 sozÃ²pol (, ) is an ancient seaside town located 35&nbsp;km south of burgas on the southern bulgarian black sea coast. today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the apollonia art and film festival (which takes place in early september) that is named after one of the town's ancient names. the busiest times of the year are the summer months, ranging from may to september as tourists from around the world come to enjoy the weather, sandy beaches, history and culture, fusion cuisine (balkan, mediterranean), and atmosphere of the colourful resort. part of burgas province and administrative centre of the homonymous sozopol municipality, as of december 2009, the town has a population of 5,410 inhabitants. bulgarian national statistical institute - towns in 2009 ==name== the original name of the city is attested as antheia (ÎÎ½Î¸ÎµÎ¹Î± in greek) but was soon renamed to apollonia (ÎÏÎ¿Î»Î»ÏÎ½Î¯Î±). at various times, apollonia was known as apollonia pontica (that is, "apollonia on the black sea", the ancient pontus euxinus) and apollonia magna ("great apollonia"). by the first century ad, the name sozopolis () began to appear in written records. during the ottoman rule the town was known as sizebolu, sizeboli or sizebolou. thumb|panorama of sozopol harbor.|840px|left ==history== left|thumb|a reconstructed gate part of sozopol's ancient fortifications sozopol is one of the oldest towns on 
Ancient_Greek_cities Ancient_Greek_sites_in_Bulgaria Black_Sea Bulgarian_Black_Sea_Coast Catholic_titular_sees_in_Europe Populated_coastal_places_in_Bulgaria Populated_places_in_Burgas_Province Port_cities_and_towns_in_Bulgaria Roman_towns_and_cities_in_Bulgaria Thrace Towns_in_Bulgaria