Evolution
Have you ever asked yourself what evolution means and why it is so important to society? Is it just a picture of monkeys and apes becoming human, the name Darwin or something far more? For me evolution exists everywhere in absolutely everything on the planet. Year after year the blossoms of the flowers became more beautiful and different than the ones your garden was full of last year. You can see the evolution even in the change of the climate all around the world. However there are some things you can’t observe that easily because they have been changing for hundreds and even thousands of years, and throughout all that time, there has been a silent witness – my town. And what better evidence of the evolution than the history of a town?
My place of birth Kyustendil, sprang up several millenniums ago at the foot of Osogovo Mountain because of its healing mineral springs. The first ones to live there were the Thracians, but it became a thriving town after the Romans arrived around the 1st century after Christ. It was named Pautalia, The Spring Town. This was a time of when big temples of Thracian and Roman gods were built along with some wide streets and the famous fortress depicted in the first photo located on the hill, Hisarlaka. The town slowly developed and became an important center of the Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages some more fortifications were added and after the Slavs came to live in the area the name of the town was changed to Velbujd, which was probably the name of a Slavish leader. Velbujd had a main role as a political, economical and religious center of the Middle Age Bulgarian Kingdom.
The look of the city completely changed when it fell under the Turkish yoke in the 14-19th century. From a developing city it became a totally oriental town with a lot of craftsman shops, mosques and Turkish buildings. The free will of the Bulgarian population couldn’t stand the yoke so they did what they were able to by building churches, schools and beautiful buildings in their own style. The second picture captures the essence of Bulgarian architecture of that time whit its white walls, stone foundation wood work. The picture is of a one room school.
After the emancipation of the Bulgarians, Kyustendil turned a real European city, with a lovely town center, which includes libraries, galleries, museums, schools, etc. It was the beginning of a new start for the whole town and the people living in it. The picture I chose to represent this phase of the evolution of the city is of the bold red municipality building, build during that time.
Today Kyustendil is modern, attractive and beautiful, and clearly the bond between the present and the past is amazingly strong. Modern buildings are situated next to old ones and the contrast is striking. Take for example the new light blue hotel in the fourth picture at the main alley in Kyustendil. All the people remember the history of the town which had been through really rough moments. And every generation continues to write the history of the city. Everyone keeps it alive and it can be seen in the eyes of the children and young people all over Kyustendil.
The past, the present and the future are knitted into the smiles of Kyustendil’s people. The long history of the city is a typical example of slow and gradual development that will continue in the future – the point of the evolution.
Essay by Alex Sredov
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