Nessebur, Bulgaria

St. John the Baptist Church

Nessebur old town became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983 because of it rich history.  The town  located on the Black Sea was originally Thracian and became Greek in the 6th century BC.  The Romans and the Byzantines both settled in Nessebur for a period of time.  The first Bulgarian Empire started in 812.  The Bulgarians and the Byzantines lived together in the area until the Crusaders conquered the area in 1366.   During this time remarkable churches were built.

The town was captured by the Turks in 1453 and the start of its decline.  During the 19th century the half stone and half wooden houses were built.  This style of construction is typical of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast.  The stone construction allowed for the storage of produce and other food supplies as this area of the house was cooler.  The wooden area was used as the living quarters.  If you look at the picture you will notice that the wooden area extends out over the street below to give the family a larger living area.


The cobblestones in the old town are actual rocks which makes walking challenging.  Nessebur is one of the main seaside resort areas for Bulgaria.  Many of the newer hotels are owned and cater to  Russians or Germans seeking the sunny coast.  Unfortunately the day we visited was one of their few rainy days.  We have noticed a lot of fairly large jelly fish from the ship and am not sure if we would swim in the sea.

These barrels are made of Bulgarian Oak.
The first barrel holds 7232 liters of wine.

This area is also a very well known for it wine production.  They do not produce a large quantity of wine but a new plant has just opened and signed a contract to provide a large quantity of wine We started with a Chardonnay that was light and not heavy oaked.  They use large Bulgarian oak barrels that have been used multiply times therefore the oak presence is minimal.  We tried a Sauvignon Blanc, a dry rose made from Cabernet Sauvignon, a dry Muskat, Merlot and Pinot Noir.  Elaine purchased a bottle of the Pinot Noir for 5 Euros and we enjoyed this on the cruise.