The Old Sozopol Town

The old part of Sozopol has been in existence for a long time. It was originally populated by Thracians as far back as around 4000BC, and around the seventh century BC Greeks came to Sozopol and made it a Greek colony called Apolonia, after the Greek god Apollo, the god of arts. But this was not the first Greek appearance in Sozopol - as far back as in the 13th century BC Jason and his Argonauts visited Sozopol. Today especially Bulgarians come to visit Sozopol, although usually looking for other things than a golden fleece.

The houses in Sozopol are significant - no less than 180 of them are listed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture for their historic and cultural importance.

If there is one truly genuinely Bulgarian product you can buy and take home then it's lace. In the streets of Sozopol - and even on the busy Beach Promenade of Sunny Beach further North - you find usually older women displaying their handmade products, and often see them sitting creating more lace while they wait for customers.

A traditinal Bulgarian house has a ground floor made of stone, and a somewhat wider first floor made of wood. This is a design that dates back to the centuries of occupation by the Ottoman Empire. This house design was the best to keep Turkish tax collectors out of the home. The thick stone walls and heavy wooden front door could not be broken down too easily, and the first floor sticking out over the ground floor made it harder to use ladders to get up there.

The building style survives till today, although the Turks are no longer around and try to collect taxes or kidnap male children to be trained to oppress their own family after indoctrination and training in Turkish military camps.

The Church of St. George is Old Sozopol's new church, which is in current use. The church also follows the old tradition of having many small churches rather than one big church.

A long time ago Sozopol was an island, but a 100 meter wide area has been filled so Old Sozopol is now on a peninsula. Just South of where the old town is connected to land is the Raiski Beach - or Paradise - which along with the Northern Tsar's Beach is an important reason why so many Bulgarians come to Sozopol.

An interesting building just off the Raiski Beach is this windmill, which today has been turned into a restaurant.