Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian Church in Istanbul visited by over 300,000 in two years

Photo: BGNES

More than 300, 000 people have visited the Bulgarian iron church St. Stephen in Istanbul over the past two years. According to the chairman of the Bulgarian Churches in Istanbul Foundation Vasil Liaze, at least half of the visitors at the church are tourists from Bulgaria. 

After seven years of restoration work, the 120-year old church opened doors on 7 January, 2018. The ceremony was attended by Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 

The question of putting the iron church on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list was raised several times last year. The proposal for this was also presented to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay during her visit to Bulgaria. 





Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Forbes: Plovdiv is among the best destinations for New Year’s Eve

Bulgaria’s second largest city of Plovdiv is in the top 3 of recommended destinations for the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays in a ranking by Forbes. Experts from the European Best Destinations organization put Plovdiv in third..

published on 12/16/24 1:50 PM
Evtim Miloshev (C)

Minister Evtim Miloshev: Bulgarian tourism must become a strategic priority

At the official opening of the winter season in Bansko, caretaker Minister of Tourism Evtim Miloshev said that Bulgaria has the potential to become a leading tourist country in the region. It is high time the discussion began among all..

published on 12/14/24 5:42 PM

From winter wonderland to exotic shores – record-high holiday season travel

As the holiday season approaches, the Christmas and New Year’s offers are selling like hot cakes. Bookings started as early as September, and it is now next to impossible to find any vacancies in Bulgaria’s popular tourist destinations , hotel and..

published on 12/13/24 9:54 AM