Aytos

Aytos lies in a valley south of the eastern Balkan Mountains, on the inland approach to the Black Sea coast. The medieval fortress of Aetos guarded the route through the hills, while the town grew as a place of crafts and trade. In the fourteenth century it passed under Ottoman rule. During the Russo-Ottoman War of 1828–1829, General Diebitsch used Aytos as a strategic strongpoint; after the peace of 1829, many of its inhabitants emigrated to Bessarabia.