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The Danube Delta Seen Through The Eyes Of Ion Bostan

Ion Bostan was born in Bucovina, in the city of Chernowitz (Cernăuţi) on December 15, 1914. He was an important personality in the history of the Romanian documentary film. I accompanied him as he was shooting for a number of his films in the Danube Delta. I can, of course,

Boulanger - A Romanian Mantovani

listen to Georges Boulanger playing Gypsy Serenade click here to read more At the beginning of the 20th century, the Danube Delta was a cradle of violinists born in the towns on the land (Sulina, Tulcea) that the great river crosses just before opening its arms, as if

Little Fingers

excerpts The wind is chilly and it is as though it has a taste, a taste of mulberries. The boat passes by a white poplar. Over the water hang scattered streaks of haze, whelps of mist. The boat leaves behind it a row of dwarf willows. What a bluish-black night, like ink!

The Mermaids In The Delta

I heard this story in Sulina one night, while waiting for a plate of golden herrings about to come out of the oven, as a boy about 10 years old was running towards us from the direction of the sea and shouting at the top of his lungs: “Rusalfa! Rusalfa! I’ve seen a rusalfa!”

The Dobruja Patrimony Of The National Village Museum

Director of Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum in Bucharest Ethnological research of Dobruja represented an important objective for the experts at the Village Museum starting from the 1950-1960s. Dobruja proved to be one of the most fascinating regions due to the history

On The Germans Of Dobrogea

excerpt STAGE 1840-1850 TULCEA Tulcea was among the first towns in which the Germans coming from Bessarabia and the south of Russia settled down. After a long period of wait several families were allowed to settle in the Turkish village Akpunar. It was 1842. In the area

On Saint George's Day With The Hahols*

A white fur cap walks its way boldly above the fences, turns left all of a sudden and appears in front of me, before the gate of the church. The churchyard is full of people but the old man walks determined, bold, with his chest pushed out front, straight to the target:

Ivan Patzaichin - The Most Well-Known Lipovan Russian In The World

Between 1968-1984 Ivan Patzaichin (b. 1949), won seven Olympic medals (four gold and three silver) and eight world championships in canoeing. A golden Lipovan who has never denied his identity of a Starover (i. e. Old Believer) Russian from the Delta. He is modest, honest,

The Bilingualism Of The Lipovan Russians

At the beginning of their existence on the Romanian territory, the ancestors of the present Lipovan Russians were speaking only their maternal language, since they didn't know any other language. They were mono-lingual. In time, since they were in the midst of the Romanian

The Danube Delta - Places, People, Customs

Institute for Ecomuseum Research in Tulcea Ethnographical research in relation to this habitat allows us to distinguish between the various particular aspects regarding lifestyle and traditional culture, which prove the importance of the human factor in defining the features

Ethnicity And Imagination In The Danube Delta

The Danube Delta is a land inhabited by Romanians coming from Transylvania, Moldavia and Oltenia (Little Walachia), as well as by people who came here from Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. There seem to be two causes that led to this ethnic mosaic: a political one –

Nightfall On The Lake

He'd come with his head down, as if searching for something among the rocks on the road. What could he have possibly found new here, in a land surrounded by waters, on the shore laden with miasma? The narrowness of the bank? He knew all about it; the shiny grit? –