Nuclear threats and the specter of World War III are now daily headlines, bringing international attention to a region less known to the wider public. Today, Ukraine’s Black Sea shores, once the country’s most popular tourism destination and part of its cultural identity, have transformed into defense lines in preparation for the bloodiest war Europe has seen since WWII.

The Black Sea lies at the heart of centuries of warfare, revolutions, historical drama, and evolution. This site of authoritarian regimes and young democracies is a melting pot of ethnic minorities and a point of convergence for Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Its waters, shores, and inland areas have undergone massive transformations as surrounding countries have tried to tame, reshape, and reinforce the coast while exploiting its resources for trade, defense, and tourism.

For generations, people from countries surrounding the sea have worked hard all year with one dream in mind: to spend a holiday on its shores. Its beaches and waters are veritable trophies for the millions who rush to the seaside every summer. Whatever political upheaval these citizens experience at home, this is where they find love, freedom, and memories to treasure. Signs of historical and present conflicts still linger along the Black Sea’s shores: from World War II seafront bunkers turned into beach bars in Romania to sandy beaches shelled in the 1990s in Abkhazia, now packed with Russian tourists in the summer. Here, wrecked ships, parades of naval strength, nationalism, and stray mines floating in the open sea form the background to tourists’ long, sunny days at the beach, in a landscape where leisure, tension, and even war entwine.

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