Cape Kaliakra is one of the most beautiful and historic Capes in Europe. It's a long rocky headland, that juts out into the Black Sea from the coast of northern Bulgaria. Beautiful as it may appear however, Cape Kaliakra nevertheless conceals a brutal history of suicide, siege and warfare. The cape stretches 2km deep into the sea and consists of 60-70m-high limestone rocks.
According to one well-known legend 40 girls tied their plaits of hair and threw themselves from the cliff to die on the rocks 70m below. To avoid being raped by the Turkish soldiers and they could not convert them to Islam in the late 14th century. Today, an obelisk stands near an opening in the rock, called “the gate of the 40 maidens”, which memorializes this event.
Another one tells the story of St. Nicholas, the seamen protector, who fled from an Ottoman ship on which he was a prisoner. According to the legend God extended a hand and built the cape underneath the feet of the refugee to help him reach steady ground. Ironically, he was captured and cut on pieces at the end of the cape. At this place a little chapel, symbolizing his death rises now.
Kaliakra is a nature reserve, where dolphins and cormorants can be observed. It sits on the Via Pontica, a major bird migration route from Africa into Eastern and Northern Europe. Many rare and migrant birds can be seen here in spring and autumn.