[size=55:30y1nhcl]BNR 04 October 2010

Lighthouses, the guiding lights of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast


[size=85:30y1nhcl]The lighthouse of the southern coastal town of Tsarevo

Since time immemorial seafarers have relied on the stars and the movement of planets to be able to fix their whereabouts in open sea. However, when it is pitch-dark the most valuable signal used to be the light coming from the coast. The predecessors of present-day lighthouses have twinkled in the Black Sea since the times of Jason’s Argonauts, researchers contend. Today dozens of lighthouses and other similar facilities operate in the Bulgarian section of the sea, given that not all vessels are equipped with GPS-systems.


[size=85:30y1nhcl]The lighthouse of the town of primorsko, also on the southern coast

The earliest prototypes of present-day lighthouse facilities along the Black Sea coast have been mentioned in a range of historical sources, including the famous travel notes by Konstantin Jirecek. In 19 c. the Czech historian wrote about a legend linked to the emergence of the town of Anhialo (today Pomorie) founded by Byzantine Empress Irene in a place where earlier in history there stood a lighthouse serving the local port. A coin dated to 2 c. found in Sozopol,
formerly Apollonia, displays a small structure encircled with flames. It is very similar to a primitive lighthouse.


[size=85:30y1nhcl]The old lighthouse in the town of Ahtopol

The most lighthouses along the Bulgarian section of the Black Sea were built in mid-19 c. when the country was still part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1855 a French captain, Blaise-Jean-Marius Michel, signed a contract with the Turkish government to set up a company assigned with the construction of lighthouses. This gave rise to the lighthouses near Varna and Shabla, at Cape Emine, on the islands of St. Anastasia and St. Ivan etc. After the Liberation from the Turks the young Bulgarian state continued to build such facilities and replaced outdated ones. “The lighthouses are among the most curious attractions in Bulgaria’s coastal towns. Unfortunately, people know next to nothing about their history”, says Marusia Lyubcheva, former member of the European Parliament, currently President of the Black Sea Institute based in the City of Burgas.

“Usually, Bulgaria’s port towns have more than one lighthouse. The chief lighthouse is responsible for good sea communication. Apart from it, there are other minor navigation signs charged with auxiliary functions. Each lighthouse is characterized with its parameters – height, width etc. The light signal is emitted within a certain distance and with a certain periodicity. The color of the light is essential too.”

The Shabla lighthouse is the oldest, the highest and the most robust one along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Its light signals mark Bulgaria’s easternmost point. Built in mid-18 c., it has been functioning flawlessly ever since. Its 32-m high tower sends out light signals at 17 sea miles away every 25 seconds. In the summer the facility and the adjacent fisherman village are visited by many tourists. The lighthouse with the most picturesque location according to Marusia Lyubcheva, is the one at Cape Kaliakra, found amid a nature reserve. It was built in 1866, collapsed in a 1901 earthquake, and was later rebuilt. Famous Italian poet Salvatore Quasimodo was so fascinated with the Cape Kaliakra lighthouse, that he dedicated a poem to it.


[size=85:30y1nhcl]The Shabla lighthouse

It is worth visiting the Island of St. Anastasia, not far from the port of Burgas. It is the location of a lighthouse with one of the strongest lights in Bulgaria. It was erected in 1914 in a place where a lighthouse had stood since 17 c. In 1924 the island and its monastery were turned into a concentration camp where 40 Bulgarian communists were exiled. They however managed to break away and using boats reached Odessa, then in the Soviet Union.

To the north of the town of Sozopol stands another romantic lighthouse, on the island of St. Ivan where relics attributed to St. John the Baptist were found this summer. The lighthouse was built in 1911, and apart from light also sends out audio signals. Other lovely lighthouses adorn the small towns along the southern Black Sea coast – Primorsko, Tsarevo and Ahtopol. No wonder tourists just love them and are keen to take pictures with one of those facilities in the background.

I do think that when we visit Bulgaria we all mis some of the more interesting parts and buildings such as these lighthouses, I have seen 1 or 2 but I must remember on my next visit to go and see more places like this

This was St. Anastasia island 1950-1960

Can't say in all the time I have been here I have ever seen a lighthouse but will keep a lookout from now on

Oddy

The Shabla Lighthouse mysteries



There is a place along the Black Sea coast that enjoys keen interests from tourists even in winter. This is Shabla Municipality, occupying the northernmost section of the Bulgarian coastline. There are three wetlands in the municipality’s territory that have become the winter getaway of dozens of endangered bird species, including the entire world population of the Red-breasted Goose. During the cold months when seaside resorts slip into an inevitable lull, Shabla Municipality welcomes coaches with foreign tourists armed with heavy equipment – cameras, binoculars etc. However, before heading to the wetlands, they make a stopover in a most romantic little place protruding deep into the sea where, it seems, time has stopped altogether. There, weathered by winds and legends, stands the Shabla Lighthouse.



The oldest lighthouse on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast occupies the country’s easternmost point, Cape Shabla. Here the astronomical New Year arrives earlier than in the rest of the country. So the new 2011 will come here 19 minutes earlier than in the capital Sofia located 550 km to the west of the cape. The navigation point painted in red and white stripes is one of the most curious sites along Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea coast section. It is assumed that the lighthouse was build to copy one of the world’s seven wonders, the Alexandria Lighthouse reduced to rubble by a quake in the Middle Ages. The Shabla Lighthouse is also called the Sand Lighthouse, for its power to protect ships from getting stuck into the treacherous shallow waters stretching from Cape Shabla to the nearby village of Tyulenovo. The lights emitted from its 32-m tower flash once every 25 sec. sending out signals 17 miles into the sea. The present structure of the lighthouse dates back to 1856. Back then it was restored and started operation replacing an even older navigation facility erected 100 years earlier. However, there is evidence that guiding lights have been sent out from Cape Shabla since ancient times, when the Black Sea was the sea crossroads of merchants from the region. “Today, despite the spectacular growth of navigation technologies, not all vessels are equipped with GPS systems and besides, the region is dangerous with its underwater reefs. So, the lighthouse is much more than a sentimental keepsake”, explains Iliyan Hristakiev from the municipal administration in Shabla. Similar to other Bulgarian lighthouses the Shabla one was launched and managed by the French Compagnie des Phares de l’Empire Ottoman in the mid-19 c., when Bulgaria was still under Ottoman rule.



“The lighthouse tower has a monogram of Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid inscribed into it”, Iliyan Hristakiev explains. “Monograms of the ruling Ottoman monarch were inscribed in buildings of exceptional importance for the empire. It is curious to know that the highest lighthouse in the Bulgarian lands was built fast and its construction came cheaper than many other such facilities. This is so, because building material for the lighthouse was taken directly from the ruins of a Roman fortress that lied just a few meters from its structure.”



Cape Shabla has seen human settlements since ancient times. Historical sources claim that more than 2 millennia ago, a port with the name Karia existed in close proximity of the present lighthouse. Karia survives in the name of the present-day locality that offers wonderful sights. The picturesque rocks near the village of Tyulenovo, whose name derives from “seal”, are dotted with myriad grottos, the home until 15 years ago, of a seal colony. Apart from its lovely beaches, Shabla is also the scene of rather fearsome sea storms that artists and photographers absolutely adore to watch and capture in their works. In 1901 a devastating quake caused colossal damage. The lighthouse however survived almost unscathed. The Shabla Lighthouse has its private secret. In 1996 when its 140th anniversary was marked the people managing the facility dug into its foundation a message to future generations that should be opened in 2056, when the facility turns 200.

Very interesting

Nice addition Ashley and good read to well done mate

Thank you both I really have enjoyed looking at the pictures and the reading and I'm looking forward to more if anyone has anything to add