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Pobiti Kamani – Bulgaria

Pobiti Kamani – Bulgaria

Pobiti Kamani (Bulgarian: Побити камъни) is a rock phenomenon located in Varna Province, Bulgaria, on the road between Varna and Sofia around several villages just west of Varna. It consists of several groups of natural rock formations on a total area of 70 km². The formations are mainly stone columns between 5 and 7 metres high and from 0.3 to 3 metres thick. The columns do not have solid foundations, but are instead hollow and filled with sand, and look like they are stuck into the surrounding sands, which gives the phenomenon its name.

In order to be preserved, Pobiti Kamani was designated a natural landmark in 1937.

There are a number of theories regarding the phenomenon’s origin, divided roughly into two groups — supporting an organic or a mineral origin. According to the former, the formations are the result ofcoral activity, while the latter explain the phenomenon with the prismatic weathering of the rocks, the formation of sand and limestone concretions, or lower Eocene bubbling reefs.

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Devetashka Cave – Bulgaria

Devetashka Cave – Bulgaria

A well-lit cave, since it has ceiling openings allowing light to enter. Locals call the cave Oknata (oko- eye) because of these apertures.

Devetashka cave is located on the shore of Osum River, between the villages of Doirentsi and Devetaki. These are situated in the Lovech region.

The length of the cave is 2442 m, which ranks it among the longest in the country. It was discovered in 1921.

Some time ago, the cave was labeled a military site and was used for the storage of petroleum. According to visitors, the military presence destroyed some of the natural formations in the cave.

In 1996, the cave was named a nature landmark.

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History of the Nessebar region

History of the Nessebar region

Due to the unique natural surroundings and the well-preserved monuments from various historic periods, at the 7th session of the World Heritage Committee in Florence in 1983, the Old Town of Nessebar became the only Bulgarian town included in the World Cultural Heritage list of UNESCO.

The Nessebar peninsula – the ancient Messambria, called during the late Middle Ages Messemvria, and later Nessebar, was first settled over three millennia ago, at the end of the Bronze Age. The anciant Thracians use to call it Melsambria, which meant the town of Melsa, the legendary founder of the settlement. Messambria had two convenient harbors – a northern and a southern one, where even today pieces of equipment from ancient ships can still be found.

In the late 6th century BC, the first Greek colonists arrived – Doric in origin. The town gradually grew; temples, a gymnasium and a theater were built.
Messambria began to mint its own coins around the year 440 BC. It reached its peak in 3th – 2nd century BC, when gold coins were first minted. The town maintained good commercial contacts with the polises along the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. The material testament of the rich economic, cultural and spiritual life of the town are the many finds form this period, exhibited at the Archaelogical museum of the town.

In 72 BC town was captured without any resistance by the Roman armies. After a short occupation, it became part of the Roman Empire in early 1st century AD. Messemvria as it was called at the time, with its fortress walls and large public buildings preserved intact, continued to mint its own bronze coins and remained an important commercial and cultural center along the Black Sea coast of Roman Thrace.

The town first became part of the Bulgarian state in 812, when Khan Kroum stormed and conquered it, and Slavs and the Bulgarians settled here. Nessebar as Slavs called it remained in Bulgarian hands for a longer period of time during the reign of Tsar Simeon The Great.

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