"Bulgaria: From Centuries Fo ..." a Sozopol Travel Page by johngayton

The town of Sozopol on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast commands its own bay with fine stretches of golden-sanded beaches and comprises two distinctly divergent settlements: the Old Town and The New.

Whilst the New Town is very much a modern resort development with plush hotels and apartment complexes, the Old Town is a living museum of this part of Bulgaria's history with its roots traceable back to the Bronze age. In the 6th century BC the town was actually an island and a relatively important Greek port called Apollonia Pontica, following which it has seen occupation by the Romans, the first Bulgarian Empire, Byzantines, Ottomans and finally returning to Bulgaria after the country regained its independence in the late 19th century.

Unfortunately I only had time for a tantalisingly fleeting lunchtime visit here which gave me the merest taste of the place and left me hungering for a more substantial visit. The Old Town is a very typical fishing village with narrow cobbled streets leading down to its sheltered harbour and is mostly undeveloped with many of its buildings being National Monuments. Overlooking the rocky coast and harbour are some rather attractive terraced restaurants which on an early May morning were sadly deserted but definitely looked promising for a visit at some time in the future and I can just imagine enjoying a pleasant seafood dinner preceded by deliciously fresh shopska salata and a chilled rakia with the waves and sunshine for company.

Having only the briefest of visits to Sozopol this time round I didn't actually get into the New Town but it certainly looks attractive (in a modern sort of way) and by all accounts is a quite lively resort during the season with good quality hotels, buzzy bars and night clubs - something else to look forward to for a future visit!