SOZOPOL
 Another interesting tourist destination, one of the oldest Bulgarian cities and the oldest city on the Black Sea coast – Sozopol is located twenty km south of Kraimorie. It is situated on two rocky peninsulas and on three islands; it was founded in 610 BC by emigrants from the rich city of Miletus, the largest eastern Greek centre on the Asia Minor coast, who turn the old Thracian settlement into a rich Hellenic colony, the independent city of Apollonia-Pontica. Apollonia becomes one of the largest and the richest cities on the Black Sea, a centre of bustling trade and arts. Many archaeological findings are preserved from this period – coins, ceramic amphorae, craters, ancient anchors, etc. The colony thrives as a mediator between the Greek and the Thracian worlds.
Later it is called Sozopolis (City of Salvation) and it exists for more than 2600 years. Modern Sozopol is one of the tourist centres in the country the ancient is combined with the contemporary by the architecture of the old and the new city. At the beginning of September the biggest cultural event in Bulgaria – The Apollonia Festival of Arts – takes place there. It lasts for ten unforgettable days and nights of music, dances, theatrical plays, film shows, exhibitions, etc. One of the most famous sights of Sozopol is the magnificent church “St. Mary”, which is situated in the old city. It was built in XVII century and it is protected by UNESCO as a cultural heritage. In the archaeological museum the visitors of Sozopol can enjoy a great collection of amphorae, stone anchors and ship models from the age of Phoenicians, Greeks and other ancient peoples that have lived there through the centuries.
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