Bulgaria, Country of Cultural Diversity

Banya Bashi is the name given to the mosque of Sofia, capital city of Bulgaria. The building is part of the public baths complex, thus the name (banya means bath, bashi means much). The baths are no longer functional but they continued to be conserved. The mosque is from the Ottoman Empire and is still open for Muslims in Bulgaria, and also for visitors.

Just a few minutes from the mosque we find further religious buildings: Sveti Yosif, the Catholic catedral; Sveta Nedelya the Orthodoxe church; and the synagogue of Sofia. This square comprising the four religious buildings is known as ‘The Square of Tolerance’, famous in Bulgaria for its geometric shape and for the respect it brings to the religious heritage.