"The moment when the light confronts darkness and begins to gradually defeat it is always magical. This sight purifies the consciousness, brings delight, peace, hope, warmth. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to tap into this magic every day – with every sunrise. But there is one morning in which welcoming the new day is truly special - July morning."

This is the invitation of the municipality of Shabla for the music festival dedicated to the first sunrise of July. This year, it will be traditionally held at the Dobrudzha campsite, to the sounds of eternal Bulgarian rock hits. We learn more about the summer holiday from deputy mayor of Shabla, Tsvetelin Yordanov, in an interview with Radio Bulgaria:

"The main event starts on June 30 as various bands will perform all evening. For the first time, we are doing it on two consecutive days, as on Saturday evening more bands will perform at the same place. We hope the weather will remain good and that many guests would come and we would all have fun."

• The first morning of July - spontaneous holiday of freedom

Unlike the western and central regions of Bulgaria, where this June the weather was almost constantly rainy, in Shabla the weather is sunny and typical for the season.

"The season is starting well,” the deputy mayor of Shabla says. “We have a number of bookings. In July and August it will be full of guests from everywhere. The water temperature has risen, so it seems we would have great beach weather. Regarding the cleanliness of the sea, the authorities are constantly measuring water quality. There is no problem neither here, nor in Romania. The water is clean and there are no impurities."

Some years ago, many of Shabla's accommodation facilities, mostly old bungalows near the "Dobrudzha" campsite, stayed neglected because of ambiguities regarding ownership and the way of their permanent use. This necessitated the intervention of the administration of the Municipality, which managed to wake up the interest of the owners of these places of accommodation, so they can make them suitable for use:

“These were old neglected bungalows and that ugly sight is now gone. They were also dangerous from the point of view of fire-safety, hygiene, etc. In recent years there has been serious interest in the campsite and other places and in my opinion this will unlock the possibility of developing environmentally-friendly tourism. The concept is to preserve this image, to harmonize it with nature," Mr. Yordanov says.

According to the mayor of the Shabla Municipality, Marian Zhechev, the wild beauty of Shabla and the spaciousness and the bungalow-style houses that fit in with nature attract a number of guests. On the other hand, the diverse cultural initiatives, summer festivals, and archaeological sites continue to attract visitors from both Bulgaria and abroad:

"We are the first stop for Romanian tourists to Bulgaria. Citizens from Central and Western Europe also come, mainly because of the free-spirited way of tourism - camping and bungalows. This is also the charm of our area - the absence of large hotel complexes, of concrete and asphalt alleys. In recent years, many people have rediscovered the seclusion that the northern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast offers with its large beaches and campsites. We are trying to diversify the tourist season mostly from June to September with interesting events to attract people. This stimulates the local economy. These events include the International Pétanque Tournament organized at the end of June by the Lazur Club, as well as the Fertility Festival and the Kite Festival in September. They attract many people from near and far. During the summer period, we add various cultural events to the program that diversify the holiday of vacationers who choose Shabla."

See also:

• Kamen Bryag and Yailata: Romantic sunrises and times long gone by

Photos: Darina Grigorova

English: Alexander Markov