Near the Black Sea

A few years ago, Romanian photographer Petrut Kalinescu traveled through the countries that are located around the Black Sea to capture the magnificent diversity of cultural traditions and pictures of the daily life of the peoples of the region. 

The Black Sea coast is a slightly mysterious, insanely beautiful and even somewhat dangerous place. The Black Sea happened to be in the heart of numerous wars, conflicts and other historical dramas. Concealing a burning mixture of cultures and traditions, the countries located around the Black Sea are not just a melting pot of peoples, it is also a point where three completely different civilizations converge: European, Asian and Middle Eastern. 

Regardless of nationality or social status, almost all residents of nearby countries work hard to realize their annual dream — to spend a couple of weeks on the seashore. 

Pitsunda, Abkhazia.

Zatoka, Odessa region, Ukraine.

Igneada Resort, Turkey.

Kyykey, Turkey.

Victor Branza from the village of Zhurilovka is preparing for fishing on the Razelm lakes in Romania.

The family gathered to sit culturally with vodka in the boat. Due to the many channels, Vilkovo is called the Ukrainian Venice. The city is located in the Odessa region.

Breakfast time. Dining room in the resort of Zatoka (Odessa region).

A young couple watches a circus performance in a summer theater. Zatoka, Odessa region, Ukraine.

The girl preens herself. In the background is a Tanzanian merchant ship that ran aground back in 2010. Sukhumi, Abkhazia.

Tourists on the main public beach in Sukhumi, Abkhazia.

Girls dance in the sanatorium Sukhumi, Abkhazia.

Nina and her daughter (in the background) are fishing on the pier. Nina used to work at a local fish factory that was destroyed during the war.

A small restaurant in the shape of a flying saucer. Armenia, near the border with Georgia.

Coal seller in Krasa, Turkey.

A man roasts a barbecue, Nagorno-Karabakh.

Local girls are sunbathing on the shore of one of the bays of Sevastopol, Crimea.

Pitsunda, Abkhazia.

People are admiring the sea. Poti, Georgia.

A girl poses against the background of a plastic palm tree with a rented snake in her hands. Zatoka, Odessa region, Ukraine.

Tbilisi Zoo, Georgia.

Soldiers of the army of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh. The guy spends the last summer in his mother's apartment, before entering a military school in Yerevan.

Women carry building materials. Arhavi, Turkey.

Turkish youth practice shooting.

A girl helps her mother carry a carpet home. Ankara, Turkey.

A woman works in a garden, Turkey.

A man is walking along the shore. Trabzon, Turkey.

Trabzon, Turkey.

An abandoned sanatorium in Pitsunda, Abkhazia.

A family walks through the industrial district of Baku, Azerbaijan.

A couple is arguing on the shore, an abandoned Soviet restaurant is in the background. Sumgait, Azerbaijan.

A man swims with his horse, Azerbaijan.