The unknown Bulgarian island of Kianida

Every puzzle lover loves stories! Stories of unknown and sunken islands, perhaps hiding thousands of secrets, unknown civilizations, and why not a little gold. Among the mysteries most discussed is the one about the mystical Atlantis. Every year, many lovers of emotions get to grips with even the smallest of clues and go through the little chunks of history to find evidence of its existence.

Today, over 21 islands, part of Croatia and Greece, are located on the Balkan Peninsula. But apart from Atlantis, another equally interesting story holds the heart and mind of many seekers of intense emotions. There is no need to go far, because history begins here, on the Balkan Peninsula, in the territory of present-day Bulgaria, where according to various written information the lost Black Sea island of Kianida is located.

For the first time this island was described by the Roman geographer Claudius Ptolemy, in 150 AD II. In the compilation of geographical maps "Geography", he states that in size (380 sq. Km.) It approaches the island of Thassos. We can consider this data to be quite credible given the strategic, political and commercial importance of the Bosphorus. In this way, perhaps many experienced seafarers have taken the presence of nearby islands as their starting point for their voyages.

In 1982, Bulgarian geomorphologist Dinyo Kanev (1922-1997) confirmed, based on geomorphological evidence, that there were indeed traces of a sunken island. It was located 4 - 5 kilometers from the Black Sea coast, where the borders of Bulgaria and Turkey meet, between the Bulgarian Rezovo and the Turkish Ignada. However, in a detailed examination of the written records of past eras, there is no mention of the presence of such an island before the 500th century, which confirms the view of many scholars and historians that it sunk at least XNUMX years ago.

Documents dating from 1490 mention the island as a starting point, even for a maritime border that halves the ancient Greek colony of Apollonia Pontica, the present-day Bulgarian city of Sozopol, and the city of Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire. on the one hand, and the Bosphorus Strait, the "entrance" to the Black Sea, on the other. That is why many ships, both military and commercial, use this island as a starting point during their voyages in Antiquity.

Who knows, maybe this island exists today, hidden in the fog, waiting to be rediscovered? Maybe there is more to tell the next generations ?!

Rest assured, the story doesn't end there! It's just beginning! But before that we have to go on an adventure to the unknown past and interesting future… on the sunken island of Kianida!