Itinerary IV Ports of the Black Sea, takes readers around the inland sea of deep history, so little traveled by cruise ships. Ports of Sinope, Trabzon, Batumi, Sochi, Yalta, Sebastopol, Odessa, Constanta, Varna and Nessebar are home to colorful characters through history. Stories are distilled from hundreds of source materials, mined for fun facts of ancient mariners and modern poets, who bequeathed cities, churches and monuments. Stories are accompanied by images and original art to make the exotic inviting.

In Itinerary IV Ports of the Black Sea, follow Jason and the Argonauts to Batumi in search of Golden Fleece; Greeks sail to Chersonesos in Crimea to grow wheat for hungry Athenians in sixth century BCE, and bickering Lords Cardigan and Lucan inspired the poem Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. Saints Cyril and Methodius came to shores of the Black Sea to bestow Cyrillic alphabet to write scripture, leaving people enfranchised with language from which to build an economy. Pushkin came to Odessa to write poetry. Aton Chekhov came to Yalta to write short stories, inspired by port scenes.

Stories follow architects to Odessa for Catherine the Great. Premier Joseph Stalin held an international architecture competition for Soviet buildings in Sochi. Catherine’s diplomat, Count Vorontsov built palaces in Odessa and Yalta. Nessebar holds the world record for churches per capita. High on a mountain in Trabzon, in a cave, monks built a magnificent monastery. In Istanbul, sultans endowed mosques. Batumi hosted French architectural style.   

Still Black Sea waters inspired Orphic Mysticism, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, text which informed painters of Renaissance art, and making of modern Turkey. Beloved Turkish poet, Sabahattin Ali, was imprisoned in Sinope. His work is now available in English.

Author Sherry Hutt has traveled for thirty years collecting stories of places and taking photos. She spends half the year entertaining cruise guests with stories of port cities. Reading Cruise through History may inspire a cruise, or just enjoy armchair travel. Stories are true and will amaze readers with what was left out of history in school.