Shabla and Kaliakra 2020

After visiting Russe and Razgrad, we continued our journey through Northern Bulgaria by traveling to the Black Sea coast. We arrived at cape Shabla and started from there down south, travelling along the panoramic coastal roads.

The objective of our visit to Shabla was to see the Shabla's lighthouse, which is the tallest, oldest and easternmost one on the Bulgarian coast. The tower is 28 m high and was built between 1756 and 1786.

This is the oldest authentic operational lighthouse in the Black Sea and Mediterranean region (according to Wikipedia).

In antiquity Shabla was a Thracian settlement, which in Roman times grew into a Black sea port. It was an important fortress during the early years of the Byzantine empire. After the founding of the Bulgarian state in the year 681 it became a Bulgarian sea settlement until the fall of the area under Ottoman rule in 1444. Nowadays Shabla is a seaside resort.

We had a very nice and romantic picnic here on the rocks, enjoying the view of the waves, crushing against the shore and the sea gulls above.

After Shabla we moved down south to cape Kaliakra - a long and narrow headland with steep vertical cliffs, reaching 70 m down to the sea. Nowadays Kaliakra is a nature reserve.

Kaliakra preserves the remnants of the medieval capital of the Principality of Karvuna - one of the last Bulgarian lands to fall under Ottoman rule.

Probably the most popular legend about the place is one about 40 Bulgarian girls, who preferred to tie their hair together and jump into the Black Sea rather than face the prospect of being captured by the Ottomans.

This place is so beautiful, that I could return to it every year.