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Feature
Summer Vacation at the Black Sea
Every summer, thousands of people travel by car, van, motorcycle or bus to spend a week’s vacation at the Black Sea — here’s an insider’s view of what to expect when you go there.
Photographs and text by Petrut Calinescu
View Images

Summer Vacation at the Black Sea

Every summer, thousands of people travel by car, van, motorcycle or bus to spend a week’s vacation at the Black Sea — here’s an insider’s view of what to expect when you go there.

The Black Sea: mysterious, menacing and mythical. It lies at the heart of centuries of warfare, turmoil and historical drama. A mixture of totalitarian regimes and young democracies, a melting pot of ethnic minorities. The Black Sea region is a point of convergence for three very different civilizations: European, Asian and Middle Eastern.

But regardless of their nationality or social status, spending a vacation week on the shores of the Black Sea is a common dream.

—Petrut Calinescu

Ukraine, Zatoka. A female tourist, holding a rented snake, poses for a photograph on a beach in front of a plastic palm tree in the inexpensive Black Sea resort destination of Zatoka. © Petrut Calinescu

Ukraine, Zatoka. Tourists eat lunch in a canteen in Zatoka, a Black Sea resort destination in Ukraine popular with Moldovians. © Petrut Calinescu

Georgia, Ochamchira, Abkhazia. Nina (front) and her daughter fish from a concrete jetty. They need the fish to supplement their meagre diet. Nina get 50 euro from her state pension. She used to work in a local fish canning factory but it was destroyed in the separatist war of 1992-1993 when Abkhazia effectively seceded from Georgia. © Petrut Calinescu

Costinesti, Black Sea, Romania. © Petrut Calinescu

Georgia, Sukhumi, Abkhazia. A woman looks into a mirror as she sits on the beach next to the Black Sea. Behind her lies the wreck of a Tanzanian ship that was stranded on the shore during a storm in 2007. © Petrut Calinescu

Russia, Kalej. Tourists dance on the stage during a break in a folk show depicting the traditions of the Circassian people. In the villages between Sochi and Djubga there are numerous such places offering Russian tourists an 'authentic' experience of Circassian history and culture. © Petrut Calinescu

Georgia, Sukhumi, Abkhazia. A tourist holds onto a bear which is being led by a hawker who offers tourists the opportunity to have their picture taken with the bear. Children pet the bear enthusiastically. © Petrut Calinescu

Turkey, Igneada. An empty outdoor cafe in the Igneada resort on the Black Sea. © Petrut Calinescu

Pistsunda, Abkhzia. Underwater Scene. © Petrut Calinescu

Gagauzia, Moldova republic. Gagauz ethnic people are dancing at a wedding. © Petrut Calinescu

Georgia, Sukhumi, Abkhazia. Tourists view and photograph monkeys in cages at the Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy in Sukhumi. The centre was the first place to conduct primate testing in the world. Today the rundown institute mainly serves as a makeshift zoo for tourists. © Petrut Calinescu

Azerbaijan, Sumgait. A man swims with his horse in the Caspian Sea on a very hot day in Sumgait. © Petrut Calinescu

Gagra, Abkhazia. A man lies on a towel on the pebble beach at Gagra, the busiest seaside resort in Abkhazia. Dark clouds gather over the mountains in the distance. Gagra is a mere 20 kilometres from the Russian border. © Petrut Calinescu

Crimea, Sevastopol. Three young women sunbathe at the edge of a run-down Soviet era housing estate by the Black Sea. © Petrut Calinescu

Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh. A young man, with a cat, looks out of the window of his mother's apartment in Shusha during his last summer holiday before joining the Military School in Yerevan. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic which is not recognized internationally. © Petrut Calinescu

Georgia, Ochamchira, Abkhazia. A man sits on a towel on a beach. In the background a construction project, which was destroyed in the war between Abkhazia and Georgia in 1992-1993, is visible. © Petrut Calinescu

Petrut Calinescu

Romania

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FeatureSummer Vacation at the Black SeaEvery summer, thousands of people travel by car, van, motorcycle or bus to spend a week’s vacation at the Black Sea — here’s an insider’s view of what to expect when you go there.Photographs and text by Petrut CalinescuView Images

Petrut Calinescu

Romania

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Feature
Summer Vacation at the Black Sea
Every summer, thousands of people travel by car, van, motorcycle or bus to spend a week’s vacation at the Black Sea — here’s an insider’s view of what to expect when you go there.
Photographs and text by Petrut Calinescu
View Images