Kaliakra

In one of the caves of Cape Kaliakra, there is a museum where many archaeological finds discovered during excavations in the reserve can be seen. Among the most attractive exhibits is a model of the ancient fortress, which shows what it looked like in the past.

The most famous legend is about the 40 Bulgarian maidens who tied their hair together and threw themselves into the sea to avoid falling into the hands of the Ottoman oppressors. One of them was Kaliakra, after whom the cape is named. Today, at the beginning of Cape Kaliakra, there is an obelisk called “The Gate of the 40 Virgins” in their memory.

Another legend is about Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. The saint was fleeing from the Turks, and God extended the land beneath his feet so that he could escape—this is how the cape was formed. Eventually, he was captured, and now a chapel stands there, restored in 1993, symbolizing his grave. During the Ottoman rule, there was also a dervish monastery at the site, believed to house the relics of the Turkish saint Sarı Saltık. A small cape north of Kaliakra bears the name “Saint Nicholas”.