The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-09-21

tne DulSdTS. IL Ii SOllu, DuSlIleSS
like modern, thrifty capital, with little
Of the picturesque and artistic In Its
composition, and nothing of romance
or sentiment 1t is q matter-of-fact
Western city, paved with smooth
squared blocks Of asphalt, and its
streets are lined with stone and brick
and stucco buildings, Of solid, simple
architecture. AS in most American
cities, these buildings were constructed
for the display Of wares to the best
advantage, for obtaining the greatest
possible office floor space or the larg-
est number Of living apartments rather
than for beauty or original effect. For
the complexities of luxury, the Bull
garians have no time, nor have they
learned to feel a need of them.
Their capital is comparatively new
city. Travellers who visited there be-
fore 1880 described 1t as q miserably
poor place, "a concOurse Of red-tiled
huts and Of novels of wood and plas-
ter, of narrow, crooked streets, and Of
general filth and depression" This
was the product Of Turkish misadmin-
istration, which has nearly disap-
peared, the modern Sofia rising out Of
the Ottoman ruins. Sofia has $4,000
population and has been growing
steadily. It Is q commanding point
upon the shortest trade route between
Europe and Asia. Europe's railway
freight for the Near East and the
goods of Asia Minor, Persia and. Meso-
potamia for the West pass through its
valley. The city early became impor-
tant as trade center, and, probably,
would have developed into one Of the
great cities of Europe, had not period
ical destruction, almost continual dan
gers of war. and centuries of misrule
held II back. ~
The city lies in the midst Of a broad
plain, between the Vitosha mountains
and the main Balkan chain. At the end
sees these distant hill masses, and this
fringing Of mountains Is the only
thing that keeps modern Sofia from
seeming entirely commonplace. Bel
grade lies 206 miles northwest Of
Sofia, while Constantinople lies 300
miles southeast. The valley at Sofia Is
an upland plateau, LOO feet above sea
level, and near the heart of the penin-
sula, which determines the climate as
a sharply continental one. In August,
the mercury goes up to 100 degrees
Fahrenheit, and, In winter, 1t falls to
four and five degrees below zero. The
changes in the weather are often very
sudden, though the climate is healthy.
Has Many Fine Buildings.
The rebuilding of Sofia began around
1880. 1t now has many creditable
public buildings, electric light, an
electric street railway, and good sew
erage and water systems. II possesses
the largest theater In southeastern
Europe. The Bulg%rian National the.
ater, with a competent corps of actors
and singers, and seasonal offering Of
the best in opera and drama, is a rev.
elation of the strides that have been
made In the Balkans since the Turks
were driven back brief generation
ago. The theater Is handsome mod
ern structure, planned with greater
luxury Of detail than most buildings in
Sofia, and it cost 100000. Further
more, Sofia has a public bath house
which Is one Of the finest buildings of
| Its kind In the world. 1t was built
over hot mineral spring, famed since
the days of the Romans. This build
ing, in Byzantine style, lnclnding In its
Interior appointments all Of the most
modern luxuries, cost the Bulgarians
100000.
Their capital city II one of the
peculiar prides Of the Woodworking,
ng-enduring, persistent Bulgarians.
1t typifies to them the promise of a
great Bulgarian future. and they, also,
look upon 1t as an earnest Of their
right to respected place among the
civilized nations Of the West.
The few touches that bind Sofia to
the past come when through vista Of
modern business ibuildings-perhap
over the tops Of changing s~ctric tram
cars--one catches q glimpse of q
slender minaret Of some mosque that
has survived the religious cataclysra
that turned Moslem -Rumelia- Into
Christian Bulgaria"