1.0Tracks to Trailshttps://www.mauriziopittau.it/tracks-to-trailsrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="qWgnybiJ1K"><a href="https://www.mauriziopittau.it/tracks-to-trails/sofia-to-istanbul/">Sofia to Istanbul – Across Borders by Night</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.mauriziopittau.it/tracks-to-trails/sofia-to-istanbul/embed/#?secret=qWgnybiJ1K" width="600" height="338" title="“Sofia to Istanbul – Across Borders by Night” — Tracks to Trails" data-secret="qWgnybiJ1K" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://www.mauriziopittau.it/tracks-to-trails/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-20-at-17.34.39.jpg18091292Sofia, in the pale light of morning, revealed itself as a city where East and West have been in dialogue for centuries. Lorena and I joined the Free Sofia Tour, an inspired introduction to a capital too often overlooked. Our guide led us through broad boulevards and intimate courtyards, unspooling stories that reached back to Thracians, Romans, Ottomans, and Communists. We stood beneath the gilded domes of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, its heavy silence punctuated by the shuffle of visitors. We lingered by the National Theatre, admired the worn dignity of the St. George Rotunda, and traced the shadows of empire […]