Sofia Parts with Beloved 'Slaveykov' Book Market

It would be a pity if this Sofia landmark would disappear. It is one of the first sights I'm taking my guests to when showing Sofia.

Richie,

I have bought more than a few books here, but not in the last few years. All of the books for sale are the same and not very interesting.
Some of the stands on the side streets had some real gems.
These I will miss.

Richie,

Not only a landmark, but it was a place with a spirit. To "relocate" it to a "designated" area will certainly not work. In Istanbul, my home town, there was a bridge crossing the Golden Horn. It was standing on pantoons and you were feeling the movements of sea, while on the bridge. In the lower part of the bridge, there were many restaurants. You could see them full of people at night. It was a happiness to go there, have a good time with friends and enjoy the sea. Then they removed the bridge to make a bigger one which would not swing an inch. The restaurants would be "relocated" in this very well "designated" new bridge. Now, you can see nobody on that bridge enjoying his/her time, all restaurants, after trying the new place, either closed or moved somewhere else.

The cities live and those "relocations" to "designated" places, I hate.

How long it takes for a sight to become a landmark? A year? A decade ? A century? A millennium?

Sofia is old city with landmarks that date from thousand years ago. This so called “landmark” was just a flea market that sprang up after 1990 in the spirit of the unknown phenomena of entrepreneurship and free market that started taking roots . It is colourful , crowded, and messy.

Before that it used to be just a thoroughfare like any other except that it had a row of telephone booths in time when home telephones were a rarity (a true indication of how connected a person was with people in the right places-- if he got one). It was the place young lovers, old friends, strangers used to meet. You could say it was a landmark then too. But of another kind.

The fact that they sell books now does not change the fact that it is something more than a “bitpazar” that does not belong in the heart of a European city. Zhenski Pazar is a better place for that sort of commercial activities.

Beloved is a strong word that should be used sparingly.
Just my opinion.

replace something with *nothing*