ABOUT ROMANIA
A country of forests and mountains.
Romania, a country of ancient forests and majestic mountains.
A country filled by passionate and creative people.
This one can be a destination for the curious soul who wants to experience a land of great mythology, mystery, life and heart.
The largest of the Balkan countries, Romania not only possesses dramatic mountain scenery but also has a coastline on the Black Sea.
A coastline that can be just as beautiful as its forests and mountains. Embellished by summer vacation stations where one can have immense fun with friends and family!
Romania has seen numerous empires come and go with various interests. From the Roman and Ottoman to the Austro-Hungarian empires.
This experiences had enriched the culture, traditions and history giving birth to the people of today.
ROMANIAN GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
ROMANIAN GEOGRAPHY
Romania is the 13th largest country in Europe and the 83rd in the world. Through it, a great section of the Carpathian mountains, pass thus giving it the title of the country of the mountains.
Romania is also a Latin island in Eastern Europe.
In terms of gold reserves, it ranks first in Europe.
The Danube-Black Sea channel is the third largest waterway in the world. For its construction, 294 million cubic meters were excavated in the main channel and another 87 million cubic meters in the northern branch of "Poarta Albă-Midia Năvodari".
ROMANIA HISTORY
The Origin of the Romanians can be found in prehistory as far as 440 BC - 500 BC, in the period of Dacia.
The people then are the early Romanians of today.
It is only through the conquest of Rome and further foreign interference that Dacia turned into Romania.
Since the 1970s, the discoveries have been continuously coming from the "Limanu" cave.
Discoveries such as Pottery pots belonging to Dacians, Romans, and Greeks.
Cave drawings inside the cave depict symbols, figures of humans, animals.
In the History of Romania, it has been a very strong presence during the world wars and before, being ruled by honorable and strong emperors that brought prosperity to the lands.
Romania has not always been just one country. Earlier this lands were split in three countries each with their own rule.
It is only in the date of 1st December of 1918 that these lands were united into the present days Romania.
ROMANIAN SPIRITUALITY
When someone starts making concessions to sin he darkens inside, the eyes of the soul are clouded and he can no longer see clearly.
Moreover, he is polluted by sin, and sin confuses and entangles him, causing him to see even the pure as sinful.
Elder Paisios of mount Athos Spiritual Councels Vol. II
Spiritual Awakening p.71
Most of modern day Romanian spiritual faith revolves around Christianity.
One particular branch of Christianity and that is the Orthodox Faith.
The Orthodox Church has been entangled in Romanian history since before the great union in 1918.
The Orthodox Faith is form of Christianity maintained by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Orthodox means “correct in teaching”.
It is based on the Nicene Creed.
The Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, and that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles.
It maintains that it practices the original Christian faith, passed down by sacred tradition. Of its several patriarchates four reminiscent the pentarchy, while its autocephalous and autonomous churches reflect a variety of hierarchical organisation.
ROMANIAN CUISINE
Modern day Romanian food.
Inspired by other traditions with an added aspect of Traditional Romanian flavor and perfume.
Romanian cuisine is a diverse blend of different dishes from several traditions with which it has come into contact, but it also maintains its own character. It has been mainly influenced by a series of European cuisines such as the Austrian cuisine, German cuisine, Greek cuisine, or Hungarian cuisine, yet it also includes culinary elements stemming from the cuisines of the Slavic-speaking countries of Eastern and Central Europe, most notably Serbian and Bulgarian as well as Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian.
ROMANIAN ART AND CULTURE
"What is that impulse, that irresistible force which will not let the peasant rest content with the merely useful, but drives him to seek the best proportioned and most harmonious forms that appeal to the eye by color and line, are pleasant to the touch and produce that rare sense of contentment, poise of mind and joy which characterize aesthetic enjoyment?
(Peasant Art in Romania, by George Oprescu, 1929)
While there are great Romanian fine artists, among whom 20th century sculptor Constantin Brancusi is probably the most famous, the typical zest for life and almost naive optimism that the world is really a beautiful place seem best expressed in the traditional art and craft of Romanian peasants, extending even to their colorful, unique grave markers. In the "Merry Cemetery" of Sapanta," bordering Ukraine, carved wooden crosses are painted traditional Voronet blue (named for the nearby painted monastery) and embellished with fanciful borders, renderings of the deceased and often anecdotes of their lives. An erstwhile town mayor is memorialized with anecdotes of his womanizing ways.
Whereas the culture of Romania is the product of its geography and its distinct historical evolution. It is theorized and speculated that Romanians and the Vlachs, are the combination of descendants of Roman colonists and people indigenous to the region who were Romanized.
The Dacian people, one of the major indigenous peoples of Central and Southeast Europe are one of the predecessors of the Proto-Romanians. It is believed that a mixture of Dacians, Romans, and Illyrians are the predecessors of the modern Romanians, Aromanians (Vlachs), Megleno-Romanians, and Istro-Romanians. Modern Romanian culture visibly reflects a tremendous amount of both Central and Western European influences. In addition, Romanian culture shares several similarities even with other ancient cultures outside of Central Europe, such as that of the Armenians.