The Girl Fair of Mount Gaina

Near Mount Gaina you’ll witness one of the most interesting traditions of Romania: the Gaina Girl Fair, taking place each year in the Sunday closest to July 20. Known as "targul de fete", this is the greatest outdoor holiday of the country and it hosts the greatest traditional song and dance groups from Romania.

The history of this celebration was lost in the mist of time, but Mount Gaina was mentioned by Strabon, "the father of geography", who claimed that Dacians had a "cogaiom" mountain near their capital, Sarmisegetuza, where they made their sacrifices. Gaina is probably the peak where Dacians invoked their Gods and offered them such sacrifices. The girl fair is first mentioned officially in 1816 with people from all over Romania taking part in it, specially those from the Bihor, Aries and dwelling near the river Crisul Alb. They’ll exchange traditional products, like food or clothing and have a good time singing old songs and taking part in dances. This place is not only a symbol of Dacian traditions, but also one of the landmarks of the local "gold rush", as the precious metal seemed to have been widespread in this area. Christian tradition placed this holiday in the second decade of July, so it'll be close to the celebration of Saint Ilie. The girl fair of Mount Gaina also has economical reasons, like the need of buying or selling various products, including girls, but only symbolically. The festivities of the girl fair take place in a beautiful local forest, surrounded by fir trees and situated at 1467 metres altitude. There's also a romantic and ethnic motivation of the fair, as young people who live in very remote regions get together in this celebration, meet each other and sometimes fall in love and get married. In the past, girls would arrive at the fair with their dowry on their horses and the marriage was done on the spot by priests who came to mount Gaina for this purpose alone.

Today, the Mount Gaina fair is just a great local celebration, which takes a couple of days of preparation. It starts with the "tulnicarese" group of Avram Iancu, followed by various artistic programmes, which last till night kicks in. Among the dances on Mount Gaina there are the passionate "tropotite" played by mocani or "tarina", a dance for pairs and the most famous of locals, also known as "moti". There are variations of this dance, as, for example, the Abrud tarina is played elegantly and slowly with wide arm movements, lots of walking around and spinning the girl underneath the man's hand. For tourists, the fair is the perfect place to buy unique local products, like musical instruments, wooden vases, ceramic ornaments, wooden tools or clothing items and culinary products.

Gigi Becali

George Becali (commonly known in Romania as Gigi Becali, born 25 June, 1958) is a controversial Romanian politician and businessman, mostly known for his involvement in the Steaua football club.

He was born in Zagna, Vadeni, Braila County , as his family was deported to the Baragan by the Communist

authorities because of their associations with the pre-WWII fascist Iron Guard .

His cousins, Victor Becali and Ioan Becali, are also involved in Romanian football. In 1994, he married Luminita, 11 years his junior; the couple have three daughters: Teodora (b. 1996), Alexandra (b. 1997) and Cristina (b. 2001).

After the 2005 floods , he funded with $4 million the rebuilding of about 200 houses in the Vulturu village  that was destroyed by the overflow of the Siret river. Subsequently the villagers wanted to rename it Vulturu Becali in his honor.

Real estate business

Becali became a millionaire through an exchange of land with the Romanian Army, dubbed by the Romanian press as suspicious, as the Army did not need the land it received and the land he received was worth much more. The deal consisted in Becali giving the army a 21.5 ha plot in Ştefăneştii de Jos (about 15 km from Bucharest) in exchange for a 20.9 ha plot in Băneasa-Pipera, in Northern Bucharest.As the real estate prices skyrocketed in the capital, he sold the land to some companies which built residential areas.

In 2007, it was revealed that in 1998, when Becali sent the offer to the Romanian Army, he was not the owner of the property in Ştefăneştii de Jos, buying it only after it was clear that the deal would be signed. Also, the Army was not legally allowed to give away the Pipera plot, because it was claimed by former owners.The affair was investigated in 2006 by the National Anticorruption Directorate (NAD). In July 2007, the NAD started to investigate a transaction between Becali and the daughter of Defence Minister Victor Babiuc, involving land in Pipera which was sold for $300/sqm.

Ownership of Steaua

Becali joined the General Shareholders' Council of the FC Steaua Bucharest football team at the end of the 1990s, during the presidency of businessman Viorel Păunescu. Step by step, he tried to eliminate other possible candidates and gather all the Club's shares. He obtained 51% of the shares on 6 February 2003 and he bought another 15% toward the end of the year 2003.

On October 17, 2005, his entire fortune was impounded by the National Fiscal Authority (ANAF) for debts totaling US$ 11,000,000. However, Becali sued the ANAF and won the trial, and subsequently the order of seizure was lifted.He was however able to avoid paying the taxes by transferring the assets of Steaua to a newly-formed company, AFC Steaua Bucureşti, allowing the old association to go bankrupt.As of 2007, Becali detains no official link to the club, as he gradually renounced his shares in favour of his nephews.

In 2005, the papers wrote that he commissioned a painting inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, in which he holds the place of Jesus, while the eleven players and the coach hold the place of the disciples. Becali denied the story, claiming that he received the painting from an admirer.

Other business activities

Becali announced in 2008 that he intends to open his own bank, named "Becali Bank", intended to be used "only by millionaires", with an initial investment of 30 million euro. Nevertheless, the Administration Council of the National Bank of Romania rejected the plan of creation without giving a public reason.Cotidianul notes that the National Bank can reject the creation of a new bank if they suspect that the new bank would not respect the laws or that they won't have solid and prudent investment policies.

In reply to this decision, Becali named Mugur Isărescu, the governor of the National Bank, "a buffoon, a frustrated and envious person" and announced that he intends to sue him.

Political career

In the 2000 Romanian legislative election, Gigi Becali has been a candidate of the "League of Italian Communities in Romania" for the seat in the Chamber of Deputies reserved to the Italian minority. He received 16,266 votes (0.15%) countrywide, of which 7,677 in Ilfov County. Nevertheless, he lost to Ileana Stana-Ionescu, who got only 2,943 votes in one constituency. Becali contested the results, but according to Romanian election law, for national minorities, it doesn't matter the total number of votes, but only the person who gains the largest percentage in one constituency gets the seat reserved for that national minority.

He has led the New Generation – Christian Democrat Party (PNG-CD) since January 2004, being its candidate in the 2004 presidential elections, receiving 1.77% of the votes cast (184,560 votes).

In his 2004 electoral campaign, Becali used clips of the "Mihai Viteazul" movie (directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu), whose main character was played by Amza Pellea. Amza's daughter, Oana Pellea, sued Becali for using Amza Pellea's image without permission and won 35,000 RON (about $12,000) in damages.

He often had disputes with Corneliu Vadim Tudor, another extremist politician. These disputes, usually consisted of exchanges of insults between the two.] He had another dispute with Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu whom he named a "cockroach-politician" and a "Very Important Papagal" (papagal means "parrot" in Romanian and is regarded as an insult).

In December 2006, he promised that his party would generate a "Cultural revolution" in Romania.

At the elections for the European Parliament, held in November 2007, his party (PNG-CD) obtained 4,86% of the popular vote, little under the 5% needed for admission in the EU governing body. Same happened at the elections from December 2008, as a surprise to many people.

Views on homosexuality

In line with his conservative Orthodox Christian views, Becali has often made inflammatory remarks in the press regarding LGBT people. During his 2004 presidential campaign one of the main themes of his rhetoric was opposition to sexual minorities, which he voiced over and over in interviews and TV appearances.

On May 26, 2006, Becali's personal foundation, the "George Becali Christian Foundation", along with the Romanian Orthodox Church and 22 NGOs, signed a protest letter calling on the government and the courts to ban the Bucharest GayFest 2006 parade, focussed that year on the theme of same-sex unions. A few days later, the Bucharest Court of Appeals ruled, however, that the parade was legal, and it was ensured significant police protection. Becali justified his opposition to the pride parade by stating that he "doesn't discriminate against homosexuals" but that, "They abuse their rights. This is proselytism. They can do what they want in their homes, but not on the streets. I call on the Romanian Orthodox Church to defend the Christian faith and morals. Becali declared that he intended to pay for a referendum on same-sex marriage, which he believed 99% of people would vote against. He was also widely criticized in the media for asking, "Why [are there] so many homosexuals? I'll give two or five million dollars [for a referendum], so we can finish off all homosexuals in the country."

The media commentator Dan Tapalagă, in an editorial at the Cotidianul newspaper, criticized the Romanian Orthodox Church for its coalition with Becali, and its opposition to the gay pride parade, which he sarcastically termed as "the sin of the Becalised Church".
In an opinion piece written after Becali's inflammatory declaration, journalist Radu Călin Cristea quoted Cristian Pârvulescu, a Romanian political analyst, who described Becali as a "populist who practices a superficial form of legionarism", referring to the fascist Iron Guard movement which took place in 1930s Romania and whose members were named "legionnaires" (legionari). Cristea also warned that society and the political class should stop regarding Becali as an "inoffensive and amusing clown".

In October 2006, Gigi Becali was awarded the LGBT community's "black ball" for the most homophobic personality in Romania, as part of the 2006 Gay Awards Gala which took place during the Gay Film Nights Festival of Cluj-Napoca.

During Bucharest's annual GayFest in June 2007, Becali seemed to have tempered his homophobic stance. He declared in an interview that "I love them [homosexuals] in the same way that I love all other people. They can marry at the City Hall, every day, 10 of them if they want to. But in church, they don't have a place."When questioned about homosexuality in another interview conducted during the 2007 GayFest, he stated, "They can do what they want... marry... I don't have anything against that". On the question of whether he would accept a gay person in the New Generation Party of which he is president, Becali replied "But why would I have a problem with that? Who knows how many there already are?"

In September 2007, he resumed his homophobic speech, stating that if he becomes president of Romania, he will "get rid of all homosexual and lesbian clubs" and create special neighbourhoods for homosexuals and lesbians, so that "they can stay there and leave us [alone]". He also referred to gays as "sinners" and said that "they should go to the priest if they have problems in their head". The secretary-general of the New Generation Party, Cătălin Dâncu, later appeared to distance himself from Becali's comments, declaring that, "As long as EU principles clearly state that minority rights must be respected, Romania as a member-state must respect them". Romania's National Council for Combating Discrimination is investigating whether Becali's comments breach anti-discrimination and hate speech laws, stating that he could be fined up to 8000 lei (~€2500).

Violence

In February 2002, Becali cursed and threatened Cristian Tudor Popescu, a well-known journalist, in a café, after the latter had written the article "O statuie pentru Puiu Paşcu" ("A Statue for Puiu Paşcu" - a former Minister of Defense in the Social Democratic Party cabinet of Adrian Năstase) in Adevărul about the controversial land swap with the Army and the assault on Malonga Parfait. Becali told Popescu that he should have been shot and that the journalists destroyed Romania.

In 2005, Becali provoked controversy by using extremely vulgar language in an interview, insulting the reporter and the channel he worked for (Antena 1).

In July 2005, in a restaurant, Becali cursed, spat and spilled a glass of wine on Şerban Huidu, the creator of the satirical TV show "Cronica Cârcotaşilor". Becali got the nickname "Ioan Botezătorul" (John the Baptist) after this incident.

Following a match of FC Steaua in April 2006, his bodyguards used violence against a female reporter of Realitatea TV after Becali asked them to "take her away from that place".

He currently is one of the favorite subjects of the Romanian media, due to his frequent slips of the tongue and inflammatory remarks. For example, in July 2005, a reporter called Becali to ask him some questions related to the Steaua football club. Becali used this opportunity to unleash a flurry of curses addressed to Antena 1 and Dan Voiculescu. He himself said in the dialogue that "he is not a civilized man".

In 2008, he admited that when he lost money in a casino, he lost his temper and began throwing chairs toward the windows, breaking them.

 In 3.04.2009 Romanian football club Steaua owner Gigi Becali was placed under 29-day preventive arrest Friday morning in the case regarding the alleged kidnapping of three people who stole Becali’s car in January this year.

After a trial that lasted more than five hours, the judges of the Bucharest District 1 Court decided to uphold prosecutors’ request to place Becali and other four people under preventive arrest.

Soon after the court pronounced its verdict, Becali's lawyer Gheorghe Mateut, as well as the defendants of Catalin Zmarandescu, Stefan Dediu, Nicolae Dumitrascu and Dumitru Beciu, appealed the ruling, while one of the culprits started to curse and air threats.

Mateut deemed the court’s ruling abusive and stressed that prosecutors presented irrelevant evidence to incriminate Becali, namely, phone conversations which, according to Mateut, fail to prove Becali’s involvement in the kidnapping.

Soon after the court’s ruling, Becali’s cronies started to encourage him and said all Romanians are on his side. Six people were heard Thursday in connection with this case and Becali’s properties were thoroughly searched by police officers.

According to police officers investigating the case, in January this year, three people were dashed into the trunk of a car in the middle of the night, taken to a residence in Pipera, near Bucharest, and detained for nearly three hours for allegedly stealing Becali’s car, which he had left open and with keys in the ignition outside a bar.

Bistriţa

Bistriţa (German: Bistritz, archaic Nösen; Hungarian: Beszterce) is the capital City of Bistrita-Nasaud County , Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrita River. The city has a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants.
The earliest indication of settlement in the area of Bistriţa is from Neolithic remains. Pechenegs settled the area in 12th century due to attack from Cumans and were given name of Beszterce's district as Besenyő (Hungarian of them) which was centered by Beszterce. Transylvanian Saxons settled the area in 1206 and dubbed the region "Nosnerland". The destruction of Markt Nosa ("Market Nösen") by M0ngols heading toward Central Europe was described by a document from 1241. Being situated on several Trade routes, Bistriţa became a flourishing Medieval trading post. The town was named after the Bistriţa River, whose name comes from the Slavic word, bystrica meaning "the limpid water".
Bistriţa became a Free royal town in 1330. In 1353 it gained the right to organize an annual 15-day fair, as well as a seal containing the coat of arms of an ostrich with a horseshoe in its beak. In 1465, the city's fortifications had 18 defensive towers and bastions defended by the local guilds. It was also defended by a Kirchenburg, or fortified church.
It became part of Romania after 1919, except during its reversion to Hungary between 1940 and 1944.

The main attraction of Bistriţa's central square is the Lutheran church, which was built by the Transylvanian Saxons and originally constructed in the 14 th century in Gothic style but later remodeled between 1559–1563 by Petrus Italus with Renaissance features. It was re-renovated in 1998.

On June 11, 2008, the tower and roof of the church caught fire for reasons that are yet unknown. The main part of the church suffered just a little damage and is not in much danger, the interior being intact. It is speculated that both bells residing in the tower (one dating from the 15th century,the other from the 17th) might have melted. The church suffered from fire in 1857, when the tower's roof and the bells were destroyed. The roof was rebuilt after several years.
The Bistriţa-Năsăud County Museum, located in a former barracks, contains Thracian, Celtic, and German artifacts. 19th century fires destroyed much of the city's medieval citadel.

In Bram Stocker`s novel Dracula , the character Jonathan Harker visits Bistriţa and stays at the Golden Krone Hotel (Romanian: Coroana de Aur). Although no such hotel existed when the novel was written, a hotel of the same name has since been constructed for tourists.

Mircea Eliade (1907-1986)

Eliade was educated as a philosopher. He published extensively in the history of religions and acted as editor-in-chief of Macmillan's Encyclopedia of Religion. The influence of his thought, through these works and through thirty years as director of History of Religions department at the University of Chicago, is considerable.
Eliade's analysis of religion assumes the existence of "the sacred" as the object of worship of religious humanity. It appears as the source of power, significance, and value. Humanity apprehends "hierophanies"--physical manifestations or revelations of the sacred--often, but not only, in the form of symbols, myths, and ritual. Any phenomenal entity is a potential hierophany and can give access to non-historical time: what Eliade calls illud tempus (Latin for 'that time,' I tend to think of it as 'yon time'). The apprehension of this sacred time is a constitutive feature of the religious aspect of humanity.

Mircea Eliade was born in Bucharest, Romania on 13 March 1907. Although Romanian records give his date of birth as 28 February, this is according to the Julian calendar, since the Gregorian calendar was not adopted in Romania until 1924. Eliade’s Orthodox Christian family celebrated his birthday on the Day of the Forty Martyrs, which is 9 March by the Julian calendar, and Eliade himself gave that date as his birthday. Despite a childhood interest in entomology and botany (which doubtless first attracted his attention to Goethe, a lifelong role model and inspiration), he developed an interest in world literature and was led from there to philology, philosophy, and comparative religion. As a youth he read extensively in Romanian, French, and German, and around 1924-25 he learned Italian and English to read Raffaele Pettazzoni and James George Frazer in the original.

In 1925 Eliade enrolled at the University of Bucharest where he studied in the department of philosophy. The influence of Nae Ionescu (b.1890), then an assistant professor of logic and metaphysics and an active journalist, was keenly felt by the young Eliade and the shadow which fell on the older scholar because of his involvement with the extreme right in inter-war Romania has darkened Eliade's reputation.

Eliade's Master's thesis examined Italian Renaissance Philosophers from Marcilio Ficino to Giordano Bruno, and Renaissance Humanism was one of his major influences when he turned to India in order to "universalize" the "provincial" philosophy he had inherited from his European education. Finding that the Maharaja of Kassimbazar sponsored European scholars to study in India Eliade applied and was granted an allowance for four years. In 1928 he sailed for Calcutta to study Sanskrit and philosophy under Surendranath Dasgupta (1885-1952), a Cambridge educated Bengali, professor at the University of Calcutta, and author of a 5 volume, History of Indian Philosophy (Motilal Banarsidass 1922-55).

He returned to Bucharest in 1932 and successfully submitted his analysis of Yoga as his doctoral thesis at the Philosophy department in 1933. Published in French as Yoga: Essai sur les origines de la mystique Indienne this was extensively revised and republished as Yoga, Immortality, and Freedom. As Ionescu's assistant Eliade lectured on, among other things, Aristotle's Metaphysics and Nicholas of Cusa's Docta Ignorantia. From 1933 to 1939 he was active with the Criterion group who gave public seminars on wide-ranging topics. They were strongly influenced by the philosophy of "trairism," the search for the "authentic" in and through lived experience (Romanian, traire) seen as the only source of "authenticity."

After the Second World War, during which he served with the Romanian Legation in the UK and Portugal, Eliade was unable to return to the newly communist Romania because of his connection with the right-wing Ionescu. In 1945 he moved to Paris where his acquaintance with George Dumézil, an important scholar of comparative mythology, secured a part-time post for him at the École des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne teaching comparative religion. From this time on almost all of Eliade's scholarly works were written in French.

At the prompting of Joachim Wach, Eliade's predecessor at the University of Chicago, a comparativist and hermeneuticist, Eliade was invited to give the 1956 Haskell Lectures on "Patterns of Initiation" at the University of Chicago. These were later published as Birth and Rebirth. In 1958 he was invited to assume the chair of the History of Religions department in Chicago. There he stayed until his death on 22 April 1986, publishing extensively and writing largely unpublished fiction. He also launched the journals History of Religions and The Journal of Religion and acted as editor-in-chief for Macmillan's Encyclopedia of Religion.
Despite his focus on the history of religions, Eliade never relinquished his philosophical agenda. That said, he never fully clarified his philosophy. There has been radical disagreement over his thought, some seeing it as a crucial contribution to the study of religion, and some seeing him as an obscurantist whose normative assumptions are unacceptable.

In Cosmos and History:The Myth of the Eternal Return (1954), a book which he was tempted to subtitle Introduction to a Philosophy of History, Eliade distinguishes between religious and non-religious humanity on the basis of the perception of time as heterogenous and homogenous respectively. This distinction will be immediately familiar to students of Henri Bergson as an element of that philosopher's analysis of time and space. Eliade contends that the perception of time as an homogenous, linear, and unrepeatable medium is a peculiarity of modern and non-religious humanity. Archaic or religious humanity (homo religiosus), in comparison, perceives time as heterogenous; that is, as divided between profane time (linear), and sacred time (cyclical and reactualizable). By means of myths and rituals which give access to this sacred time religious humanity protects itself against the 'terror of history', a condition of helplessness before the absolute data of historical time, a form of existential anxiety.

In the very process of establishing this distinction, however, Eliade undermines it, insisting that non-religious humanity in any pure sense is a very rare phenomenon. Myth and illud tempus are still operative, albeit concealed, in the world of modern humanity and Eliade clearly regards the attempt to restrict real time to linear historical time as finally self-contradictory. He squarely sets himself against the historicism of Hegel.

"The sacred" has also been the subject of considerable contention. Some have seen Eliade's "sacred" as simply corresponding to a conventional concept of deity, or to Rudolf Otto's ganz andere (the "wholly other"), whereas others have seen a closer resemblance to Emile Durkheim's socially influenced sacred. Eliade himself repeatedly identifies the sacred as the real, yet he states clearly that "the sacred is a structure of human consciousness" (1969 i; 1978, xiii). This would argue more for the latter interpretation: a social construction of both the sacred and of reality. Yet the sacred is identified as the source of significance, meaning, power and being, and its manifestations as hierophanies, cratophanies, or ontophanies accordingly (appearances of the holy, of power, or of being). Corresponding to the suggested ambiguity of the sacred itself is the ambiguity of its manifestations.

Eliade does state that believers for whom the hierophany is a revelation of the sacred must be prepared by their experience, including their traditional religious background, before they can apprehend it. To others the sacred tree, for example, remains simply a tree. It is an indispensable element of Eliade's analysis that any phenomenal entity could be apprehended as an hierophany with the appropriate preparation. The conclusion must be that all beings reveal, and at the same time conceal, the nature of Being. A reprise of Nicholas of Cusa's Coincidentia Oppositorum is evident here, as is a possible explanation of the systematic ambiguity of Eliade's writings.

Finally religion, systematically understood as the apprehension of relative worth conferred through non-historical realities (including all abstract and imaginary entities) but revealed and confirmed through historical phenomena is seen as a unifying human universal. It is characteristic of Eliade's style of writing, both in his fictional and in his academic work, that this conclusion is nowhere clearly stated. Leading assertions are scattered throughout his publications on the history of religions, alchemy, symbolism, initiation, myth, etc. inviting his readers either to make an immediate interpretation or to pursue the question further into the thicket of his oeuvre.

The crisis increases poverty in Romania in 2009

The Government must take firm measures for the incomes of the Romanians not to slide abruptly, say the experts of the World Bank. "The Household wealth will be affected by a smaller demand for workforce as well as by the increase in the unemployment rate and the smaller amounts of money sent by the Romanians working abroad. The Government could take into account certain measures to counter the crisis shocks", shows the report of the global institution. According to it, in Romania, the absolute poverty could increase this year, as compared to 2008, by 1 or 2 points and could affect 11% -12% of the families. The worse part is that the people affected will live under the poverty line because the Romanian expenditure per capita for social protection is low and there are no premises for increasing it due to the budgetary constraints. The amounts for social protection rise, this year, to 11.4% of the GDP.

THE PENSIONERS
The elderly are very vulnerable to poverty because Romania does not have clear rules on indexing the pensions, the World Bank experts show. Many European countries have a clear scheme for indexing pensions according to the price increases. The World Bank analysts note that the significant increases of the pensions in 2007 and 2008 will produce a deficit in the pension system representing 2.3% of the GDP as from this year. In 2050, the deficit would reach 6% of the GDP. "This deficit, along with the possible negative effects of the international financial crisis could jeopardize the plans for further integration and convergence of income at EU levels", says the report. The fiscal pressures are generated by the relatively small retirement age, so that the World Bank experts suggest raising the retirement age of women and smoothing it with that of men. Another problem identified by the World Bank refers to the aging of the population, and this will hinder the fiscal situation of the pension system.


Let's increase the vice tax!
The vice tax, especially that applied to tobacco, may be further increased, the WB recommends. "It is still room for increasing the vice tax in Romania, and especially the one regarding the cigarettes. In Romania, the taxes represent about 53% of the retail price of cigarettes, compared with 60% in Bulgaria, 62% in Germany and 68% in France. Increasing the tobacco tax is good for health, for the budget as well as for the economy ", shows the report. However, the report notes nothing about the smuggling of cigarettes and how will it be adversely affected by the increased prices. Also, the World Bank experts are of the opinion that the health funds could merge to increase their efficiency, to reinforce the principle of solidarity and to improve the fund risk.

Maramures Geography

Summary: The County of Maramureş is one of the northernmost areas of Romania, just south of the Ukrainian border. The modern administrative county of Maramureş is comprised of three “countries” (ţări) and two zones: the Country of Maramureş, the Country of Lăpuş, the Country of Chioar, the Zone of Codru and the Zone of Baia Mare-Baia Sprie. Out of these five, the Country of Maramureş is the largest, covering about one half of the total surface area of the administrative county. To the north is the Ukraine, beyond the natural border formed by the River Tisa. To the east is Suceava county, to the south-southeast Bistriţa-Năsăud county, to the south Cluj.

In 2003, there were 509,534 inhabitants, out of which 52.5% lived in urban environments and 46.5% in rural areas. The capital city of the county is Baia Mare with 137,318 inhabitants, while other municipalities are Sighetu Marmaţiei, Târgu Lăpuş and Cavnic, and towns are Seini, Baia Sprie, Borşa and Vişeu de Sus.

Winters are very long and as Maramureş is surrounded by mountains, it is quite hard to reach it during the cold season: the roads rising to the mountain passes are mostly closed between November and April.It rains a lot in Maramureş, especially along the valley of the Iza River, due to the southwesterly winds that are caught by the ring of high mountains. In the valleys the yearly precipitation is about 790-820 mm, and in the mountains around 1000-1390 mm.

Vişeu is the wettest zone in Maramureş. There are about 140 rainy days in a year, while there are only about 30 days in a year when it snows. The rains are most common at the beginning of spring, as well as during June and September. The month with the heaviest snowfalls is January. The relief of Maramureş is varied, the altitudes ranging from 200 to 2,300 m above sea level. The land is 43% mountains, 30% hills and plateaux, and 27% flatlands and meadows. The views from the hilltops embrace beautiful green valleys, meandering rivers and snowtopped mountain peaks. Mountains surround the Country of Maramureş: the Maramureş Mountains are to the north-northeast, the Prislop Pass to the east, the Rodna Mountains to the southeast, the Țibleş Mountains to the south, the Lăpuş Mountains to the southwest and the Gutâi and Igniş Mountains to the west. It is here that the Eastern Carpathians - the 300 km long natural divide between Moldavia and Transylvania - reach their highest altitude with Mount Pietrosu (2302 m) in the Rodna Mountains. The single easy point of access into the area is around the town of Sighetu Marmaţiei where the valley of River Tisa forms a wide plain.The Gutâi and the Tibleş Mountains form a part of the longest volcanic chain in Europe (600 km long). The volcanoes are no longer active, but it is possible to see astonishing calderas at the height of 1,000-1,830 m.

Two river systems - the Tisa and the Someş - drain the county. To the north, the Tisa drains the rivers that flow down the surrounding mountains and across the Maramureş basin: Vişeu, with its main tributaries Ruscova and Vaser, and Iza with its main tributaries Mara and Cosău. Săpânţa is another branch of the Tisa, situated on the western borders of Maramureş, but worth mentioning for its two waterfalls of more than 12 m high. The Someş drains the rivers in the southern part of the county: Lăpuş and Sălaj. The River Tisa’s sources are in the Ukraine. From its joining with the River Vişeu in the east to the village of Teceu Mic in the west, the Tisa marks the frontier of Romania with the Ukraine. The valley of Tisa from Vişeu to the village of Bocicoiu Mare is so narrow that the railway is hardly able to carve out its path between the mountain and the riverbed. The view from the train is very beautiful, this being one of the most impressive landscapes in Romania.

Maramureş is characterized by its rolling hills. Thick forests of oak, beech and pine cover many of them, while orchards of apple, plum and cherry trees dominate the surroundings of villages. A rich variety of flora thrives in the hills and among the network of rivers and streams that covers the region. The Maramureş Mountains in the north are among the wildest areas in Eastern Europe, and bears, deer, wolves and lynxes live in the virgin beech forests. The mountains are dotted with beautiful landscapes, small lakes, caves and very interesting and rare flora. The Rodna Mountains, the highest not only in the region of Maramureş but in the long ridge of the Eastern Carpathians, are capped with snow all through the year. These mountains are among the best-preserved natural regions in Europe.

In the Rodna National Park is the Pietrosu Mare Biosphere Reserve, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The park preserves untouched ecological systems, with many very rare flora and fauna species, such as Lychnis nivalis, a small flower found nowhere else in the world. Here one can see waterfalls, e.g. Cailor Waterfall, which is over 80 metres high, and more than 20 stunningly beautiful glacier lakes, such as Lakes Iezer and Lala.
From Vişeu de Sus it is possible to go up to the wild mountains in a steam engine train (Mocanița), built in 1953. The tracks run for 41 kilometres along the Vaser River up to hamlet of Comanu, and its lumberjack camps, near the Ukrainian border. The Vaser Valley is also a good location for kayaking enthusiasts. The Maramureş Mountains are in general considered among the best places in the region for hiking, paragliding, mountain climbing, cave exploring or bird-watching and photo-safaris.

Vaser Valley and Mocanita

Wood” and “water” are two words that best define Maramureş. The history, the traditions and the life of the people of Maramureş are carved in the wood of the churches and gates, and numerous rivers and streams are spread along the land like a cobweb, forming famous valleys: Mara, Iza, Vişeu, and Vaser.
Among these, of special interest for tourists is the Vaser Valley, which crosses the Maramureş Mountains in the middle of one of the most wild and beautiful landscapes in Romania. The Vaser River is about 60 kilometres long, forming a spectacular canyon-like valley, where precipitous cliffs alternate with dense forests, beautiful clearings and mineral water springs.

The access point to the Vaser Valley is the town of Vişeu de Sus, which is also the starting point for Mocăniţa, a narrow gauge steam train, the only means of transportation in the valley. The railway runs along the Vaser River and is one of the last remaining steam rails still in active use in Europe, and the only one in Romania still used for hauling logs down from the mountains. Built after the First World War for the express task of transporting wood, it is still – surprisingly – used for the original purpose.

Nowadays, in spite of its old age, the steam locomotives have been given one more task: that of transporting tourists. As this place is one of the few where one can ride along in a wagon pulled by steam power, every year the old Mocăniţa attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world, and offers them unforgettable railway trips.
Travellers can go by train all the way up to the end of the valley and back, enjoying the beauty of the nature. It is also possible to stop on the way, get off at one of the several halts, halte, and start a hiking trip to the mountains.

In the Heart of the Mountains
It all starts at the Vişeu de Sus railway station (Căile Ferate Forestiere Vişeu de Sus, or simply CFF Vişeu de Sus). Since this is not a regular railway station, but a forestry station, there are no passenger platforms. The place looks more like a lumberyard than a railway station, smelling of freshly cut wood.
Very early in the morning the Mocăniţa is made ready for the day’s trip. Both the tourist wagons and the forestry wagons are attached to the steam locomotive, wood and water provisions are made – they are the fuel of the steam engine – and the mechanic starts the engine. After some time off the train goes with a long whistle, puffing along the way.
Following the cascading river, the train first passes among the houses of Vişeu de Sus. Then, after about seven kilometres, the tracks start to go deep into the wild forest, passing among the steep cliffs of the gorge, and penetrating the mountains through dark tunnels.
The silence of the nature is broken not only by the on-rushing tumultuous river and the puffs and hisses of the train, but from time to time also by the sharp whistles of the locomotive. The Mocăniţa creeps slowly up the abrupt slopes and often gives the impression that it can no longer advance and that the steam power is not sufficient. However, it manages to continue the journey and carry the tourists to picturesque places. The journey is long and with several stops. As it ascends, the train drops off empty wagons, which are picked up on the return, piled high with logs. The train also stops when locals are taken on board along the way. They use the train to bring cheese down to the town to sell, and to visit nearby villages. Moreover, several fuelling stops are required, as new provisions of water need to be made. Then the locomotive is unhitched from the wagons and is taken to the river. At its return it gives the tourists a strong shake, just to let them know that they should be ready for continuing the trip. The fuel tender also needs to be filled with firewood. The train can also fall off the rails, but at the slow speed of 10 km/hour that poses no danger. The passengers (who are experienced in the matter) help get the train back on the rails using anything they can lay their hands on: cut pieces of wood, chains, axes, or hooks. A forestry tractor that manages to wallow on in the torrent can give the final push so that the trip can continue.
What Else You Should Know Before Getting on the Train
When travelling with the Mocăniţa up the valley one should keep in mind that this is like a journey back in time: after leaving the Vişeu station there is no cell phone signal, and any contact with the modern times is lost; the train is pulled by an antique steam locomotive, and therefore one should pay attention to the soot and sparks that might stain or burn one’s clothes; along the way there are no shops, and provisions of food, water and other consumables have to be made before departure. “Unforeseen” is a key word in the mountains, and it is advisable not to plan anything for the afternoon, as there is no certainty about the return hour: something might break (one has to keep in mind that the line is more than 70 years old and the locomotive can be even older!), and there might be either trees or rocks on the tracks. As the weather in the mountains is very unstable, appropriate shoes, warm clothes and a waterproof coat are necessary. The Vaser Valley is in the border zone, and a valid identity card or passport has to be brought along.

For safety reasons one can get on and off the trains only at the halts, and it is forbidden to jump on or off the train while it is moving. One may only travel in the specially designed passengers’ wagons, and it is strictly forbidden to ride in the production wagons or on the stairs. As these are working trains, one should be very careful when manoeuvres with logs and other equipment are being made. The halts, the majesty of the mountains and the untamed forests, the frenzied river that competes with the noise and sounds of the train, the lumberjacks, the train itself with its conductor, all are a cause for enjoyment, a feeling of adventure, of enchantment. On this train one has to forget the destination, the time it supposedly takes to reach the end of the line, the schedules and other mundane worries of our frantic modern life.

Lake Sfanta Ana

Situated in the mount Ciumatul Mare, on the left side of the river Olt, the lake Sfanta Ana rises on the bottom of an inactive volcano, named Ciomatu. The lake water is almost as pure as that of distilled water. You cannot find one living creature in the water, because of the lack of oxygen.

The legend

Any beautiful place has a legend, this one has two. One of the legends says that once upon a time, a young couple was supposed to get married. The young girl, by her name Ana, who was about to get married, did not agreed with the marriage because her parents forced her to grab the young man’s fortune.
She could not bear the thought of getting married with that rude boy whom she did not love. In the night of the wedding, the bride ran away and threw herself in the lake. Her body was never found. This is why, the locals named the lake Sfanta Ana( Saint Anne).
Another legend says that, in the old times, in this places lived two tyrants which were brothers. One of them mastered a fortress on the top Puciosul and the other one a fortress situated on the place of the actual lake. The master of the fortress from the top Puciosu had a great carriage , fact that enraged hid brother and promised that he will come the next day with a greater carriage. To gain the promise, he harnessed eight of the most beautiful girls from the surrounding places. The beautiful girls could not move an inch the heavy carriage.
The tyrant begun the to beat and whip the girls. One of the girls, named Ana, damned the evil master, and out of the blue begun a terrible storm, with thunders and lightning, and the fortress along with its master, was covered by fames. In the place were the fortress appeared a lake, and the locals named it Sfanta Ana.

This are the legends, this is the place. A big beautiful blue lake on top of the mountain, a small cottage by the lake, providing you food and drinking, and the freedom to imagine. A road that circles the lake, separating it from the woods, will offer you a peaceful walk. If you are not in the mood for socializing, and just want to admire nature’s miracles and beauties, take the road and keep walking. Most surely you will find a place of your own.
If you are a lazy walker, and wish for easy mountain likes, this is the perfect spot for you. Easy access, short hikes, beautiful landscapes, and the refreshing and conforting powers of water given to you by the beautiful lake. Romantic sunsets, relaxing times…The places is so beautiful it will give life to the artist within you.
If you can’t make your mind between choosing the mountain or the sea, you can choose the Sfanta Ana lake. With maximum 7 meters depth, bathing is allowed. Daydreaming is suggested.
If you are searching for a place to relax, to find your inner self, to run away from the city life, the stress at your office, your boss, capitalism, crashing cars, noisy parks, rude waiters, malls, everything that eats a part of you and loose yourself in this ocean called life, this is the perfect place for you my friend. Take a vacation, you will become a new man!
Once you are here, you do not need to see the weather broadcast, the locals can tell how the weather will be. Two fissures formed in the mountain help them tell how the weather will be. The locals know that if the emanations are strong, it’s a sign that it will be a storm, if not, it will be a beautiful sunny day.
The phenomenon is due to the fact that inside the mountain there is still a powerful volcanic activity, sensible to any change of the atmosphere.Mountain, lake, lake, sunbaths, peace, weather tellers, legends…want more? Go discover on your own!

The Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum in Bucharest was founded in 1834. It had different locations before the present one: in the University building, in the Academy Palace and more.
The edifice in the Victory Square that shelters the museum now was built starting at the beginning of the 20th century. The frontispice was designed by the arhitect Grigore Cerchez. It was opened on May 24th 1908, in the presence of king Carol the 1st , queen Maria and prince Ferdinand. On this occasion, only 16 of the rooms were opened for the public, the 11 remaining were added in 1914.
The name and the history of this museum are undoubtedly connected to Grigore Antipa’s personality, its manager for 51 years, starting in 1893. He was the one to give the museum a structure, created the collections, isisted to the governmen to build an edifice suited for the capital’s Natural History Museum. On the museum’s 1ooth anniversary and by the time Antipa had been managing it for 40 years already, its name was changed into „Grigore Antipa Museum”.
During the 40’s, the museum had a lot to suffer. The cause was the earthquake in 1940 and also the Second World War bombings, but it was entirely renovated and reopened in 1949 and added two more wings in 1957. The big earthquake in 1977 also damaged the building, that needed serious reparations.
The first perception one has entering the museum is the one of a frozen Zoo. The stuffed animals are placed in their habitat and you almost expect them to move behind the protecting glass. One of the main attractions is the squeleton of a Deinotherium gigantissimum, a few millon years old. It was discovered in Moldavia and, although it crushed during the 1977 earthquake, it was successfully restored.
Due to its impressive number of exhibits, the museum takes its visitors to a stroll in time and around the world. The diversity takes your breath away: from shells to birds, from snakes to fish, from meteors to fluorescent rocks, from man’s ancestors to monkeys, from reproductions to well-preserved squeletons.
The exhibits are not very well displayed and the explanations are a bit long and complicated, but the most appreciated one, especially by children, is the reproduction of a cave.
It’s a place worth visiting, both for learning new things and for having fun.

Pictures: Metropotam, Onlinegallery

Paited Eggs - Easter

Orthodox Easter this year is 27-28th April - at the end of next week. So the next entries will be dedicated to Romanian Easter traditions you are probably not familiar with.
Easter is the most important religious celebration in my country. Its traditions go beyond the Christian dogmas, to pagan rituals, myths of creations and symbols of life.
I am not going to talk about the preparations in detail. I give you another gift instead: a legend and Romanian painted eggs.
They say that during the Pesach (the Hebrew Passover) Virgin Mary came to see her crucified son. She carried a basket with eggs, which she laid at the foot of the cross while praying for Christ. His holy blood dropped on the eggs and reddened them, so the Lord said:
From now on you shall paint the eggs in red to remember my crucifixion.
According to this legend, there should be no other colors used to paint the eggs for Easter. But as you know, Christians like to paint eggs in many other colors. No, I wouldn’t say that’s a sin or a blasphemy. The meaning of Easter is preserved, no matter what colors we might choose. In Romania the tradition of decorating eggs is ancestral.
In old times a painted eggs was believed to have magic powers and their preparation involved special rituals. Each color or pattern used to decorate the egg was meant to combat a different for of evil.
Even today Romanians believe that painted eggs bring luck and protect their homes against demons and unholy spirits. The shells of the Easter eggs are blessed, they should not be thrown away, but sprinkled over the soil in gardens to provide for fertility and richer crops.
In some parts of Romania (especially in the North in a region called Maramuresh - where you can also find the Wooden Churches and the Merry Cemetery from Sapanta), newly wedded couples keep painted eggs in their homes as charms to protect their home, bring equilibrium and secure happiness in marriage.
While the Christian symbol of the egg is related to the resurrection of Christ, the primordial meanings are still potted in the motifs, colors and patterns that transform these eggs, as you see, in genuine works of art.
It takes a long time, talent and patience to paint these eggs. First they are emptied of their contents and covered with a thin layer of bee wax. Then the meticulous work can begin. Using special tools like “chisita” women “write” the motifs in vegetal (natural) colors. Each element has a meaning and nothing is left to chance.
A Romanian painted egg tells you a story, if you know how to read it. Among the many stylized motifs you’ll often find the tree of life, the sun and the Star, the cross, the rooster, the snake and oak leaves, waves, spirals and much more. Each egg is unique. Each egg is special.
Now, I don’t know how to paint eggs in such an incredible manner. This art, although not kept a secret, is not taught in schools: it’s a folkloric legacy, carried from generation to generation, flourishing only in some parts of Romania. So what you see above it’s an example of Romanian tradition, and what you see below it’s an example of … what a Romanian living in Germany does to substitute a missing sacred symbol.

EVE ON THE HILL - WRITTEN BY MIHAI EMINESCU

Dreary the horn sounds in the eve on the hill
Sheepflocks return, stars in their way twinkle still,
Watersprings weep murmuring clear, and i see
Under a tree, love, thou art waiting for me.
Holy and pure passes the moon on the sky,
Moist seem the stars born from the vault clear and high,
Longing thine eyes look from afar to divine,
Heaving thy breast, pensive thy head doth recline.
Clouds drift along, rent by the moonbeams asunder,
Cottages raise old roofs at Moon`s orb to wonder,
Sweeps of you wells creak in the breeze of the gloaming,
Smoke wraps the vale, pipe-songs from pens go a-roaming.
Tired with their toil, peasants come back from the field,
From the old church, labourer`s comfort and shield,
Voices of bells thrill the whole sky high above;
Struck in my heart, trembling and burning with love.
Ah! very soon quietness steals over all,
Ah! very soon hasten shall i to thy call;
Under the tree, there i shall sit the hole night,
Telling thee, love, thou art my only delight.
Cheek pressed to cheek, there is sweet ecstasy we,
Falling asleep under the old locust-tree,
Smiling in dream, seem in a heaven to live,
For such a night who his whole life would not give?

ADVENTURES IN ROMANIA

Climbing is an activity where team work is essential. Practicing climbing requires communication between the members of the team. Both the trust in your partner, as well as your own strengths increase at the same time.The activities include mountaineering, climbing techniques and single rope techniques. Climbing can be practiced both on natural or articial routes. The most used techniques are: climbing, tyrolean, rappelling, ascending the rope or the cable ladder.Some of the climbing areas are: Cheile Turzii, Vadul Crisului, Suncuius, Zarnesti, Cheile Bicazului, Sinaia etc.
Mountain-biking
The activities of mountain-biking are used for a small route - part of different orientation programs or for a mountain route.
Off-road
Savage mountain routes crossed safely with special vehicle.GPS Orientation and compassUsing a GPS, a compass and a map you have to navigate a track and use different means of transportation: mountain-bike, boats or a kayak.
Paragliding
Flying will be executed in tandem: trainer and client. All our trainers are licensed and experienced.
Skiing
Skiing is only one of the many white sports we recommend. The successful completion of the route shows the way in which the members of the team are coordinated.
Rafting: Water sportsBoats: lake crossing with boat convoy.
Kaiak: Western Mountains area offers spectacular routes, mainly in the spring time.
Canyoning: For those who enjoy more excitement, we recommend canyoning. For a safety crossing it is compulsory that you have strong knowledge of climbing, caving and swimming. It is vital to be guided by experienced trainers.In Romania you can culty level such as Bistrita, CrisulRepede, Nera as well as rivers withdif culty: Jiul, for example.For optimal conditions ina high lever of dif practicing rafting it is necessary that the rivers have high levels of water
Speology
Romanian caves are well known all over the world for the richness and gorgeousness of the limestone formation. Because of their special value many caves are strictly protected. In the eco-tourism programs we initiated, we can offer you the opportunity of visiting some of these natural beauties.
Surviving
In this program you have to spend a day or two in the middle of the nowhere, far away of civilisation and use the environment to your advantage.
Paintball: Teambuilding and Therapy
Paintball is a very good way of strengthening the ties between colleagues in the same company or department.One has the possibility to organize paintball games in Romania, and act out different scenarios in different environment like wildness or specially designed buildings (an ex-prison, a simple wall etc.) killtheenemycaptain,andmany others.The scenarios can include antiterrorist action, capture the Corporate enterprises have a tradition of offering such vacations to their employees in Romania and the accommodation possibilities are at a high standard and no further than 100 miles from Bucharest.

THE IDENTITY OF THE MARAMURES WONDERLAND

Morosenii, as the people of Maramures call themselves, are a hospitable people who like company and talking. The old habit of greeting everyone, originating from the times when people of the same community were few and the strangers even fewer, continues today: when two people meet they greet each other, be they acquaintances or complete strangers. Maramures is one of the few zones where the folk costume has been preserved almost unaltered by urban influences. And although it can be admired only on Sundays when Morosenii go to church, or on the occasion of religious feasts and great fairs, each Morosan, without exception, owns a traditional costume. At the fairs the alimentary habits of the Moroseni are revealed. The food markets are practically invaded by milk products, especially sheep-milk and cow-milk cheese, between May and the end of September, sometimes even later. The soft cottage cheese and the green sheep-milk cheese are eaten all through the warm season. During this period sheep-milk is full of fat due to pasturing on the slopes of the mountains. The herds are taken to the mountain pastures on St. George (26 October) and back to the valleys on St. Demeter (23 April). Making cheese is a way to preserve excess milk for the cold season. Another staple food of the Maramuresean diet is pork meat. On each farm, one week before Christmas, a pig is slaughtered, an event in which the whole family takes part. After the butchering, the pig is singed, cut to pieces, and various specialities are prepared (sausages, bacon etc.), all smoked to conserve them for the winter. Maramuresean people are great eaters of onions, garlic, cabbage and potatoes, which are all cultivated in the region. Old documents tell of agriculture around the villages, and most probably the people got their livelihood combining farming and herding. Maramures is a civilization of wood, made obvious by the splendid wooden churches and the numerous buildings of lay architecture. Even though life in Maramureş is adjusting itself to modern times, some elements are preserved unchanged, which is a proof of a strong collective mentality. The inhabitants of Maramures, being animal breeders par excellence, and especially sheep breeders, have preserved until this day the ancient ways of processing textile fibres. The long work of wool processing starts in May, when shepherds shear the herds in their care. The wool is then washed, dried, carded and stored. Once the agricultural season comes to an end with the completion of fieldwork, women start the real processing of wool: spinning the wool with a distaff, then weaving and thickening the cloth in whirlpools. Each woman of Maramures has in her household a loom, which finds its place in the kitchen during the winters. In Maramures, the loom is used to make cergi (long-haired blankets), carpets, bags and panura (thick cloth used to make warm winter clothes: sumane (long winter coats), gube (short winter coats), and trousers. In most cases the blankets and cloths are dyed with industrial pigments, bought from the market, but bags and carpets are often dyed using old recipes for preparing natural vegetable dyes. Thus, nettle is used to get green colour, birch bark for black, onion for ochre and buckthorn for brown. Weaving and spinning are occupations that only women – and all women – take part in, and a series of ancient beliefs and taboos are still alive today.The stills for making horinca are masterpieces of traditional metallurgy. Made of copper beaten with hammer, and then joined perfectly together with rivets, the stills have a capacity varying between 100 and 500 litres. They are equipped with a mixer, whose action depends on a water wheel, to stir the fruit. The still is placed atop an open hearth, where a hot fire is maintained, necessary to the distillation of the fruit to obtain the drink. There are two periods and, implicitly, two types of drink that can be obtained: the horinca made at the end of summer with plums and the apple rachiu made in spring. Ceramic ware is still produced and used throughout the region of Maramures. The ware is made in various shapes and sizes, depending on the intended use. The colours are vivid greens, reds and blues on a whitish background. If one wants to see the only place in Europe where unglazed red ceramic ware is still produced, then they should go to Maramures, towards the source of Iza River. All steps have been preserved in an unchanged form: the manner of preparing the clay, which is by first treading it with feet and then pounding it with wooden hammers, the shapes of the pots, the preparation of the pigments by grinding rocks containing iron oxides, the polishing with river stones, the painted decorations, the shape of the oven, and the firing techniques.

'SANZIENELE' - A CELEBRATION OF MIDSUMMER'S DAY

The celebration of Midsummer is especially popular throughout Europe, with festivities beginning on Midsummer Eve which include lighting bonfires, especially on mountaintops, dancing around and leaping over fires, and other ancient customs. It probably originated in ancient times as sun worship, with the fires representing the power of the sun. These bonfires have been thought to have all sorts of magical properties, from driving away of evil, to ensuring health and affecting the weather. Frazer cites substantial evidence that the fires are actually sun charms. As the sun worship was forgotten, the customs remained and the theme of Midsummer became very romantic. There are a number of customs for predicting one's future spouse. A girl who sees nine Midsummer fires will marry before the end of the year, and placing certain flowers under the pillow will give you dreams of your future mate. This is also the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. On Sânziene's night the people pick healing plants and light huge purifying fires.Midsummer Day has a twofold meaning in Romania. One stands for the traditional Midsummer fairies that do a lot of mischief. The other is a reminder of the nice smelling flowers of Lady's Bedstraw. Young girls make wreathes out of them and the boys cross-shaped braids. The flowers are then thrown into the cattle pen. If the wreath gets stuck on an old beast, the future spouse will be elderly. If the animal is young, so will the spouse be. On Midsummer Eve, the lads of Maramures (north-west Romania) go out in the evening holding fire torches which they move around in the sense of the sun in the sky. When the torches are about to go out the young men descend the hills, surround the plots, enter into people's yards and give the torches to their parents to thrust them into the soil of their gardens.On the same day, in Moldavia, Wallachia and Dobruja, two or four maidens, two of them dressed as lads, perform the Wicked Fairy's dance. The girls may be accompanied by a boy who plays the flute or the bagpipe and carries a banner on which colored handkerchiefs, bedstraw flowers, garlic and wheat ears are attached. in some villages, the Wicked Fairies wield scythes and fight among themselves.The initial significance of the custom compares the maidens to ripening wheat. Thus, a transfer of fertility between the two kingdoms, animal and vegetal, is achieved. Sickles that will pull down the plants symbolize the mowing of human lives, as well as the eternal duel between winter and summer, between the good and the evil forces.Sinzienele are bad pixies of the night in Romanian folk tradition. People think these pixies could influence future marriages. Every 24 June, in the Sinziene's night, unmarried girls cut petals of a thistle flower. Then they keep that flower in a glass of water. They say that the faster petals grow back at the thistle she looks after, the bigger her chances are to marry the man she loves.

Midsummer Day

When you've decided to hold on to all that you lost

When you've decided to hold on to all that you lost

All this is nothing if she comes and tears you apart

All this is nothing if you hold the key to her heart

If you've decided to change what you thought was your way

This new way will take you to her and to Midsummer Day

All this is nothing if she comes and tears you apart

All this is nothing if you hold the key to her heart

And I'm cryin' in the night

And I'm waiting for a call

Won't you help me girl tonight

Cos I'm waitin' for a call

And I'm cryin' in the night

And she's thrown from my mind

And the sky is turning black

And I'm running out of time

You'll shed a last tear

If you miss what you thought was your way

This new way will take you to her and to Midsummer Day

All this is nothing if she comes and tears you apart

All this is nothing if you hold the key to my heart

All you are...is in you

All you are...is in you

All you are...is in you

In you in you in you....

Timisoara

Timisoara city is situated in West part of Banatului Field between the rivers Timis and Bega, being one of the most important city of the country. The city is a harmonious combination between historical centre and the development which had been periodical in arround of this centre. In this way, the oldest buildings had made since beginning of the XVII. Century, in the periode when in Europe enters the Baroque style. Was supposed that the city had founded much earlier of this building’s lifting. The testimony in this sense give the Huniade castle, which still keeping numerous documentations from XIII. Century. Due to its strategical position (connection point between Austro-Hungarian Empire and East Europe) Timisoara knew a fast development being builded in arround of the city a fortress which was the wish of the all sultans of Turkish Empire (suited to the writings of the Turkish chronicler Mustafa Seldzade). The city’s conquest by the Turks (1551) made to the ethnical change of the city and also to the commerce’s development. Since 1716 the city is under Austrian-Hungarian empire’s rule. The German colonies, which peopled more and more the city, had a big role in Timisoara’s development. Between 1728 and 1761 were created the first navigation canals on the rivers Bega and Timis, which lead to river commerce’s development. Also in this periode was changed the fortify plan of the city, increasing the city’s surface. The city-fortress was organized in arround of 2 squares: Piata Paradei (today Piata Libertatii) and Piata Iezuitilor (Piata Sfantul Gheorghe). Later in north of the city was builded the Piata Unirii square, where were lifted the Cathedral, the Episcopal Palace and Governor’s Palace. At the beginning of XIX. century had part the city’s industralization which lead to apperance of : public lighting with gaslamp, the city’s connectation to European railways network, public transport with horse-drawn trams, the telegraph’s and the telephone’s appearance, replace of wood bridges with stell bridges, later (1884) the city’s electrical lighting (the first city from Europe) and apparition of the electric tram (1899). Between 1890 and 1910 the city’s fortress were demolished being replaced by parks, Timisoara being named as the “Parks’ City” or the “Flowers’ City”. Between the 2 world wars, the city knew a magnificent development through building of many cultural institutions (Metropolitan Cathedral and National Theatre). After the Second World War the city’s industralization grew up: new districts, cultural and education institutions (schools, museums, theatres, concert halls) and also the entertainment possibilities’ growth (terraces, restaurants, bars, discos, night clubs). Today Timisoara fills the all conditions to be named an European city.

NICOLAE CEAUSESCU Biography

Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989) was a Romanian leader whose attempts to fuse nationalism and communism resulted in such a brutal dictatorship that the Romanians overthrew his regime.
Nicolae Ceausescu was born of a peasant family on Jan. 26, 1918, in Scornicesti in the Olt country. At the age of 11 he began working in the factories of Bucharest. He participated in the social movements at the beginning of 1930s and joined the revolutionary working-class movement in 1932. The following year Ceausescu became a member of the Union of Communist Youth (UCY) and of the Romanian Communist party (RCP). He was successively secretary of Prahova and Oltenia regional committees of UCY and was a representative of the democratic youth in the Antifascist National Committee (1934).
Met Influential Communists in Prison

Between 1936 and 1938 Ceausescu was imprisoned several times for his revolutionary, patriotic, and antifascist activities. It was there that he met and became close with Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who led the Romanian Communists and took Ceausescu under his wing. Ceasescu took part in organizing the huge antiwar demonstration in Bucharest on May 1, 1939, in defense of Romania's independence against the Nazi danger. He then was elected member and secretary of the Central Committee of the UCY (1939-1940). Sentenced in absentia (1939), he was later arrested and imprisoned (1940-1944). During World War II he took an active part in the struggle to overthrow his country's fascist regime, to force Romanian withdrawal from the anti-Soviet war, and to free Romania from Hitler's domination.
After Romanian liberation from fascism, Gheorghiu-Dej helped Ceausescu again become secretary of the UCY Central Committee (1944-1945). Ceausescu then worked as secretary of the regional party committees of Dobrogea and later of Oltenia; in 1948 he was appointed general secretary. After serving as deputy minister of agriculture (1949-1950), Ceausescu joined the army staff and became deputy minister of the armed forces, holding the function of head of the Army High Political Department (1950-1954). Around this time, he married Elena Petrescu.
Used Power to Weaken Rivals
When Gheorgiu-Dej died suddenly in 1965, Ceausescu became first secretary of the RCP. Although many in the party felt Ceausescu was weak enough to be controlled, he used his new power to weaken his rivals. Subsequently, on Dec. 9, 1967, the Grand National Assembly elected him president of the State Council of the Socialist Republic of Romania, thus making him head of state.
Ceasescu's first years of authority were good for the country and people believed he was a bright ruler. When he boycotted the Soviet Union's 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, he won international support. However, these times belied his true nature. Armed with complete power, he began to impose his version of the ideal Communist society on the Romanians: rapid industrialization in the manner of Stalin, pursuit of Puritanism concerning individual and family life, and systemization, which included destroying churches and housing the population in concrete high-rise buildings. These actions were especially harsh in Bucharest, whose history was bulldozed to make way for Ceausescu's ideal city. In keeping with his luxurious lifestyle, Ceausescu began constructing the largest building in the world, "The People's Palace." All the while, life was crumbling for the average Romanian, many of whom had to survive without heat or electricity. In December, 1989, the Romanian people revolted, and killed both Ceausescu and his wife.

Nadia Comaneci

Nadia Comaneci (full name Nadia Elena Comaneci) was born on November 12, 1961 in Onesti, Romania. She is a Romanian gymnast who won five Olympic medals being considerated one of the world's greatest gymnasts.

Biography and Career :

She competed for the first time in the national championship in 1970 for her town's team and soon after this she started to work with the great coach Bella Karolyi and his wife Martha. At the age of 13 she won at the European championship in Norway in 1970 3 gold medals and one silver. In the same year Associated Press called her "the sport-woman of the year in Romania".
In 1976 she became at the Summer Olympic Games in Quebec Canada a very big star. Nadia Comaneci succeed to obtain 6 time the best mark:10(first in the history of gymnastic) and won 3 gold medals, 1 silver and a bronze one. When she came back in Romania was called "Hero of the Socialistic Labor", and was the youngest person who got that distinction.
After 2 years in which Nadia didn't have other notable results, in 1979 won the 3rd supreme title and was the first gymnast(man or woman) in the history of sport who succeed this performance. In December at the World Championship, although she had an hand’s injury she participated and obtained 9.95.
In 1980 At Olympic Games in Moscow Nadia had some problems with the referees who were very influenced by Communist Party in USSR but though she won 2 gold medals and 2 silver.After this Games she retired and between 1984-1989 was member of Romanian Gymnastic Federation.In November 1989 Nadia Comaneci emigrated in USA after she crossed the Romanian-Hungarian border illegally. In USA was involved in promotion of sport products.In 1994 got engaged with Bart Conner and came back in Romania for the first time after she lived her country. In April 1996 she got married with her fiancé.Now she and her husband are the owners of Bart Conner Gymnastic Academy and of some sportive equipment stores and also are editors for International Gymnastic Magazine.
Nadia Comaneci is vice-president of the Director Council of "Special Olympics", honorific president of the Romanian Gymnastic Federation, honorific president of Romanian Olympic Committee and member in Foundation of International Gymnastic Federation.
In December 2003 she published her first book "Letters to a young gymnast".
Trivia :
- She married Bart Conner in Spring of 1996. The ceremony was held in her hometown in Romanian at an Eastern Orthodox church.
- At the Montreal Olympics, the scoreboards were not equipped to display scores of 10.0--so Nadia's perfect marks were reported on the boards as 1.00 instead.
- She was the 1976 BBC Sports Personality of the Year in the overseas athletes category.
- She has a son, Dylan Paul Conner.

Quotes :
- "I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet."
- "Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win."
- "It's a new chapter in our lives. I'm happy. It kind of makes my life and Bart's life and our family's lives complete."

Awards :
1976 - Montreal - All-around - Gold
1976 - Montreal - Uneven - Gold
1976 - Montreal - Balance - Gold
1976 - Montreal - Team Competition - Silver
1976 - Montreal - Floor exercise - Bronze
1980 - Moscow - Balance beam - Gold
1980 - Moscow - Floor exercise - Gold
1980 - Moscow - Team competition - Silver
1980 - Moscow - All around - Silver