A Tour of VELIKO TARNOVO, BULGARIA: Is it Worth Visiting?

[@chairmanmaf]

Hey thanks for using my music again Gabriel, hope all is good :)

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Great, glad you saw the video. I tried to send you an email when I posted the first one, but for some reason I couldn't find your email address in my inbox. Good stuff, it fit perfectly. I'll pin your comment so that people can take a look at your channel and check out your music.

[@chairmanmaf]

Amazing, really appreciate that!! :)

[@edinchvek2784]

Nice music !

[@chairmanmaf]

Thanks man!

[@chairmanmaf]

@@cadenernest56 No mate, literally nobody is interested.

[@basedpro-ua3470]

Bulgaria and Romania are the most beautiful countries in Eastern Europe

[@adnancelik6912]

is there any other country in east europe?

[@honeyheart8215]

@@adnancelik6912 Yes there is. Look it up. Slovakia, Poland, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, ... And to be exact Bulgaria is in southeastern europe.

[@angelinamarinova7337]

Never been in Romania but alphabet is different and lots of other things. Bulgaria is the best place in the world with clear four seasons. Amazing seaside, wonderful winter resorts, lovely mountains especially Stara Planina

[@TsvetanVLife]

Hey, actually the Russians are using Cyrillic that was made by Bulgarian brothers Kiril and Metodi (that is why it was called Cyrillic after Kiril). :)

[@MariaKotseva]

Cyril and Metodii invented the Glagolitic alphabet. St Kliment of Ohrid invented the Cyrillic alphabet.

[@ShowmeLov3]

@@mariannakavalaraki9322 u can only wish:) ...why every Greek thinks that every peace of history from this part of the world are theirs..like every stone on their street has a history..:) u shoud get ur history straight

[@stoyanzdravkov3487]

@@mariannakavalaraki9322 Hey, in fact check out mensa's results. Bulgaria has the highest avarage IQ on the balkans and the most mensa members in the balkans. And yeah, Cyril and Metodii, were born in greece but fought for the Slavic culture, there for they were refuged and continued their work in Bulgaria, where they made the Glagolic.

[@Alex-qr6vi]

Mar Kav They were only half Byzantine

[@RositsaPetrovarjp7]

@@mariannakavalaraki9322 you should. i do not know a greek who speaks bulgarian properly. your languages lacks half the sounds of Bulgarian. you cannot pronounce them for the life of you. also to create an alphabet, you really need to be w native speaker...so no cyril and methodius, if they ever existed, could not have been greek

[@UVF79]

Seems To be a massive country with very beautiful architecture and scenery.

[@hiroyoshi00]

I like this kind of travel videos as opposed what is essentially a reaction videos with almost no images of the city. Keep up the good work!

[@bigdik3903]

Fun fact: The early Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 9th century AD at the Preslav Literary School by the disciples of the Byzantine theologians Cyril and Methodius.

[@obedinenie]

The mother of Cyril and Methodius is Bulgarian. The first alphabet is Glagolitic which is not related to the Greek one

[@VT12754]

​@@obedinenie Exactly!

[@pehash]

Been to Veliko in the summer, when the trees had leaves and so on, its even nicer then.

[@mlz1998]

I think that’s the most excited I’ve ever heard you get, when you thought the chili peppers were playing.

[@ivanc8494]

Gabriel it is great to share the beauty of this lovely town - the old capital of Bulgaria!

[@nicolaskottis5245]

I watch this video of yours for a second time, this year again. When I see your videos again I appreciate them more and more. It's like the old wine, it get's better when time passes.

[@samuil-vasilev]

04:35 For those who don't know, the Cyrillic script was made in the First Bulgarian Empire by Kliment Ohridksy.

[@KarinLynnBates]

What a great location! Such history, too. Pretty neat you got to go there! 👍🏼✌🏼

[@ArbitraryExploration]

That is one extremely cool Castle! The views from the castle are impressive!

[@chrisbrown8748]

Great video Gabriel! Looks like a fantastic city to explore and I must admit to not knowing all that much about Bulgaria but now I'm definitely interested in it.

[@greigsanderson]

The best city in Bulgaria. Love this place.

[@chadahaagphilosophychannel7329]

Thanks a lot for sharing, looking forward to seeing more of your videos

[@TheVestep]

About the Red Hot Chilli Pappers ! This is rock club that invite band's who makes tribute night's. So this is just what tribute is playing this night. Sorry for my bad english.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Yeah that makes sense, thanks.

[@AnkleSnapper72]

I love when you are overseas, and you don't know what day or date it is, and you don't care :) You know you have to be somewhere on some date, and you always work it out, but at points, forgetting daily routines is just freedom bliss.

[@kch1087]

Thanks so much for sharing your travel experience at VT！ I only got a very short stay in this nice town and regretfully never made it to the castle. Watching you vloging there fulfuill my imagination of what it would be like to actually walk up there. Enjoy Bulgaria I had a wonderful time there.

[@gravity422]

I really love your owl shirt..I'm so hooked on watching so many of your videos it gives me something to look forward to each new day since I'm disabled and at home by myself all of this time..Stay safe out there and Thank you so much for all of your lovely videos...You're a super nice man Gabriel..

[@jakeleblanc]

Thanks for making us discover parts of the world that we sometimes even forget that they exist. Great stuff !!

[@Twin.Girl_td_la]

Places we would never see if it wasn't for your videos, we send love on your tour. 💜💜

[@kathyjohnson2794]

I really love your travel videos. Unlike the professionals you are very descriptive and informative. You are the real deal and I feel like I am right there with you. You have budget travel down to a science. I love your payed back style!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Great, thanks Kathy.

[@Swampzoid]

Inside the castle was stunning with those creepy but masterful murals. Have fun in Varna. I've heard of that city. Can't wait to see what it's all about.

[@Developer-online]

I was looking back at your old videoes and it really hit me how it has changed over the years , great work :) allways enjoy your videoes

[@wanderingspirit7021]

Congrats on picking up 8,000 subscribers in 4-6 weeks.!

[@MrSwatbg]

One detail - the map of Tsar Simeon's Bulgaria shown in the video is actually the map of Bulgaria's territories during the reign of Samuel, not Simeon the Great. Simeon ruled from the very gates of Athens to the Polish lands (today northern Romanian-Ukrainian border), including today's whole Romania, part of today's Ukraine, half of today's Hungary, whole of today's Serbia, Albania, most of Montenegro and most of Thrace, just few kilometers from Constantinople. Basically most of South-Eastern Europe. Before the Magyars (Hungarians) to get their independence in Transylvania and Epirus to become a vassal state, of course. Since you've been to Veliko Tarnovo, you probably saw most of it. Here's a bit more history about the place though - kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4W2c5t-jr6Wh5o You have to make a visit during some of the warmer months, then it is much more lively, preferably a month without "R" in the name (except April, I guess), because in these months most of the locals either are somewhere in a cozy place, or at the winter resorts.

[@GeorgeRR]

Hungarian's independence in Transylvania? Hehehhe, They were not conquering Trasylvania from you at the time. Also, why don t you tell Gabriel that the Second Empire was Wlacho-Bulgarian, this is how the Empire Raised initially up North, not only Bulgarian...and the Royal Brothers were Romanian-Wlachs. Shoot:)

[@MrSwatbg]

Of course, they were taking these lands not from the Bulgarians, but from the Portuguese and Mayans. Genius. The second empire as well as the first one has been a _Bulgarian_ empire, and it has been called by that name by everybody (except Romania's historiographers) always and everywhere across the known world at that time, as well as today. The Wallachians, who have been incorporated into the Bulgarian empire, have never been anything more than just commoners *who were considered by the Bulgarians to be of the same kin,* but also who's role in the empire's rulership was non-existent. This fact is a pain in the butt and a potential for a national complex, therefore too unconvenient for a state historiography to accept it in the process of the creation of a new national identity, such as the Romanian one in the 19th century. This was point one. Which leads me to point two. Not only the Wallachians never had any role in the rulership of the empire, but Wallachia's nobility after the downfall of the Bulgarian empire, the Wallachian ruling class has been Bulgarian-speaking for quite a while (until mid. 16th century, to be exact). They spoke Bulgarian and they wrote Bulgarian, and the *written correspondences* between themselves, as well as between them and Bulgarian rulers show it loud and clear. Dear Romanian neighbour, I can assure you that you, the Romanians, are my favorite neighbours, *bar none.* But an average 4th grade Bulgarian schoolgirl can out-argument and debunk your entire, messed up historiography. With only good feelings

[@GeorgeRR]

My Dear, we know very well the influence of Second Bulgarian Empire on Romanian lands. -Especially in religion. Hence you do a demonstration that I agree 90%. In the same time to eliminate the vlachs' role from the birth of the Empire it s wrong. Maybe Romanians enhance this too much, transferring to the whole life of the empire, but in the same time you are wrong denying totally, especially when we discuss about the brothers.// The heart of Second Bulgarian Kingdom was inhabited by vlahs, too. It was not only an incorporation of norther Danube territories. ///As regards Transilvania, there were some bulgarian/and local slavs there, but there were vlahs present this is for sure as their leaders were not Bulgarians and they mostly recognized the influence of the Constantinople . At the time the Bulgarian influence was diminished. Only in Serbia's Vojvodina you had a bulgarian ruler. Not even this was not part of the Empire, but a mark/march dependent of the Empire. /// As regards the Bulgarian language, it is true that the cult language of the Court in Romanain lands was Old Church Slavonic, that is Old Bulgarian. But nobody saw this as a recognition of the Bulgarian dominance or whatever. We saw it as a cult language, the liturgical language used mainly in church, and also being the language of letters it was used in Royals Court correspondence. Dont confuse this by thinking that it was between ourselves. Language of Letters is a language of letters as Latin was for others. We did wrote the old Romanian with cyrillic letters invented by the Bulgarians. //"the Wallachian ruling class has been Bulgarian-speaking for quite a while (until mid. 16th century, to be exact") So, in Church and Court correspondence we used old Church slavonic, which happened to be old bulgarian until mid 16 th century. But we dropped it way before the " process of the creation of a new national identity, such as the Romanian one in the 19th century."( Which by the way, it was not new, it was just a revival, Vlahs knew all the time that they came from Rome. We have chronicles attesting that, written also in the language of letters, -Curch language-Old Church Slavonic). The reason we dropped the Old Slavonic and replaced it with Romanian in Church is simple ...nobody understood it ....and as opposed to Latin, nobody was using it anymore at international level. But nothing related to 19 th century in the 16 th century. //Anyway I do think that at least south Romania has the same mentality as Bulgaria, only different language. That nuances being told, Bulgaria being my favorite summer destination, please excuse our politicians in 1913 and do finish Pyce -Varna highway cause we need it:)

[@MrSwatbg]

+GeorgeRR1978 , Friend, I cannot say that I disagree with you from start to finish, because you make some points an average Romanian will usually hesitate to make, according to my subjective observations, of course. To me, this is a sign that you are capable of critical thought, which is enough to consider you a worthy interlocutor I'd like to continue a dialoge with, even if we have disagreements. But your whole *prism* you put your view of history trough is messed up. Messed up not by you, but it hasn't been shaped properly on a state level. And here's how and why. What I notice in your writing, as well as conversing with other Romanians about history in the past, is that everything regarding the events, as well as socio-political climate that toke place trough the centuries across today's Romanian lands, has to be put trough the _Romania/n prism._ That's understandable, because the state of Romania and the Romanians as people with such _collective national identity_ do exist for quite a while, and when historiographers are shaping a national identity (this is done everywhere), things _should_ make sense, otherwise the state's entity would be politically unstable in the long run. But on other hand, this leads to highly subjective interpretation of history, or the politicizing of history as a whole, and as a fireback mechanism, which opens holes of vulnerability in that country's national identity, which I'll point one bellow. Each country's policy is shaped by it's history is one way or another, and vice versa, yet it's in our interest to search for the truth, and the less subjective it can be, the better. Otherwise we're just throwing claims from left to right, based on our own affinity to certain theories. And that's not what history is all about, we both can agree. The theory of the Romanian historiography, regarding the Vlachs' role in the birth of the second Bulgarian Empire, is that the two brothers who initiated the rebellion, Asen and Petar, according to only the Romanian historiographers, were Vlachs. The rebellion was started after the Byzantine raised the taxes, which did hit very hard the Vlach herdsmen. Therefore the correct name this empire should be reffered to is _Vlacho-Bulgarian_ empire. The *first reason* behind these statements is the potential source of a national complex in Romania's national identity. A potential for a complex that must be erased. If we can phrase it.. _We are Romanians, our ancestors are Vlachs, and the reason they (we) were part of the /Vlaho/Bulgarian empire is because they (we) played _*_crucial role_*_ in it's formation, _*_NOT_*_ because they were subjugated._ The *second reason* behind making such statements, is the source of the first one. The Romanian historiographers approach the past of the Wallachian lands with a grain of victimhood. They treat Serdica's and Veliko Tarnovo's rule over the present day Romanian lands as a *foreign rule* because nowadays the Bulgarians are considered foreigners, and a _subjugation_ by foreigners which should be denied for the sake of Romania's pride. They view Serdica's and Tarnovo's rule the way the Serbs would, in the times of Simeon's annexation of Serbia. And there has never been Bulgarian subjugation of the Vlachs in that sense. There has never been a conquest as the one over Serbia or other neighboring lands and peoples. And there has never been Wallachian rebellion against the empire too. Isn't that strange? Therefore the potential for a national complex in the core of the Romanian national identity as _former subjugated people_ the Romanian historiographers have been afraid of for quite a while does *not initially exist,* but created unintentionally by the historiographers themselves. Such are the holes of vulnerability in one national identity I mentioned above. They describe the history (the past of the Bulgarians and Vlachs) trough their modern prism of today, trough the prism of the modern Romanian and Bulgarian cultural and political climate. And the term *identity* now has nothing to do with people's understanding of where they belong to five centuries ago, let alone further back. This is the hardline politization of the history I wrote about. *Now to the claim itself and what we know (not claim) about the two brothers and their origin.* The two brothers were an object of interest for the Byzantine authors and other foreign courts. They have been described as violent, proud and merciless individuals. What we know about their identity? Very little. At least not as much as we know about the rest. A lot has been written about them as historical personalities, but their exact lineage is not well researched. In such cases, another sources come into help. *Tsar Kaloyan* , brother of Ivan Asen I and Teodor-Petar, in his letters to the Roman Pope Innocent III, writes that _the second Bulgarian Empire is not a new state, but the same state of Simeon, Peter and Samuil, which the brothers _*_inherited by right._* *Tsar Kaloyan* in his letters to Innocent III writes that the previous Bulgarian Tsars are their (Kaloyan's, Asen's and Peter's) *ancestors.* So, Asen and Peter's brother, Kaloyan, states that their ancestors are *all* the Bulgarian Tsars before them. To make something else clear - In the medieval Bulgarian political system, claims for the throne could have *only* people who are from the Bulgarian royal lineage and nobody else. In other words, not juch Vlachs, simply Bulgarians who were not from the Tsarist lineage couldn't have any claim for the throne. As a comparrison, in Byzantium a monarch could be everybody, if he plays his cards well. In Bulgaria, power-wise, the dynastic chain has been unbreakable. Once again, *Tsar Kaloyan* (Asen's and Peter's third brother) in his letters to the Pope states that _..the data about their lineage they have found in the books of their old Tsars_ , which means that the family possessed books and text which were not only cultural and historical, but also dynastic herritage. *Paisius of Hilendar* states clearly that the three brothers (including Asen and Peter) are heirs of Samuil. Even if we pretend that these sources of information do not exist, and we blindly accept the absurd theory that the two brothers were Vlachs, why they, once the so *foreign Bulgarian dominance* has ended, why didn't they make a rebellion north of Danube? This could be far easier, will require far less men, will grant them a very own Vlach's state, and the river would be a natural protection line. But they did built churches in Tarnovo. And they did reestabilished the Bulgarian state, as their brother (and the rest of Europe) state clearly. These are simple questions the Romanian historiographers would not dare to give answers for. Because argumentation requires far more work and simply throwing claims. _As regards Transilvania, there were some bulgarian/and local slavs there, but there were vlahs present this is for sure as their leaders were not Bulgarians and they mostly recognized the influence of the Constantinople._ Vlach's were present everywhere, even in Thrace here and there. Yet they were herdsmen. The Bulgarians had the power, military ouposts and held the salt sources across Transylvania. _As regards the Bulgarian language, it is true that the cult language of the Court in Romanain lands was Old Church Slavonic, that is Old Bulgarian. But nobody saw this as a recognition of the Bulgarian dominance or whatever._ If there was no recognition of a Bulgarian dominance, why didn't the Vlachs try to rebel against the Bulgarians, at least once? So, the Vlachs don't recognize the Bulgarian domination, but their revive the Bulgarian empire..the source of the so called Bulgarian domination at the first place. I sense a strong smell of confusion, my friend. _Dont confuse this by thinking that it was between ourselves._ The only language the Wallachians have *writen* until 16th century has been Old and afterwards Middle Bulgarian, as all the documents, without exception, show. What they did spoke at home, my friend, is a matter of a guess without proof. And when a state historiography makes bold statements, based on guess without proof...then the same state's historiography has a problem. _Vlahs knew all the time that they came from Rome._ So, your ancestors are Dacians (Thracians) who fought against Rome, then they got partly latinized, then the Wallachians emerged (who, according to your words, were *from* Rome), and nowadays you are Romanians who are proud to descent from the Dacians, but also proudly name yourself after the conquerors of your ancestors? Sorry my friend, but this is too much. _The reason we dropped the Old Slavonic and replaced it with Romanian in Church is simple ...nobody understood it._ Regarding Old Bulgarian, it was the lithurgical language across the Wallachian lands from..always until the 1860s, if my recall does not fool me. Are you telling me that the Walalchians/Romanians needed 10+ centuries (one thousand years! +) to realise that they don't understand the language they have been using in their churches for the last millenium? _please excuse our politicians in 1913_ This has been long time ago already :) As a clarification, before the Romanians join that war, they refused several times the invitation of the Serbs. In other words, the Romanians have not been very happy to hit Bulgaria in the back and that decision has been solely political one. Instead of reminding ourselves the political mistakes of our ancestors, we should look forward to build our common future together. _do finish Pyce -Varna highway_ The sooner, the better, my friend! :)

[@jivkuu]

So Romanians are latin but when they give positive answer they say "DA" for yes .Its a bit strange.

[@antoanetarai6293]

Hi , I am native Bulgarian . Your video is great! I enjoy it! I Am happy that Bulgaria have such a friend like you!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Great, thanks a lot!

[@trevorjory3002]

Impressed, it looks so interesting and worth a visit, . Thank you Gabriel , take care .

[@basedbulgarian511]

I'm from Bulgaria! When you're Varna next time, be sure to visit the petrified forest! Here's a few translations of the big signs in the video: 2:20 "In the dark." I believe it's some kind of tattoo shop. 4:27 "Hotel Kiev" 16:19 big sign overhead reads "Central Market"

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Yeah I wanted to visit that forest but didn't get the chance. It looked really cool. Sounded a bit complicating to get there without a car, and I had limited time in Varna.

[@svilenahristova2494]

Omg I live in England now but am from Bulgaria and I was on my holiday the exact same time! If I only knew you are going to be there I could give you a tour. Veliko Turnovo is my favorite city in Bulgaria! I studied in the uni there and I have a master in tourism so I can be the perfect guide. Such a shame I didn't know! Because I was on holiday I didn't pay much attention to my phone but to my friends and family...anyways hope you had a great time and that you liked my country and if you are ever going back tell me :)

[@mariafernandaahenaine252]

Do you have any recos on Bulagaria, for someone that only has 3 days- Thansk!

[@town_walker]

I'm happy to see you in my state! WELL DONE keep going in this way to show us your adventure. Best wishes to you guys!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Thanks.

[@brianpan6453]

Hey Gabriel: Off to Veliko Tarnovo today after spending some quality time in Sofia. Thanks for the great intro!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Right on, enjoy. Also everyone recommended Plovdiv as being a nice city, but I didn't go there.

[@mumblic]

1:46 I think that "the pepers" poster was for a club event! ;-)

[@marduchok]

yeah, looks like a cover band evening or just RHCP music event

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

That would make a lot more sense. I could imagine them playing in Sofia in a larger venue, but not at a little club in Veliko Tarnovo.

[@marduchok]

Imagine Anthony Kiedis screams from the stage: We love you Cheliko...Celiro...Telivo...whatever this town called...we love you..

[@mumblic]

If you go to the facebook page of the club you will see that the entrance is (was) free and if you buy 2 beers you get 1 for free! facebook.com/melonliveclub/ That would make the people of "Veliko Tarnovo" the luckiest of the world! ;-)

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Alex, haha, totally.

[@LivingWalks]

Thanks for sharing your insightful and well filmed video Gabriel. I always enjoy following along with you. We film natural sound and sight go pro walks so it's really good to have others guiding me through a journey I may never take. I've subscribed and look forward to seeing more.

[@netapool4218]

Veliko tarnovo is very fascinating place, you can travel to mid era ages, so historical spiritual

[@Strider3671]

The land of the blue jeans lol. Look again most people are wearing blue jeans. Old, young and everyone in the middle. I haven't seen so many people in the states wear blue jeans since the 70's. Its great to see this...

[@Hartofilax]

hahah i havent noticed, but since you made the observation its kinda is. I`m wearing blue jeans atm :)

[@NikeBG]

Well, what else are people going to wear. Black jeans? :D ;)

[@RovexHD]

Everyone wears blue, black, grey kind of lame!

[@joshmuldoon9622]

Great vid GT, lovely chilled looking town. Keep em coming! :)

[@johnleclerc8806]

The castle church interior is decorated in eerie style, grey ghost-like figures.

[@parfumsensa1]

Very strange, it does not correspond to the canons of the Orthodox Church

[@NikeBG]

It was painted in some kind of socialist art (socialist realism, perhaps?), during the communist regime. The whole building was reconstructed at that time and, since the commies were militant atheists who actively opposed all religions, I guess they found it fitting to fill "their" church with such non-canonical paintings. I'm not even sure if the building was ever sanctified.

[@dalia_mar]

@@NikeBG lol not everything you see painted in grey is communistic.It looks as the style of Svetlin Rusev, an artist who was also a university teacher.The frescos probably didn't survived or the archaeologist didn't have enough matherial to recover them.Yep,sad.

[@slakolev2784]

The city has historic significance and is located in the center of Bulgaria with less than 100 000 population. We host tourists regurarly and many of us speak English. There are many events and it's beautiful during the different seasons. The difficulties are with wages being incomparable to the bigger city, unless you have something going on. People are generally friendly, sociable, hospitable and hard-working. It's the perfect quiet little city.

[@chasingadeline]

Wow!!! Bulgaria 🇧🇬 is on our bucket list!!! But first back to New Zealand 🇳🇿

[@marlenemcmillan8891]

Love this video...lots to see...good shots of people

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Thanks Marlene.

[@Worldofourown2024]

This is a super fun walk video! Weird how's there's hardly no one there yet the market is gorgeous and fully stocked. I bet Saturday has more foot traffic and action. Thanks for sharing your adventure. I was able to escape for a moment, the fact I'm grounded at home for the foreseeable future.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Excellent, glad you enjoyed.

[@ventsiurilski]

You should definitely visit Plovdiv it is a mesmerising city

[@K0ler0l]

The map on that T-shirt was not accurate . Here is a link to the proper map : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_I_of_Bulgaria#/media/File:Bulgaria-(893-927)-TsarSimeon-byTodorBozhinov.png Also its not proper to say that "Simeon the first" was a king. He had the title Tsar witch is equal to the title Emperor

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

Tsar = Cesar, Emperor was a separate public or military title, traditionally bestowed via a separate part of the regalia during coronation or as a ritual separate thereof. not every Tsar was an emperor, and nearly no Tsar was a King, a title formally bestowed only with the concession of the Vatican (or the Archbishop for the UK)

[@NikeBG]

+Stanislav Kostarnov So you mean the German Keiser wasn't an emperor? Caesar and imperator were originally indeed two separate titles (as well as Augustus), but especially in the Middle Ages they were all of imperial rank. And tsar is derived from caesar and equal to the English emperor and the medieval Greek basileos, for which there are also plenty of evidences (f.e. one Byzantine chronicler reported about an incident during the battle of Setina, IIRC, where the Bulgarians saw Basil II coming and ran away saying "Beziti o tsaisar" (written on Bulgarian with Greek letters by the chronicler, meaning "Run, the tsar [is coming]"); or more simply - Tsarigrad, the city of the emperors (which during our second golden age, late 14th c., was also used for Tsarevgrad Tarnov, when the idea of Tarnovo as the second Constantinople and third Rome was born, albeit for a short time)).

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

Byzantine Tzars were indeed both Tzars and East-Roman Emperors, though the title of emperor was later moved *(dividedly) to the Dukes of Transylvania with whom it rested until the communists came.... however the title was BESTOWED separately in a separate part [chapter] of the coronation ceremony. this is the main example I thought about when wording my comment about separate regalia representing the title of Tzar and Emperor. In the early medieval times it was common to confer the title of Tzar on your preferred successor while you are still alive, and rule with the title of emperor alone. Most indeed were Tzars Emperors and Dukes (Knyaze/Vladiki) simultaneously, but... they are not Equal. as for the Kaisers, the title of Emperor was given to Them (legitimately or otherwise) by a military council, the title thus becoming a military one rather than a bureaucratic dynastic one.

[@NikeBG]

Dukes of Transylvania (of which there were only 4 during the 13th-14th c.) holding the Roman imperial title until the commies? Eh... what? Also, you're confusing the Bulgarian title "tsar" with the medieval Greek "kaisar" - they have the same etymological root, but were two separate titles with different rankings. As I said, "tsar" was equal to "basileos" (recognized by the Byzantines themselves; even sharing many of the intricacies of the use of basileos in regards to ancient and Biblical kings), whereas "kaisar" ("kesar" in Bulgarian) was initially an imperial title, usually given to the heir, but which eventually became devalued, especially with the appearances of the sevastokrator and despot titles. Tsar and Kaiser are two separate evolutions of the title.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

as far as I remember, though these are the dates of the existence of the Dukes of Transylvania as a Title of royal Authority, the title was re-used in the later days of the attempted reinstatement of the Balkan monarchies in the interwar period. the last Monarch of Transylvania *(not sure whether Duke was the correct title/presumed it was but unsure) was forced to abdicate by the red army. at least that's what I read, could be wrong... here, I am already way out of my zone of Knowledge.

[@technixbul]

No, the letters are the same sound as russian (every sound is a letter) and aphabet is the same as russian because we bulgarians invent it and give it to Russia. This aphabet is called Cirilytsa in the name of Kiril & Metodii who are bulgarian brothers and invent Glagolitsa wich is the base of Cirilyc Alphabet that was later developed by Kiril's Students. the russian Alphabet still use full Cirilyc but also adopt some more letters (as i remember 4 of them) from Glagolitsa

[@technixbul]

@Zig Zag WTF are you talking about man ... they are Bulgarians, their names are bulgarian (the roots of their names are greek as many bulgarian names, as we was under bysantine influence at that time - we was enslaved by greek empire for 200 years) they only study for a few years in Greece and thats all! Your info is very wrong and twisted by polithics of goverment. Their mother is bulgarian they are born in Thessaloniki (Solun) but at that time this city was bulgarian and on BULGARIAN theritory and their true real names who their parents gave them are not Kiril and Metodii but Tsurho (Tsar-ho wich comes from Tsarkva "church" as later Constantine Kiril) and Strahota (wich means "instills fear" as later Metodii) because their real names was hard to pronounce by greeks. At later times Glagolitsa was also changed to Kirilitsa by Kiri's folowers and students so greeks to be able to read it and exist to now days as "easyer" Cyrilic alphabet. Glagolitsa alphabet itself has nothing to do with greek letters rather than later Kirilitsa. Glagolitsa has more comon with armenian and persian alphabet than with greek one. Euro curency symbol (€) is glagolitsa letter "E"

[@MarkBH70]

Bulgaria is a neglected destination. I liked the castle! I would like to see Rila Monastery. It's in Rila. If someone wants to travel to a specific country, unlike Gabriel, or live there, it's good to learn the language. Not helpful for traveling the world. Picking up a few words helps too. I learned a foreign language and traveled to that country. French works in Africa, etc; Arabic in many countries; Spanish in much of Latin America; Portuguese in Portugal and Brazil. Fun!

[@Q_QQ_Q]

Bulgaria is named after Bulgars - t turkik tribe .

[@eattravelraverepeat3791]

Impossible to speak every language though, and English is the lingua franca of the world. Good idea to at least learn hello and thank you of the place you are visiting out of politeness.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

a lot of Bulgarian words are similar in all of the Slavic languages, so learning a few (or even better of the Ukrainian version [closer too more languages]) of the basic words of thanks, greeting etc, will get you by in many a Slavic culture.

[@MarkBH70]

Stanislav Kostarnov Good to know. I'm learning two languages now. Slavic languages, except perhaps a little of one, will have to wait. If I go to Bulgaria I will intend on learning a few words.

[@nickatanassov104]

Wrong

[@alexandrablendea7841]

What a cute owl Tshirt! 😊

[@billycooksey7801]

Bravo. Great video.

[@jesusonXTC]

Nice place! Reminds me of Bursa, Turkey a little

[@nikhilwadkar3551]

Sir have you ever been to Poland ? And which is the best place to see there ?

[@DarthAdolf0]

Check out the Salina Turda Amusement park in Romania... It's inside an old abandoned Salt mine! Nat Geo just did an article on it!

[@ЛАРГОТРЕЙДЕООД]

When you entered the fortress, on your right side there is a tower. It's called Balduin's tower. There was kept captive the emperor of the Latin empire till his death after this battle en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adrianople_(1205)

[@williamjohn52]

Can you explain the still shot effects you like to do? I mean some of them make sense but the random people you pass?? An explanation afterwards would solve the mystery.

[@sincity5268]

was wondering the same

[@Q_QQ_Q]

there should always be dividers on the 4 lane roads or more .

[@HellhammerHH]

Haha nailed it at 9:17! Very nice sir at 14:43. How did you manage to record without him being bothered? I really liked this one. The castle is intact! Absolutely gorgeous. Transylvania anytime soon?

[@vaultkeeper2]

Don't forget to take a day trip to Arbanasi, less than 10 km away, you can walk there or take taxi

[@zarni000]

too bad you didn't cover the Boyana chapel in Sofia. It is one of the first examples of renaissance art in Europe (if not the first)

[@chrisbrown8748]

AWWWWWW man I was just about to say I would be super tempted to pull my drone out and than I hit the 6:32 mark and see someone else had the same great idea.

[@Darko-P.]

Gabriel Traveler ✌️ very good presentation of the city👍..keep up the good work👍

[@gunterm2009]

pretty cool place

[@marduchok]

Gabe, have you ever had the idea to attach GoPro to a backpack strap?

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Do you mean a chest strap? I prefer to have it in my hand so that I can easily point it at whatever I want to point it at, and also point it at myself when I'm explaining things.

[@suruunconditionalluv3360]

Amazing Castle n Art 👌 ❤

[@sharifahmadi6867]

nice love all of your video from Afghanistan

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Thanks.

[@chhatrapatishivajimaharaj5719]

Hi,always great to see your videos Gabe ....from india

[@achernev]

I’m going there tomorrow

[@davenelson9505]

That looks like a cool city to visit. I would never think of going to Bulgaria but your video makes it look interesting and I see a lot of pretty women on the street.

[@WonderWhy66]

Just love your videos sir 🙏😌

[@agotahorvath]

Taking inspiration from your solo traveling . Will be going solo to Thailand . I was wondering if you ever get lonely or depressed from solo traveling ?

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Awesome. Yeah, it's just part of the traveling experience and life in general I guess. I suppose I'm used to it from so much solo traveling. And everyone is different so you won't know how you like it until you give it a try and find out. Where are you planning to go?

[@agotahorvath]

Phuket ,Krabi , koh phi phi..nowhere near as adventurous as your travels . I am not a seasoned solo traveler so dreading eating alone , will push me out of my comfort zone , which is probably not a bad thing.

[@AngelTomov3]

What kind of Camera do you use, the quality is SUPERB !?!?!?!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Great to hear. GoPro Hero 6. Depends on the video, camera info is always listed below each video.

[@danfredrick8252]

Correction: Russians use Bulgarian alphabet. (Kiril, the alphabet guy, is buried in Rome San Clemente church near coloseo.)

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Cool.

[@alancalvitti]

iphone calendar doesn't work in e. europe?

[@hamadaahmed5025]

Dear Gabriel I want to live and work in Veliko Tarnovo far from tourist places what is available work there

[@JennieDreamWeaver]

I would love to see them, anywhere really!! But wouldn’t that be amazing to have seen them there! Do you prefer warm or cold weather Gabe? You are gettin better at the language ha ha! Wow how absolutely stunning the paintings on the inside of the castle, great piece there.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Yeah I totally would have gone to that show if it was them. But I think they weren't actually playing there but instead it was a cover band or something. I like both warm weather and cold weather, it just depends on my mood. Right now I feel like finding some colder weather before the winter is over. There will be warmer days coming soon.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

The castle... Fort crown prince I think that would be in English?

[@chrisbutler6258]

You travel so much you dont know what the date is, hilarious Gabe !

[@stefanlush6890]

Hey Gabriel! With everywhere you've been. Whats your top 3 countries?

[@bikecommuter24]

The true sign of a "expert" is knowing when to shut up and let the real expert talk, I do that with the older guys when I'm around cars and motorcycle events, Bless them they forget more than I will ever know.

[@PifchoBG]

2:00 Cuz they dont. They dont play in clubs dont be silly, they play on stadiums. last visit was in Sofia, Arena Armeec. 2012y

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Yeah that's what I figured. I guess it was a cover band or something that was playing their music.

[@cucharadeoro]

The Cyrillic alphabet is something historically unique and you could have given it a five-minute research on Wikipedia.

[@takinglives2441]

As I see in other of oyur videos you talk about Bulgarian alfhabeth.It's not similar to any other but its just ouer...Made here used here ty :) with love

[@WonderWhy66]

Wow!! So cool

[@apusimpson7810]

At 16:50 why didn't you break out into a song. You could have earned some bus money. Cha ching!

[@mertfiliz1069]

Im Turkish but Tarnovo is my birthplace to my grand grand father

[@alyccaeve]

How good is their internet access and public transport?

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Both are great, the wi-fi is the fastest I've had in a while, what a relief. The buses were super comfy and the roads are good.

[@shadowshelbyz]

Hi Gabe, it would be nice if you'll go Trekking in Huaraz Peru , the 'ultimat expedition ' waz film there and i'm sure it will got some popularity in the future it look awesome, a little like your nepal trekking video but in peru, thanks for the good work and the nice travels videos

[@abhiram3749]

Do you use a microphone with the gopro ?

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

No, just the built-in gopro mic.

[@MH-rw3tj]

Hey Gabriel! You were in an inappropriate season to see these places in Bulgaria! Bulgaria has 4 seasons! If you visit Bulgaria in the winter time, it is best to go to the ski resorts and not to the towns because there is nothing interesting there then! If you want to see the beauty of nature in Bulgaria like the green mountains with lakes and peaks with stunning views, fortresses and towns with history, it is best to do it in the summer time! You must know this in advance! This is also the mistake of some tourists who do it and it's really so sad! Believe me there is a huge difference in visiting Bulgaria from the beginning to the end of the summer than in the winter time!

[@live.love.travel5720]

😂😂😂the statue with a beer

[@mikeykeyes]

some amazing young women around too

[@Beazoner]

Oh bro if you are bulgarian thats the last thing that catches your eyes! We are pretty used to our beautiful babes :):)

[@MartinStaykov]

You should have went in the summer, it's a lot nicer.

[@mihailnikoloff2554]

Nice video

[@rnik8156]

RHCP arent playing dude is just a poster abouth RHCP night in club.......they played in Sofia during their last European tour.

[@nikhilwadkar3551]

Sir have you ever been to Transylvania ?

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

No, not yet, but I might go there soon.

[@nikhilwadkar3551]

Sir I am heard that the Transylvania is a famous for Dracula . Is that true ?

[@Loreurka]

Nikhil Wadkar It's a legend but the history of dracula is inspired of a castle in Transylvania, yes

[@SuiGenerisAbbie]

01:44 Red Hot Chili Peppers are the BOMBEST!!!!!!!!! Love 'em!

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

actually, Cyrillic letter sounds are nearly always the same as in Latin or Greek (for the likes of "в" you can visually see these are not Latin symbols in the handwritten form), dependent on the letter, there are also a small number of symbols taken from Hebrew, also Phonetically accurately, at least for the old-Slavic pronunciation when they were taken.

[@hristodinkov3816]

Thank you for the videos. I.m very happy you like my country. Enjoy your trip. Just one correction. Russians alphabet looks like Bulgarian alphabet. ""The early Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the First Bulgarian Empire[26] and later finalized and spread by disciples Kliment and Naum in the Ohrid and Preslav schools of Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria[27] as a simplification of the Glagolitic alphabet which more closely resembled the Greek alphabet. It was developed by the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th century." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Cyril_and_Methodius

[@1bigbillz]

"Dates are kind of irrelevant to me" haha I'm guessing that rings true for much of your audience. Salient point

[@joeyorchoowski1763]

0:53 What's wrong with it?

[@kishanraval8079]

again i am the first one to like this