TRAVEL
Nessebar . Bulgaria
Travelling to new and interesting countries has always attracted people . I like travelling . Travelling allows simply to relax and have a good time . Nowadays people can choose how to travel : by train , by ship , by plane , by car or even by motorbike . I prefer travelling by plane . Travelling by airplane is the fastest . Everybody enjoys relaxing under the sun and near the sea . And now we are going to visit Nessebar , Bulgaria . Nessebar is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nessebar Municipality . Often referred to as the « Pearl of the Black Sea », Nessebar is a rich city-museum defined by more than three millennia of ever-changing history . Nessebar was originally a Greek colony later turned into a Roman and Byzantine port . It was conquered for Bulgaria by Khan Krum in 813 AD . It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations and seaports on the Black Sea , in what has become a popular area with several large resorts — the largest , Sunny Beach , is situated immediately to the north of Nessebar . The old town is the only place in the whole world where I love to get lost . But I ’ ve spend so much time there , that I can hardly do it more . But still , when I succeed , the feeling is fantastic . The new lights making the night walk to the small peninsula of the Old Town even more pleasant and romantic consist of 68 diode lanterns installed into the sidewalk on both sides of the main alley . Try it yourself too ! Nessebar has on several occasions found itself on the frontier of a threatened empire , and as such it is a town with a rich history . The ancient part of the town is situated on a peninsula ( previously an island ) connected to the mainland by a narrow manmade isthmus , and it bears evidence of occupation by a variety of different civilisations over the course of its existence . Its abundance of historic buildings prompted UNESCO to include Nesebar in its list of World Heritage Sites in 1983 . As of December 2009 , the town has a population of 11,626 inhabitants . Nessebar is sometimes said to be the town with the highest number of churches . Today , a total of forty churches survive , wholly or partly , in the vicinity of the town . Some of the most famous include : - the Church of St Sophia or the Old Bishopric ( Stara Mitropoliya ) ( 5th – 6th century )
-the Basilica of the Holy Mother of God Eleusa ( 6th century ) -the Church of John the Baptist ( 11th century ) -the Church of St Stephen or the New Bishopric ( Nova Mitropoliya ) ( 11th century ; reconstructed in the 16th – 18th century )
-the Church of St Theodore ( 13th century ) etc . If you come to Nessebar for the first time , you should by all means visit the THE CHRIST PANTOKRATOR CHURCH , which is very impressive .
THE CHRIST PANTOKRATOR CHURCH
THE CHRIST PANTOCRATOR CHURCH ( All Powerfull ) is dated back 13th - 14th century . It ’ s one of the most remarkable and well preserved medieval churches in Nessebar , typical for the picturesque style in the religious architecture . The church is rectangular with dimensions 16 m in length and 6,90 m in width . It possesses two entrances - to the south and to the west . On the eastern side there are three small richly profiled apses .
In the middle of the naos there were four columns ( now destroyed ) supporting the dome . Above the narthex a rectangular bell-tower is setting up . A stone stairway built in the wall between the naos and the narthex leads to the tower . All over the facade there are highly walled concave arches . Above them three rows of decorative saucers and four leafed flowers . Frieze of swastikas - the solar cult symbol , made of bricks , passes above the apses on the eastern side . The richly decorated drum of the dome has eight windows in form of arches . The narthex is small and under the floor there is a medieval tomb . Only traces of the original mural paintings are saved on the inner walls . At present , the church hosts a photographic exhibition titled “ Nessebar and the bay on old maps ”. Eighteen maps dating from the 4th to the 19th centuries are displayed , illustrating a lasting interest in Southeastern Europe and particularly in the Black Sea coast and Nessebar . The maps belong to different branches of cartography , so visitors could see various types of maps : continental , historical , road and trade maps , charts , etc . Well , people who travel a lot , are very interesting , they always have a good story to tell . As English people say – A picture is worth a thousand words . And I totally agree with them . Next time ! See you !
24 LINGVA PLUS / № 2 , 2016