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SITES OF BULGARIA
ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL SITES
Nessebar – the town is situated at a little
rocky peninsula in the Black sea coast and it's one of the
most ancient in Europe. It was established 3000 years ago
by Thraks with the name Mesambria. After the capturing of
the castle by the Bulgarian king Krum in 812, the town was
included in the confines of Bulgaria with the name of Nessebar.
In 1959 the town was declared for architectural and archaeological
reserve and since 1983 has been included in the list of
World Cultural Inheritance of UNESCO.
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Sozopol is the oldest town of the Bulgarian
Black sea coast. Established as a Thracian settlement in 13th
- 12th century B.C., thanks to its strategic location Apolonia
rapidly turned into a prosperious city – state. In 14th century
the city was called Sozopolis – the city of salvation. The
narrow and short cobblestone lanes with the typical old Sozopol
houses give romance and uniqueness to the old town. Sozopol
is also remarkable by its many churches and monasteries and
it's one of the cultural centers having national significance.
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Kaliakra cape is a long and narrow headland
in the Southern Dobrudzha region of the northern Bulgarian
Black Sea Coast, located 12 km east of Kavarna and 60 km northeast
of Varna. The coast is steep and has vertical rocks reaching
70 m down to the sea. Kaliakra is a nature reserve, where
dolphins, cormorants and pinnipeds can be observed, and features
the remnants of the fortified walls, water-main, baths and
residence of Despot Dobrotitsa's medieval capital.
Kaliakra was the site of the naval Battle of
Cape Kaliakra on 11 August 1791, part of the Russo-Turkish
War of 1787-1792.
Since 2005 there is a large medium wave transmitter
with 9 guyed masts near Kaliakra, the Kaliakra Transmitter.
Probably the most popular legend about the place
is the one about 40 Bulgarian girls, who preferred to tie
their hair together and jump into the Black Sea instead of
the prospect to be captured by the Turkish. An obelisk dedicated
to this legend is placed at the entrance to the cape, called
The Gate of the 40 Maidens.
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Melnik is the smallest settlement classified
as a town in the Republic of Bulgaria and is located in Blagoevgrad
Province (sometimes referred to as Pirin Macedonia), in the
southwestern Pirin Mountains, about 440 m above sea level.
The town is an architectural reserve and 96 of its buildings
are cultural monuments.
The unique architecture of the place and
the nearby Rozhen Monastery (located 6 km southeast of Melnik)
make it a popular tourist destination for Bulgarian and foreign
visitors. The town is also associated with the impressive
natural sand pyramids in various forms, resembling giant mushrooms,
anciant towers and obelisks, spread in an area of 17 km? near
Melnik, Kurlanovo and Rozhen. The town has also been famous
for its strong wine since as far as 1346. The local wine was
reportedly a favourite of Winston Churchill.
Interesting architectural landmarks include
the Byzantine House, one of the oldest civilian buildings
in the Balkans (built probably in the 12th or 13th century
as a Bulgarian fortress), the Kordopulov House (named after
the merchant Manol Kordopulov to whom it once belonged), which
also has one of the largest wine cellars in Melnik, the Pashov
House (1815), which houses the Historical Museum of Melnik
and the Pasha's House, built by Ibrahim Bey, one of the richest
beys in the region, during Ottoman rule. Some of the old churches
in the town worth visiting are St Nicholas (built in the 13th
century), SS Peter and Paul (1840), St Nicholas the Thaumaturge
(1756) and St Anthony. |
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