As is my tradition, I visited a cemetery here in Plovdiv. It is a very large one, only 1 kilometre from the centre of the city. Contained within its walls is a church, a Jewish Cemetery and an area of military burials from WWI. Here is a collection of photos of Plovdiv Central Cemetery, an interesting place indeed.
Within the Walls
Google maps was not my friend today. It led me astray. Finding the entrance into this cemetery was not so easy, but find it I did. The day was hot and the sunshine overbearing. There is not much shade to be had except if you stay on the main paved road thru the middle.
Down the centre of the cemetery grounds is a wide paved road, and at regular intervals are unpaved offshoots. There were quite a few caretakers, both vehicular and on foot in every area that I explored.
Most of the graves were low lying with conservative and simple, beautiful headstones. And there were thousands upon thousands. It is a vast space. Something I found interesting and that was on almost every headstone, was the addition of an image of the deceased in black and white, and on a small ceramic disc.
The Jewish Cemetery
Off in one corner is a crooked sign letting you know you have entered the Jewish Cemetery.
Here the graves are much flatter and most were unadorned. This area looked unkept and unvisited. There were very few graves with stones on them, no footprints, overgrown shrubbery and a feeling of abandonment.
I walked around a little bit and when I came out onto the path, my shoes were making the most bizarre noise. I look at the soles, and they were full of thorns!!
The Oldest Part
My goal when visiting this cemetery was to find the oldest graves. I did end up locating them, or what I think was them. Behind the Jewish Cemetery is an overgrown area, the plants growing up taller than myself.
I could see headstones and graves strewn through out here that looked like they had age. I was reluctant to walk through this brush to see if I could locate any dates. Not being familiar with the flora and fauna, I was unsure if there would be snakes or such in the thick underbrush. This is definitely the most unkept area of the cemetery.
Military Graves
Inside a low stone wall not too far from the church, is a highly manicured space with flowers, grass and head stones placed at regular intervals. These are the graves of prisoners of war from WWI or those who served with the occupying forces.
Most Interesting
One thing that I have never seen elsewhere, were these terracotta lanterns. Many were placed at the headstone of the graves and showed some age. I can see this is a long-standing tradition, as the newer graves had lanterns as well, but they were metal or glass. The old terracotta pots were very charming and I could picture them aglow in the dark evening sky.
One other thing I want to remember, is many of the graves also had half empty bottles of wine. So, three things generally adorning the headstone. A vase of flowers, a half empty bottle of wine and a lantern or candle of some description. So interesting.
It was definitely worth the struggle to find the entrance and explore this cemetery. The site was incredibly dusty and dry and there was quite a bit of litter around. Mostly plastic bottles and caps, bits of broken plastic vases and old faux flowers. I can’t say it was an entirely pleasant experience today, but it was interesting none the less.
