The Black Sea a vital trading center linking Europe with Asia

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

 

from http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/blacksea/history/index.html

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.