Ruse 15 August

Visited the Roman Fortress Sexaginta Prista today. No photos. The area was first settled in Neolithic times and later was a Thracian settlement taken over by the Romans. (was curious about the Thracians and googled following info: they were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting large area in Central and South East Europe. The first historical record found of Thracians is in th Iliad where they were described as allies of the Trojans).

The Romans turned this into a naval centre under Emperor Vespasian, 70 AD. Sexaginta Pristina is a combination of Latin and Greek words, Sexaginta meaning 60 in Latin and pristis, Greek for special river guard ship. The fortress is build on a rise along the Danube and has a good view both up and down the river.

On the way to the swimming pool I passed the statue of BabaTonka. Had to goggle for info, since all info is in Bulgarian. Turns out she was a female revolutionary, born 1812. She is famous for sheltering a number of revolutionaries and for burying and preserving the skull of Stefan Karadzha. And who is this Stefan, you may ask, well, he was the leader of the rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Captured, tried and executed by the Turks, so how she got the skull, I do no know.

How is it possible to keep track of all this history?