Sozopol is the oldest human settlement on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
The town is located at 350 km from Bucharest and 35 km south of Burgas. It was founded in 610 BC by the ancient Greeks on a rocky peninsula with high cliffs, calling it Apollonia Pontica.
The Roman invasion in 72 BC made this Greek colony prosper.
In the early fourth century, due to turbulence within the Roman Empire, the city of Apollonia was rebuilt under the name of Sozopolis or " The City of Salvation". Being close to Constantinople, the Romans were forced to build fortifications and enclosing walls, including watchtowers along the rocky coast.
Barbarian people (especially the Huns) conquered and burned the city, making it necessary to rebuild these fortifications. Sozopol became thus a strategic military center and one of the most important ports on the Black Sea coast, with a flourished trade.
In 1453 the town was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, which led to its decline to the status of a fishing settlement.
The historic part of the town retains a romantic, majestic, enigmatic air, with stone streets bordered by stone houses decorated with wooden balconies.
The town is housing several churches, museums and more than 45 architectural monuments from the National Revival period. The southern wall and the Citadel Tower have been preserved, as well as as the Thracian necropolises dating from the Greek occupation.
Cafes, restaurants, small souvenir shops of local craftsmen, are spread out in large numbers, both along the coastline and on either sides of the cobbled streets.
The camera lens captured the enchanting scenery, the beautiful sunsets and amazing colors of the sea, both from land and from the deck of the boat we circled the peninsula with.
We had the opportunity to visit this bohemian town in both spring and summer, enjoying the history and the architecture of the place. Each time we accommodate close to the historic center, the harbor and the beach. Radik Hotel is a cheap, chic and very well located place where one can have a great time.