Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Apollonia, ruled by an elected Council of Archons, flourished as a major trading hub,
but in 72 BC the town was sacked and mostly destroyed. Its famous bronze statue of
Apollo was taken to Rome as booty.
Under the Byzantine Empire, and renamed Sozopolis (City of Salvation), the town was
an important religious centre. It fell to Khan Tervel in 705, was recaptured by the Byzanti-
nes in 759 and finally reverted to the First Bulgarian Empire (681-1018) in 969. Under
Turkish rule, ship building and fishing were mainstays of the economy.
During the communist era, the town was promoted as a holiday resort, although not un-
til the 1990s did it really take off, with Russians and Germans being among the more nu-
merous foreign visitors.
Sights
The town's two beaches are attractive, though waves can be quite high. The 1km-long
Harmanite Beach is wide and clean and offers a water slide, paddle boats, volleyball nets
and beach bars. At the southern end, incongruously, archaeological excavations have un-
covered stone sarcophagi on the site of the ancient Apollonia necropolis . The Town
Beach (or Northern Beach) is another pleasant curve of sand, but it's smaller, gets very
crowded, and doesn't offer the same number of beachside cafes, restaurants and bars.
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