Nessebur, Pearl of the Black Sea

This summer is off to a great start, with warm days and little rain. Not necessarily good, especially for vegetation but good for travelling and holidays. Summer means big to me. I think most people who don't live near the sea are longing for it.

The best and most beautiful sea is... the one you can get to. So, the Black Sea is my favorite. There is an exit to this sea in Romania, my country, but I prefer to see the sea in Bulgaria, also the Black Sea. In Bulgaria, the influence of the Mediterranean climate is much stronger and that makes me like it more.

In Bulgaria, there are many places where you can spend a holiday by the sea. I mainly prefer Balcic, but I also like Nessebur, Sozopol, and Shabla.

Last week's most recent trip to the seaside also meant revisiting a famous Bulgarian resort, Nessebur, nicknamed the Pearl of the Black Sea.

I traveled with some friends and this was an advantage for me because, for the first time in the last twenty years, I didn't drive myself. I had my hands free to try a few shots and I had the freedom to enjoy the view throughout the journey without attention to the traffic.

This windmill and this monument to the sailors are signs that we have reached Nessebur.

Nessebur is a fortress built on a peninsula. The fortress was surrounded by defense walls in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Most of the walls have been swallowed by the sea and only the front part of the peninsula still preserves some of them. Some of them have been rebuilt.

This is the main entrance but we were forced to go to the car park first, so we entered Nessebur through a side entrance.

On the opposite shore is Golden Sands, one of the most popular resorts in Bulgaria.

I've never been there and don't think I will because this resort is new and modern and I prefer older resorts with more history. Like Nessebur!

Nessebur is a very ancient city, one of the oldest in Europe. It was colonized by the Greeks in 510 BC and has been occupied throughout history, by the Byzantine Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. This explains the multitude of ancient and medieval artifacts and relics that can be seen and admired in the museums and the buildings, especially the churches.

There were at least 26 churches on the small peninsula, of which only ruins remain...

Other churches were more resistant, both to earthquakes and to the destruction done by those who conquered the fortress.

They are now both a tourist attraction and a favorite place of observation and rest for seagulls.

This large church is impressively well-preserved and looks likely to be restored, especially since the roof needs repair work.

From how they were built, with decorations made of brick alternating with stone, I think they are specific to the Byzantine period.

It's not just the churches that remind us of the old times when this was not a place for fun and relaxation and it was a place where life and labor were hard and dangerous. The houses had a specific architecture, with a more secluded ground floor, where animals were kept and people lived upstairs.

In 1983 Nessebur was included in the UNESCO world heritage.

Unfortunately, finding the original houses from hundreds of years ago is getting harder and harder. Most homes have been renovated and turned into shops. Everything seems to be a big bazaar.

People, that is to say, tourists, seem to be interested first of all in shopping and then in food and drink. And in this aspect, there are many terraces and restaurants, each one more beautiful and where the locals are very inventive to invite you inside...

It doesn't take too many invitations for the terraces to fill up with thirsty, hungry tourists eager to rest and enjoy the beautiful views!

I visited Nessebur twenty years ago and I must admit that I was surprised by the change of the place, from where tourists came to see the historical part and now are more interested in the commercial part. Everybody sells something and everybody wants to buy something.

Beyond this part less pleasant to me, but very pleasant especially to our wives, I was pleased to find other beauties such as people, birds, and flowers!

Nessebur, a small peninsula 30 kilometers from Burgas, one of Bulgaria's major cities, is a must-see if you plan to visit Bulgaria.