Pomorie’s Black Gold

They say the best things come about by chance. One such happy chance for me was discovering the therapeutic mud baths in Pomorie. Two friends who have been going for years invited me to join them. This mud therapy is well known, and my curiosity made me accept. I was even more intrigued when I found out how hard it is to get a place at the sanatorium, where the treatments are carried out under medical supervision.

On the first day of the month, when the places are allocated, people queue all night long. Drawing up lists, sometimes over and over again, and the inevitable raised-voice arguments — these are just some of the trials you have to endure in an attempt to secure the coveted card. Officially, bookings are supposed to be made by telephone or email, but in practice that method simply does not work.

I had no card, nor any way of getting one, and I had already missed the first of the month, so I rented a room and at 7 a.m. joined the queue outside the sanatorium’s doctor’s surgery to be prescribed mud treatments on a paying basis. The queue was impressive, and a large part of those waiting were Russian citizens. The staff were surprisingly courteous, which only heightened my curiosity. An examination by a very polite doctor found that I had curvature and deformities of the spine, so I thoroughly deserved my access to the mud beach of the balneological centre.

My first visit to this beach (a walled yard covered with sand, next to the sanatorium building) came as a shock. At the appointed hour, some 30 women in their birthday suits rushed towards a large stone trough filled with raven-black mud that smelled dreadful. And then the smearing began, from head to toe, until only the whites of their eyes showed. Within minutes the yard was full of alien creatures, visibly delighted with their contact with Pomorie’s black gold. The conversations all revolved around the many benefits of this treatment. Many said it was their 10th or 15th consecutive year of coming here. One woman described how she had overcome severe disc disease thanks to the mud alone, and now never missed a single year of this remedy. Another explained how the mud baths had helped her with psoriasis; a third hoped to resolve gynaecological problems.

It was getting more and more interesting. We dried like clay statues and studied the drawings on the walls, where images of ancient Egyptians were displayed alongside indecipherable script, proving that the treatment is based on ancient Egyptian technology for healing and beautification. The Egyptian mud bath is taken in the open air, after a sun bath: the body is coated with warm, thick mud (about 1 cm) and you wait until the mask dries and cracks. After the treatment, the body is rinsed with sea water or brine (see below). The whole procedure lasts about 2 hours and can be carried out with either liman mud or mineral-spring mud. This method is particularly suitable for people suffering from disorders of the nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

After standing around for 20–30 minutes like little black devils, it was time for the warm lye showers, to wash off the mud and restore our former appearance. The lye itself plays no less a role than the mud in this treatment; it too has a very positive effect on the body. After the lye you should not use soap or shampoo, so as not to neutralise the action of the minerals.

I could not believe that after the mud, rinsed off with lye, my skin would feel so clean and soft. With that sensation came the pleasure of the mud application itself. After each session I looked at myself in the mirror with greater satisfaction, and my body felt light, as if freed from some weight. I was already falling in love with the Pomorie mud baths!

My infatuation turned into love when I discovered that you can coat yourself with this remarkable mud not only at the sanatorium, but also beside the Pomorie lake itself, where it is extracted. There are small beaches there where enterprising local people dig out the mud and pass it through sieves to clean it of pebbles and small shells. For just 2 leva you can cover yourself in thick black mud like marmalade. Sometimes fresh clay is also on offer, freshly taken from the lake. I was advised to apply clay to my face and hair, and to leave the mud for my body. You wash the mud off in the lake, whose water is called “brine” because it differs from the water of other lakes. This water is not only salty but also enriched with many minerals thanks to the decomposition processes and sediments in the lake. With the washing, the journey of the mud closes in a circle — from the lake to the person and back again. As you wash in the shallows of the lake, you can even admire the little fish swimming beside you.

Personally, I much prefer the treatments by the lake, where you can enjoy the beautiful view of the water stretching out like a mirror, fringed with dense reeds. You can also warm yourself further on the black granite sand and chat with others who have fallen in love with this unique spot on our Black Sea coast. Here, too, the conversation turns to the properties of the wondrous black mud.

From a pensioner who is a regular here, I learn that he still plays football and tennis several times a week because he looks after his knees with mud treatments. Another man travels in from the countryside every Saturday and Sunday, hoping to build up a store of the valuable minerals that boost circulation. It is he who explains to me that the secret of mud therapy is not to smear the sore spot as you would with an ointment; rather, as your body takes in the valuable minerals, it begins to be better irrigated and stimulated, raising the metabolism, and this is said to be the essence of the healing effect. It is also believed that the necessary number of baths is at least 12, and that the tangible effect is only felt after a month. I listen and nod, because I enjoy the testimonies of the other devotees, and especially the claims that the mud rejuvenates and energises. I also try to connect what they say with the doctors’ explanations of the beneficial effects of the mud.

According to Dr Stefan Shishkov (chief physician of the Anchialos balneotherapy centre), the mud in Pomorie Lake is liman mud and differs in composition from other mud-therapy deposits such as those found in Italy, France, Spain, Japan and other countries.

Our mud has a high sulphur and iron content. The unpleasant smell is due to hydrogen sulphide. Liman mud is greasy to the touch and has an alkaline pH. It is a homogeneous plastic mass with high heat capacity and a high content of biologically active substances and living microorganisms. It has been formed by the action of the water, which has helped to accumulate beneficial minerals, trace elements and organic components over thousands of years.

Dr Shishkov notes that sulphur matters for every movement the human body makes. Over the years, however, it becomes depleted, and there is no medication that can restore it to normal levels in the body. This is why the main range of treatment with Pomorie mud covers disorders of the musculoskeletal system – all arthritic conditions, lower back pain and osteochondrosis (the so-called “pinches”).

Therapeutic mud is a natural product with a varied chemical composition and physico-chemical properties. It has pronounced anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving and immune-stimulating properties, improves circulation, boosts the metabolism and strengthens the skeletal system. The positive influence of therapeutic mud on the metabolism and tissue nutrition enhances tissue regeneration. Through these beneficial effects, Pomorie mud treats disorders of the peripheral nervous system – disc problems, plexitis, periarthritis – as well as skin conditions. Not least, conditions of the female and male reproductive systems also respond well to treatment with the mud.

In her article “Mud Baths”, Irina Stefanova explains that therapeutic mud contains microparticles which penetrate the skin, exerting gentle pressure on the tissues. In this way it stimulates circulation processes within the cell and activates the blood flow – particularly beneficial processes that help the body eliminate toxins and harmful substances. Alongside these processes, the skin absorbs biologically active substances and minerals that “feed” the body; the muscles and organs regenerate, the functioning of the immune, respiratory and cardiovascular systems improves, and all the body’s processes are restored.

The mud is, however, contraindicated for people with heart conditions and high blood pressure, for those with varicose veins and for those with oncological conditions. In all cases, consulting a doctor is advisable.

Here is a little history about this remarkable place. It is said that Pomorie Lake was formed in 740 BC after a major earthquake. In the ancient Roman baths, and later in the hammams (Turkish baths), thermal mud baths were an appealing restorative ritual for body and mind, used to treat injuries sustained in battle, to relax and to restore the body’s vital forces. In 1905, Dr Petar Stoyanov began his studies of Pomorie mud, research that led to the opening of the first mud-therapy centre in Pomorie.

These days, Rafi is one of the keepers of a small beach. He is a colourful character whom everyone loves. He cleans the beach as early as spring and spends the whole summer there, offering therapeutic mud and clay. Year after year he is always in the same spot, which is why he has so many friends – by now they have formed a small community of mud enthusiasts.

Once you have had your fill of chatting with the beach’s almost permanent regulars, you can walk ten metres or so across the dyke, or the sand spit that separates the lake from the sea, and carry on enjoying our Black Sea. Well, if this isn’t paradise! It is no coincidence that 269 species of birds have chosen the lake as part of their Via Pontica migration route. The birds have always known about the bounty of this lake. Now I have joined them too, promising myself that I will fly in at least once a year.

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