Cape Kaliakra

About

Since prehistory, this needle of land jutting into the Black Sea has played an important military role. The fortress that once commanded the point was successively used by Tracians, Romans, Byzantines and Bulgarians before finally being destroyed. Legend says at one point, it was guarding the guarding the treasuries of Lyzimah, successor of Alexander the Great. The relics recovered from the fortress and nearby settlements can be found in the cape’s museum. Another one of the Cape’s legends says that several Bulgarian girls braided their hair together and jumped from the cliff rather than be captured by the Turks, which is now memorialized by a statue. Declared a protected area in 1941, a major migration route passes over the cape, making it a unique place for birdwatching, while dolphins have been seen frolicking in the sea below.