Prior to the early 20th century, there was a small Greek minority in Southeastern Bulgaria, living largely between Varna to the north, Topolovgrad to the west and the Black Sea to the east, with a scattered rural population in the inland regions of the Strandzha and Sakar mountains. The Greek-inhabited places in Strandzha and Sakar were the town of Topolovgrad and 9 villages: Oreshnik, Kapitan Petko Voyvoda, Sinapovo, Chukarovo, Golyam Manastir, Malak Manastir, Sharkovo, Malko Sharkovo, and Mamarchevo. However, a large part of this population, the so-called Kariots, is regarded by some ethnographers (including Konstantin Josef Jireček) as having been only Greek-identifying, but of Bulgarian origin; (see Grecomans). Greek communities also existed in Plovdiv, Sofia, Asenovgrad, Haskovo and Rousse, among others. In 1900, the Greeks in Bulgaria numbered 33,650.