#664 Devin Castle, Slovakia

On a 212m rocking cliff down the Danube River just out of Bratislava (#677) on the border with Austria is the Devin Castle, sitting high above the strategic joining of the Danube and Morava Rivers.

Settled since Neolithic times, and fortified since the Bronze Age, including by the Celts and the Romans, it was a place where trade could be controlled from. It was first written of in 864 when Louis the German beseiged Prince Rastislav. In the 13th Century the Hungarians built a castle here to protect their western frontier.

From 1301 to 1444 it was held variously by the Dukes of Austria, Charles I of Hungary, Margrave Jobst of Moravia, Sigismund of Hungary, and Duke Stibor of Stiboricz, Austrian knight Lessel Herring, Nicholas II Garay, King Frederick IV of Germany, and Ladislaus II Garay.  

The Hapsburgs added a palace in the 15th Century, and from then it was held strong against the Ottoman army. Various families controlled the castle in latter centuries until Napoleon destroyed it in 1809.

Interesting fact: the earliest church north of the Danube can be found in the Roman ruins here. 

Views from the 'Maiden Tower', a tiny watch tower separated from the main castle and balanced perilously on a small rock down the hill (not pictured) are the best in the whole castle, and of course, the legends of love-struck women locked in the tower leaping to their death abound!

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dev%C3%ADn_Castle 

#672 Tlos (Tlawa), Turkey

High above the scenic Xanthos valley lies the religiously important Lycian city, Tlos, which was known to the Lycians as Tlawa. Around 4000 years of civilization have layered together, as the area was subsequently controlled by Romans, Byzantines, and Ottoman Turks, each of which left their layer of civilization (it is one of the few Lycian cities to have been continuously inhabited up to the 19th century). It was one of the six important Lycian cities, perhaps even the most important, and in mythology, it was the home of Bellerophon and his winged horse Pegasus. Despite the layers of civilization, it was "rediscovered" by Charles Fellows in 1838, and the beautiful site was admired as appropriate of such an important city.

The most dominant feature is the acropolis and fortress, and the path leading up is dotted with Lycian sarcophagi and rock-cut tombs, such as the Tomb of Bellerophon, with an unfinished four-column facade with Bellerophon riding Pegasus (inside is a carving of a lion or a leopard). The fortress, most recently occupied by the Ottoman "Bloody Chief Ali" (Kanlı Ağı Ali).

There are two baths, adjacent to each other, one of which has an apse with seven windows (known as Yedi Kapi or Seven Gates locally). They are approximately dated to 100-150 C.E. Part of a market hall with pretty arches is behind the Hippodrome. 

The Lycian sarcophagi tombs are giant coffins with carved lids.

 

 

Roman Stadium/Hippodrome seats -- its capacity was 2,500 people.

View of the site with hippodrome in front and
amphitheater at the back as seen from the top of the hill.

Much of the site was roped off for safety, including the Roman-era amphitheater with 34 rows of seats (seen here from afar) and the Byzantine church (see below), although the church could be closed for political reasons. A portion of the stage has many inscriptions and carvings. One records donations for construction of the theatre ranging from 3000 denarii by the priests of Dionysus and Cabiria to smaller donations of 100 denarii. Opramoas (a philanthropist) had one large donation, but theatre still took around 150 years to construct.

Stone steps are faded and worn but still visible in the climb to the top of the hill. At right, you can see how a Lycian coffin lid has been repurposed as a building block by subsequent groups.

Inside the Byzantine church, which was roped off preventing entrance.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlos
http://www.lycianturkey.com/lycian_sites/tlos.htm
http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/tlos&page=all

#677 Bratislava, Slovakia

I think it has to be one of my favorite capitals and cities in Europe. I like big cities, but I also really like small cities, and that's what Bratislava is. It was a relatively minor provincial city (although the capital of the Communist Slovak Republic) for the past 50 years until the breakup of the USSR), and after that it rocketed to fame as the new country's capital city. 

What did I love most? -- I think aside from the beautiful uber-clean pedestrianized streets of the center with their pretty painted colors my favorite thing of all was all the statues - they are everywhere, and then there are also street performers pretending to be the famous statues! If that's not enough there are also multiple fountains around town as well (Ganymede's Fountain built in 1888, Roland's Fountain built in 1572, etc, etc). The most famous statues are The Peeper (coming out of a manhole on Panska), The Frenchman (leaning on a park bench on Hlavne nam), and The Photographer (guarding a corner on Laurinska).

Not all statues are made of metal!

Street performers mimicking the city's famous statues!

What is there to see? I think you shouldn't miss the massive square brick of a castle on the top of the hill, if not for the castle itself but for the great views over the river and the old town. It was a Roman frontier post from the 1st to the 5th Centuries, and the seat of the Hungarian royalty until it burnt down in 1811. The Historical Museum is inside (including an Ice Hockey Hall of Fame) as well as a Museum of Folk Music.

Slovakia's multiple changes throughout history echo through its capital, from imperial grandeur (it was the capital of Hungary from 1541 to 1830 while the Ottomans controlled Buda), suburban housing projects (of its communist days), multiple Roma, to its current EU pizzazz.

What is its history? Although a Roman outpost first, the city itself was founded in 907 AD, and it was quite substantial by the 12th Century with commerce developing in the 14th and 15th Centuries. Renaissance monarch Matthias Corvinus of Hungary founded a university here in 1467 (the Academia Istropolitana), and because it was Hungary's capital, so also saw 11 Hungarian kings and 7 queens crowned. Maria Theresa of Austria built many baroque palaces, and it only became part of Czechoslovakia after 1918.

Lonely Planet claims new arrivals on a wet day will be faced with a grey, imposing, one-dimensional city, and that the old city is meagre, but I claim otherwise. 

They did say however that Bratislava is a "youthful city, bursting with big ideas and fresh optimism" which I do agree with.

Only an hour away from Vienna (#911) down the Danube, it is just as much in the heart of Europe, but on it's Eastern heart instead of it's Western heart. 

The unique Michael's Tower looks over Bratislava from Zamocnicka alley.

Source: Lonely Planet Eastern Europe 8th Edition 2005