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Across the road from the Church of Sveta Bogoroditsa stands a vast tower of crumbling red brick, once the western wall of the Roman thermae (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm & Sat 10am-5pm; US$1), a sizeable complex thought to have been built in the late second or early third century - coins found on the site bear the image of the emperor Septimus Severus (AD 193-211). Scrambling among the ruins, it's possible to imagine the ritualized progress of the bathers from the apodyterium , or changing room, through the rising temperatures of the frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium ; and then back again. The daily visit to the baths was an important part of social life, and bathers would circulate and exchange gossip in a large central hall, or palaestra , which also served as a venue for athletic contests and daily workouts. The adjacent Church of Sveti Atanas (Tues-Sun 10am-12.30pm, and around the time of the evening service at roughly 6-7pm) is a classic example of National Revival architecture. An arcaded porch precedes a sumptuous interior, with a rich, gilt iconostasis, carved wooden ceiling, and painted marble-effect pillars. The icons on display here contain many of their original Greek inscriptions, which is unusual in that in most churches they were scratched off once the Bulgarians took control.
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