No, it is a massive urban sprawl, gobbling up the countryside with very little high density living, because land is cheap enough
Awesome photography Dan. I think you grew up in much better place than mine because what I am seeing on photos is what is replacing the environment I grew up in. Our 80s and 90s consisted of iron sheets and timber houses replacing mud houses. Thanks for sharing :)
Thank you so much @tezmel! You know, we tend to compare ourselves and our countries with those that are wealthier and more developed. That generally leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouths. However, considering how people leave in some countries in Africa and Asia, we have to be glad for what we have. Have you posted about your childhood on Steemit? By the way, did you manage to buy a camera? :)
Housing, especially in those two continents, is heartbreaking but hopefully, we will live to see us soar. I hold back on a lot and my childhood is one... I am working on it. I bought a phone after mine literally crushed its screen. I had a nasty fall (was running away from chaos between political demonstrators). Trying to stabilize before I can save up.
Oh, that's unfortunate with your phone. Is there unrest in your country? I hope the price of Steem climbs even further - that would certainly help you.
Older you get, calmer environment you are seeking. I grew up in apartment block like that. You mentioned gypsies, I would love to see photos of their life. When I worked on radio I recorded reportage about their life in Bosnia, and it was nominated for the show of the year. There is no Gypsies here, so I can’t chase them with my camera even if I want to. They are unique and colorful people.
Great post, as always dear!
I have only been once to the gypsy neighborhood, and I don't want to go back. It's an extremely dirty place, and I didn't feel comfortable being there. You can check out this blog for some photos: https://yomadic.com/stolipinovo-gypsy-ghetto/
Thank you so much, Di!
That was fantastic to read, thanks for sharing your hometown.
Thank you for reading @sloe :) Glad that you enjoyed it!
Where to live? It's a tough one, at least for me. Sometimes, it depends on the stage of your life. I used to be a city bug and I still love metropolis. I'm into cultural and social life, street art, vivid atmosphere that we meet in big cities. But on the other hand, I'm falling in love in peace and quiet. I like to be surrounded by nature or close to it. I appreciate small communities based on trust and care. Maybe at some point, it's not so much important where do you live but who lives with you?
Yes, and speaking of places, it's the people that make the place. I have never lived in a small and caring community, but I can imagine that it's more fun than being an anonymous part of a huge group :)
Nice photos, Dan! I especially like the penultimate one, down at street level. It looks like the economy is doing alright, if there's that much new construction going on.
The first photo reminds me of some I took in the new part of Córdoba, Spain. Most people here couldn't immagine living in a structure like that, with so many people and so many units. Mankato is pretty rural...
Well, it may not be charming, but it's well designed. Myself, I prefer the winding, wonky-angled streets that you find in old cities.
Thank you, Mark! Well, it depends on the perspective. Plovdiv is good for businesses because of the flat 10% corporate tax and the cheap labor. On the other hand, it's not so good for most of the people that live there because the average salary after tax is about €400-450. And although Bulgaria is cheap, it's not cheap enough to be able to live comfortably with €450.
And as the rest of the region is much worse economically, people have no choice but to move to Plovdiv. Sometimes with their families.
I guess that you can find such wonky-angled streets in most Spanish cities? :)
a was thinking the are working on removing it.
a have live in Oslo 500k now here in Vancouver a think its almost 5 mill in there area. feels strange in a way. but in the long run a want to live in a small city i think a like the forest to much Ned it close by. its a lot of forest here but back home a can jump on my bike and be in the forest in 25min and a live in the downtown there.
Reykjavik nice street there. almost as my home street in norway.
Haha, this thing is built to last! :) And even though it's old and brutal, I like it more than the newer block next to it.
Do you miss Oslo, and are you going to move back there one day? What are you doing in Canada, by the way? :)
Inwards. We need to get more creative about spaces. It's because I live in a rural area and the coastal town where I live is transformed due to development and we're now priced out of the more beautiful areas, and all my childhood vistas (which I'm nostaglic about too) are now gone...
Maybe inwards and upwards? I just imagined Hong Kong :)
Oh, that's sad :/
Great! Great!! Great!!! This is what I want to see in and a little story about your own country! The reality and not only the good side of our country, we must show also the other side...
Glad that you liked the post Kenneth :) Are you from the UAE originally?
I am not... I worked here as Interior Designer using AutoCAD and 3D max. I am a Filipino from the Philippines.
Oh, I see :-) And how do you like it in the UAE?
hello my dear friend .. For a while, I could not see their work. I am sorry about that. I look at the photos I have not seen. I congratulate you on these wonderful photographs and photographs as well as two excellent photographs. I'm sure you had a great time in Iceland. And Bulgarian structures are actually a lot like ours.
Thank you, Ceren! Yes, I remember the outskirts of Istanbul with the huge concrete blocks... they were actually much bigger than those in my city.