15 July 2022 - HISTORIC TINY TOWN IN BULGARIA

 

HISTORIC TINY TOWN

 IN BULGARIA

G'day folks,

This tiny Bulgarian town offers a stunning location in the mountains and also has a storied history. 

You can see a lot in Melnik (Мелник). Sweeping mountain vistas, quaint city streets and picturesque valleys are all plentiful, as are fantastic markets and great bottles of wine.

But the most interesting thing you might come across is this number: 385. That’s the number of residents in this tiny Bulgarian hamlet, and many would say they’re 385 of the luckiest people on Earth.

Melnik is the smallest city in Bulgaria by a wide margin – in fact, it’s only able to maintain its status as an incorporated city in somewhat honorary fashion, due to the city’s storied history. In fact, nearly 100 of its barely-more-than-that buildings are designated historic landmarks.

Founded more than 1,000 years ago in the 9th century, Melnik has changed hands numerous times as war swept Europe over the centuries, at different times belonging to the Bulgarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Russia, and then Bulgaria once more.

The remote city is nestled in the Pirin Mountains, making both travel and residency difficult for citizens. The locals swear by this quiet and reserved isolation however, and visitors are quick to note the quaintness of the town, with its small cafes and old-world atmosphere instantly transporting tourists to something of a land that time forgot.

 It’s no wonder then, that Melnik has developed a robust and celebrated winemaking tradition, that most ancient of crafts, and one which is perfectly suited for its agrarian surroundings. Of course, that wine is the main cash crop of the sleepy town and brings delight to the locals as well as visitors. Sir Winston Churchill reportedly ordered 500 liters of Bulgaria’s Melnik wine every year leading up to and through World War II.

Melnik is also famous for the medieval Rozhen Monastery (Роженски Манастир). The monastery is a ten-minute drive or a pleasant hike from Melnik. There are well-preserved frescoes, stained glass windows, unique carvings, and buildings from the many different historical periods in the life of the monastery. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the many monasteries it founded are still revered, if now little used by either monks or worshippers. That reverence is devotional, of course, for some, but throughout Bulgaria the monasteries remain compelling because of their crucial role in preserving and spreading Bulgarian literacy, culture and identity during five centuries of Ottoman rule.

The town is an architectural park and all newly built houses must comply with the Bulgarian Revival architecture. The most visited house is the Kordopulov House, a private museum. Beneath it the ruins of the family church St. Barbara are also worth a stop. 

Of all once over 70 churches in town, only 3 are still functioning. One of the most important ones is the church St. Antony, the only one dedicated to this saint in Bulgaria. It’s believed that mentally ill patients can cure themselves by spending several nights under the church’s roof. Unlike most Bulgarian orthodox churches, the walls in this one are covered not in biblical scenes, but in more tranquil paintings of flowers and plants. 

If visiting Melnik on a sunny day and you’re up for a little hike, don’t miss to go all the way up to St. Nicholas plateau. You’ll find the magnificent ruins of several churches, monasteries and Despot Slav’s fortress walls. The views to the magical Melnik Pyramids are breathtaking from there. 

 

14 June 2022 - PARKSVILLE , NEW YORK - ONCE A THRIVING COMMUNITY

 

PARKSVILLE , NEW YORK 

- ONCE A THRIVING COMMUNITY -

G'day folks,

This Central New York ghost town was once a prosperous railroad community.  

Located in the town of Liberty, New York, Parksville garnered substantial attention at the turn of the 20th century with the establishment of The Ontario & Western Railway (O&W). The O&W provided easy and direct transportation to the picturesque Catskill region, where the industry was booming and tycoons were building stately summer homes and hotels.

What was once a peaceful village became a bustling destination lined with high-end resorts and covetable shopping. But patrons would eventually lose interest in the O&W railroad in favor of the Hamptons and the Jersey Shore. Today, visitors to Parksville will find a quiet, withered town of mostly abandoned buildings.

Parksville’s origins can be traced back to the early 19th century when pioneering families from the New England area migrated to Sullivan County, New York. Among the earliest settlers was William Parks, who kickstarted the town’s industry by building mills and cultivating a community. Though Parks and his family were not the first to migrate to the hamlet since named Parksville—the Parksville Planning Committee lists Martin and Eber Hall as the first to have arrived—Parks’ lasting influence on the area bestowed on him the honor of the derivative name, Parksville.

Parksville attracted new residents who would continue to develop business in the region and form a small but prosperous community of merchants and mill workers. From the 19th and into the 20th century, the O&W railway line would facilitate the popularity and growth of the Catskills on a large scale, and until the Great Depression, Parksville was a preferred summer destination for city dwellers in search of a peaceful country escape. 

 

Soon, Parksville would no longer be so peaceful. More than 100 hotels and resorts were built, and so many visitors flocked to Parksville that traffic jams in the town center were a regular sight. A number of the hotels closed their doors in the aftermath of the Great Depression, but the largest resorts—the Young’s Gap Hotel, the Prospect Inn, and the Grand Hotel, amongst a few others—remained in operation. In fact, the Young’s Gap, a beloved Parksville mainstay, would remain open into the 1960s, even through a steep decline in tourism with the steadily decreasing popularity of the O&W railway.

Route 17, a new highway that directed traffic through town, would briefly pique renewed interest in Parksville. In the late 80s and 90s, a group of local business owners tried to revive the town with a scattering of cafés, restaurants, and shops, but their success was short-lived. Route 17 became Interstate 86 which rerouted vehicles out of Parksville, so travelers had to make the town a pointed destination rather than it being an impromptu pitstop on their way through.

Today, Parksville is all but abandoned. While none of the original hotels, restaurants, or shops that once adorned the streets are still open, passersby can pay their respects to William Parks and his family, who are buried in the 19th century Baptist Church Cemetery. 

 

Update as of December 2020: A restoration effort is underway at the site. 

19 May 2022 - THE GORGEOUS TOWN OF ES-SALT, JORDAN

 

THE GORGEOUS TOWN OF 

ES-SALT, JORDAN

 

G'day folks,

This ancient town is full of stunning Ottoman architecture and streets so narrow trash collection is done by donkey. 

Just north of Amman, in Jordan’s Balqa Government, is a city that has been inhabited since at least the Chalcolithic period. The ancient town of Es-Salt is home to remarkable Ottoman architecture, the legendary location of the prophet Job’s interment, and streets so narrow and winding that for some residents trash collection is done via donkey instead of vehicle.

Full of gorgeous panoramas and historic structures, Es-Salt is best appreciated by way of a strenuous trek up the historic Harmony Trail. At the end of the ascent stands a striped pink-and-white stone building locally known as al-Qal’a, Arabic for “The Castle.” In fact, it is a mosque and memorial to Ottoman soldiers who died in the vicinity during World War I. Though it requires a long hike, the view of Es-Salt from The Castle is worth the effort. On this peak, you’ll be standing atop layers and layers of history.

 

While it was founded by Alexander the Great, there is attestation in both written and archaeological record (some of which is on display at the city’s museum) that the area was previously settled by a Semitic-speaking people. It has seen Byzantines, Ghassanid Arabs, Mongols, Mamluks, Ottomans, Brits, and others pass through—alternatively building, ravaging, repairing, and occupying the city. However, the mark left on the city by the Ottomans has persisted.

Under these Turkish-speaking rulers, Es-Salt was the administrative capital of Jordan, and it is consequently full of stunning examples of Ottoman architecture, characterized by long arching windows and elegantly carved stone. Its style has also been influenced by Nablusi architects, who came from Palestine in the late 19th century. This city boasts the oldest public secondary school in Jordan (visible in the distance from The Castle), which is still in operation. In the days when trade was carried out on foot or by caravan, Es-Salt was an important hub, lying on the path between Amman and Jerusalem.

Es-Salt has historically been a mixed city of Muslims and Christians, as attested to by the presence of numerous mosques and churches distributed among the tightly packed line of houses bordering the winding streets. Of all the churches, Al-Khader, or St. George Orthodox Church, is the most famous. It incorporates a small cave and is covered in ornate paintings of the disciples and of St. George slaying a dragon. Another highlight is the Al-Hammam Road, which runs through a bustling marketplace frequented by locals and whose doors are reminiscent of some of the famous markets in Syria. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better place to visit for an authentic Jordanian experience. 

Clancy's comment: Stunning place for a photographer.

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3 May 2020 - 'IRON SOUP' IN CAMPBELL, OHIO

 'IRON SOUP' 

in 

CAMPBELL, OHIO

G'day folks,

Like all abandoned towns, there is beauty and history in the ruins of this former company town. 

 

Youngstown, Ohio and the surrounding area was once a booming industrial center. Like many cities in America’s steel-producing Midwest, it flourished until the economy began to decline in the 1970s and these once-thriving towns saw their means of income and stability suddenly eviscerated. When that industrial apocalypse occurred, sadness and ruin were left behind.  

 

In the city of Campbell outside Youngstown, the beginning of the end came on September 19, 1977, a day forevermore known as “Black Monday.” The industrial powerhouse that was the lifeblood to the community and others around it, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, abruptly closed its Campbell Works and furloughed 5,000 workers.

Campbell was a company town with a company store and company housing, and it was all many families had ever known. When the mills started closing, those who could leave did. Those who stayed watched in slow-motion as year after year, decade after decade, as the town got smaller and smaller. 

The once-booming town has never recovered from Youngstown’s industrial demise.

Today, that old company housing still stands, mostly empty and crumbling. A few hearty individuals and families still call the area home, amidst abandoned concrete buildings, most boarded up and in serious disrepair. This area today is known as “Iron Soup.”

Nowadays, a group called the Iron Soup Preservation Society is working to bring the area back, one unit at a time, fixing up what can be fixed and renting out the units. The walls of the crumbling units hold amazing stories of a time now lost, and the preservation society is doing its best to help tell those stories before they are forgotten.

Clancy's comment: As you have probably gathered, these old towns fascinate me. Yep, I could visit every one of them seeking some sensational photographs. 

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