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Three kilometres south of Sunny Beach, a slender isthmus connects the old town of NESEBAR (ancient Mesembria) with the mainland, ensuring a constant stream of visitors to what was once undoubtedly a beautiful spot. Harbouring the best of the coast's nineteenth-century wooden architecture , as well as a unique collection of medieval churches , it's easy to see why Nesebar has become the most publicized (and commercialized) of Bulgaria's Black Sea attractions. At the height of summer the town can be a little oppressive, its narrow cobbled streets crammed with packs of tourists, countless tacky souvenir stalls, and persistent restaurant touts, but a willingness to put up with the crowds is rewarded by Nesebar's many fine sights. A thriving port in Greek and Roman times, Nesebar really came into its own with the onset of the Byzantine era, when it became the obvious stopover for ships sailing between Constantinople and the Danube. The Byzantines used Nesebar as a base from which to assail the First Bulgarian Kingdom during the eighth century, provoking Khan Krum to seize it in 812. The bellicose Bulgar captured tons of booty in the process, including the formula for "Greek Fire", an explosive mixture which the Byzantines relied on for their military superiority over the "barbarians". Nesebar passed from Byzantine to Bulgarian ownership several times throughout the Middle Ages, and was one of the last outposts remaining in the hands of the beleaguered Byzantine Empire in its dying days, but it continued to thrive regardless. Under the Ottomans, it remained the seat of a Greek bishopric and an important centre of Greek culture, which is why so many medieval churches have survived here. In the long run, however, Varna and Burgas were to grow at Nesebar's expense, hastening its decline into a humble fishing port. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1828, when the bulk of the population sided with the Russians, most of Nesebar's leading families emigrated to Odessa, leaving a much diminished population earning a living by building caiques. Nowadays Nesebar depends on tourism , its fishing fleet unable to employ enough of the 7000 inhabitants, of whom about 3000 live on the peninsula, the remainder on the mainland.
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