VENUE

PEG ' 97 will be held in Sozopol. Sozopol is a charming fishermen's village on the Black sea coast, founded by the ancient Greeks. Currently it is an attractive tourist place with its beaches, piers, taverns, old wooden houses and Greek churches.

Founded in 610 BC as the Greek settlement of Apolonia, Sozopol is a picture-book museum town and fishing port 21 miles (34 km) south of Burgas (which has an international airport).

It is built on a rocky peninsula fringed by small rocky islands, but there are plenty of sandy beaches in the vicinity, with comfortable bathing in the sea. There is a laid-back, southern atmosphere in its cobbled lanes over which the wood-beamed upper storeys of houses jut out in neighbourly proximity. Near the waterfront you can sometimes buy local-style fish (probably small mackerel) and chips in paper wrapping to eat as you walk around.

Extra tone and colour is lent in the first half of September when the Apolonia Arts Festival stages music, drama, pictorial art, cinematic and poetry events, attracting poets, actors, artists and architects both from Bulgaria and abroad. The spirit of Apollo, Greek god of music, song and poetry, lives on.

Travel Information

Sozopol is located 30 km south to Burgas. Burgas has an international and domestic airport with flights from and to Sofia ( the capital city of Bulgaria). There are also direct flights connecting the major European cities with Sofia and Burgas. A regular bus service Burgas-Sozopol is available each hour. Transportation between the conference location and Burgas airport will be provided by request.