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The Black Sea
The Black Sea is steeped
in history and culture, a vital trading center linking Europe with Asia.
Soon, I will embark on a 12-night (round trip from Istanbul), cruise of the Black Sea (plus Greece). I will visit ports in Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria. I will have visited 4 of the 6 countries bordering the Black Sea, including Russia. Of note, The Ukraine was originally part of the itinerary before the military conflict with Russia, earlier this year.
The Black Sea
Named Pontus Exinus
("the inhospitable sea"), the Black Sea was navigated and its shores
colonized by the Greeks as early as the eighth century before Christ and later
by the Romans in the third to first centuries B.C.
Many of the colonial and
commercial activities of ancient Greece and Rome, and of the Byzantine Empire,
centered on the Black Sea. After 1453, when the Ottoman Turks occupied
Constantinople (and changed its name to Istanbul), the Black Sea was virtually
closed to foreign commerce. Nearly 400 years later, in 1856, the Treaty of
Paris re-opened the sea to the commerce of all nations.
Among its vast
historical riches, the Black Sea region is home to the legend of Jason and the
Argonauts and their search for the Golden Fleece, and the Biblical account of
Noah's Ark. Troy, Constantinople, Istanbul, Sevastopol, Odessa, and Yalta are
just a few of the names in this coastal area that have been etched in world
history.
From the Crusades to the
recent collapse of the Soviet Union, the Black Sea has witnessed
often-tumultuous religious and political change. In the face of countless
conquests through the ages, the people of the Black Sea region have endured,
and today represent a remarkable mixture of cultures and religions.
Today, this ancient sea
means many things to the people who live on its shores. Still vitally important
as a regional trading center, with major ports dotting its coast, the Black Sea
continues to provide its inhabitants with treasured resources — major
commercial fisheries, a diversity of marine life, world-class beaches, and
perhaps a more tangible record of our past than previously imagined. The recent
discovery of ancient wooden ships in the Black Sea, well-protected from
shipworm attack in the oxygen-deprived waters, points to the new wonders these
ancient waters may yield.
The
Black Sea and its six bordering countries — Bulgaria and Romania on the west,
Ukraine on the north, Russia and Georgia on the east, and Turkey on the south —
each have rich histories and cultures worthy of considerable exploration.
