Archive for September, 2010

Sarmizegetusa Regia – Ancient Dacian Capital

Posted in "Art" ??, Beautiful Romania, Travel with tags , , , , , , on 27 September 2010 by Watcher Romano

Romania’s former president, Ion Iliescu is infamous for opening his address to the US Congress with the line “the ducks come from the trucks”, actually meaning that the Dacian people stems from the Thracian people :-)

Why I bring this anecdote up on a travel photography blog you ask? Because this post is about the ancient  Dacian capital of Sarmizegetusa Regia, that was conquered by the Romans in 105 A.D., after an unsuccessful attempt some 4 years earlier. I can easily understand why this fortified city was so difficult to conquer: hidden high up in the mountains, in the middle of a thick forest, protected by some other five fortified settlements (Blidaru, Piatra Roşie, Costeşti, Căpâlna and Băniţa), this place is difficult to access by car in modern days !

On the other hand, as I stood in the middle of the sanctuaries, and listened to the storm closing in, I asked myself: why on earth would anyone to conquer this fortress? Were I ‘the Romans’, I would have gladly left the crazy guys hide in the middle of the forrest, 60 kilometers from the nearest place of interest, and would have gone on conquering the rest of the country :-)

When I got there, a storm was coming fast. The place was deadly quiet, my shutter made an echo (!), my breath was all steam (although it was July), the whole place was numbing. It simply made one shut up and relax, calm down, breathe deeply and want to stay there for an indeterminate period of time.

Enough talking already, it’s not literature that you’re here after, is it ?

If you intend to visit, take your time. The road starts  from Orastie and is 30 kilometers long after the end of the asphalt. It’s not that well maintained either. But I think that autumn should be a great time to travel to such a location.

There are numerous other posts about beautiful places in Romania on this blog. I suggest you come back regularly, or subscribe for free (via RSS or email ).

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Would you like to work there?

Posted in Life Beats Film with tags , , , , on 17 September 2010 by Watcher Romano

Seeing this billboard I just had to stop and shoot it, so that I could ask my friends the above mentioned question. Is a billboard like that a good sign of company policy or a bad omen ?

Arcelor Mittal Warning

Arcelor Mittal Warning

PS: notice the perfect Indian English :-)

PS2: this photo was taken this summer, during a memorable trip to the western part of Romania.

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Trophaeum Traiani in Adam Clisi

Posted in Beautiful Romania, Travel with tags , , , , , , , on 8 September 2010 by Watcher Romano

In 102 A.D, the Roman Emperor Traian defeated the dacs in Tapae. In order to commemorate this victory, he ordered a monument to be erected on the hill overseeing the citadel. I jokingly call this monument Fallus Traiani :-)

Fallus Traiani in AdamClisi

Fallus Traiani in AdamClisi

As you can see for yourself this picture has nothing special. I tried and tried to figure out something but was unable to do so. I searched the internet for ideas but with no success, all of the pictures are as boring as the one above. This is my idea to make this stand out as I feel it should:

Fallus Traiani in AdamClisi (B&W)

Fallus Traiani in AdamClisi (B&W)

What do you think?

This photo was also taken during the electrifying summer holiday I had in 2010. Also, be sure to check back regularly (via RSS or email ) because there are always more pictures to come showing beautiful places in Romania and around the world.

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St Andrew’s Cave Monastery – Manastirea Pestera Sf. Andrei

Posted in Beautiful Romania, Travel with tags , , , , , , , , , on 6 September 2010 by Watcher Romano

Near Ion Corvin, a village in Constanta, south of the Danube, one can find a monastery raised in honor of the Saint Apostle Andrew. He is said to have chosen to spread the word of Christ in the area around the Black Sea. Coming to Tomis, he needed a hiding place, and if you will visit this monastery you will find that it is is even now very well hidden in the forest. In St. Andrew’s time, there was only a cave there, used as a hideout. Over the years, the monastery had benefited from several important donors and was as such able to build the current compound, with 3 different churches:

I find the paintings inside the smaller church very interesting. I also think the entrance warning deserves a whole discussion. What it says is “let’s at least act decent” . I think this is a very pessimistic view of the people sent by the Church. Seems like the subjects are uneducated, badly intended and generally a bunch of pigs, and the most they could do is pretend to be civilized :-( That does not sound very orthodox to me …

Getting over the Church’s messages and chosen way to implement religion and the ‘christian understanding of peers’ , I would like to point out that this is a very good place to find colorful pictures from beautiful places in Romania and all over the world. These photos in particular were taken during an electrifying summer holiday. Check back for more, or use the via RSS or email to get automatically notified when something new is posted.

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