At the Sozopol Archeological Museum, for which entry is only four Bulgarian Lev (£1.71), I find Greek marble friezes, ancient vases, and coinage dating back thousands of years.
Perhaps most amazingly, relics found in the ruins of a medieval monastery on nearby St. Ivan Island are thought to be the knuckle bones of St John the Baptist, a theory supported by carbon dating by the University of Oxford. You can find them in Sozopol’s church of St. Cyril and St. Methodius, and, as I look at the fragments in their velvet-lined box, I feel like I am in the presence of something bigger than myself.
This feeling continues when I visit the island. It isn’t a tourist attraction per se. These days it is home to a lighthouse keeper and seabirds, but boats will take you to look at it.
I join Dimitar, a fisherman, on his turquoise and cerulean wooden motor boat (one-hour trips are £40 for two people). He sings Abba songs between answering my questions. We sail to the island to get a closer look at the monastery ruins, and then along the coastline to admire Sozopol from the sea.
Dimitar is in his 60s and grew up in the old town. He says Sozopol has changed since he was a child. “We have more tourists, but we still try to do things in the old ways.”
Sozopol’s heritage and beauty have inspired artists from around the country and it is the setting for an annual celebration of Bulgarian art, the Apollonia Arts Festival. There are dozens of galleries and artisan and craft shops in its old town, which stock items such as marble goblets, embroidered clothing, oil paintings and hammered silver jewellery.
I get chatting to Ivan Benov, who moved from the capital, Sofia, lured by Sozopol’s bohemian reputation. He and his wife opened a pottery shop, Pileto, combining traditional handmade techniques and Bulgarian clays with bold, colorful, joyful designs. His ceramics are abstract, with no two pieces exactly the same.
“We are a family studio and like to make ceramics the Bulgarian way,” he tells me.
“Here in Sozopol, people want you to succeed. It can be hard to make a small studio work, but there is a creative community here that supports one another, they like what we are doing.”
Come evening, diners fill up restaurants with views over the Black Sea. I head towards the new town on the other side of the bay, where, along winding alleys, bars and boutique wine shops offer a taste of Bulgaria’s viticulture. Crowds throng outside these bars, glasses of red or white in hand. At Механа Созопол, I order a traditional pork kavarma, which costs £8, with a side of Bulgarian music. At Art Club MIshel, I enjoy jazz until the early hours, watching couples dance the night away.
After a few martinis too many, the next day I head back to the sand. Sozopol Central Beach is most convenient for the old town, with two loungers and an umbrella costing around £9. Harmanite Beach, meanwhile, sits slightly further away in the more touristy new town. Both have lifeguards and hold Blue Flags. The beaches are busy, but not overwhelmingly so, with around half of the loungers filled and groups of families using their own towels and shades, too.
Lying on my lounger, I reflect on my time in Sozopol. It is known in Bulgaria as the Gem of the Black Sea, and it’s time Britons were dazzled by it, too.
Getting there
Tui flies from London Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, and Newcastle to Bourgas Airport.
Staying there
The writer stayed at the five-star Blue Bay Hotel and was hosted by booking.com. With rooms that overlook the harbour and a rooftop pool, doubles start from £125 per night.
More information
bulgariatravel.org
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 23:35:00
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