Preface To Extraordinary Travels, CD Press, 2001
excerptIn 1898, at the general assembly of the Romanian Geographic Society, its general secretary, George I. Lahovary, presenting a report on the activities performed the previous year, remarked that the Romanians had lately undertaken travels and even explorations of some
At Winder's - The Dragomans - Mishka - Ibrahim - A Motley Crowd
*On Handak street, which meets Anastase street a few steps away from the place where I'd eaten, the bustle was at its height. Although lazy and indifferent when they have nothing to do, Arabs are very much alive and quick when there's a chance of making some money.
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True 'holy pilgrimages' are undertaken to the holy places beginning with the 14th century. Monks, laymen, young and old, well-off or needy, then also literati, leave everything behind and set out, on foot, by ship, on mules and camels, on the pious journey.
Jerusalem
Either Bolintineanu – who wandered for almost ten years, from 1848 until 1857, his eyes 'dried up by the sight of so many foreign lands,' across Bulgaria, Palestine, Egypt, Macedonia, and Asia Minor – is an often saddened pilgrim (though he can also smile),
My Aunts From Tel Aviv
excerpt Big scandal occasioned by Remembrance Day and Independence Day (Yom Ha-Zikaron, Yom Ha-Hatzmaut), because the Minister of the Armed Forces ordered 40,000 Israeli flags in Taiwan instead of the domestic industry, preferring foreign silk,and this friend of mine who
Constantinopole
The moral picturesque is associated, in Dimitrie Ralet's Travel Souvenirs and Impressions from Romania, Bulgaria, Constantinople, 1858, with the ethnographic and lexical picturesque (He was a scrawny Turk, dressed in shalwar, jelek [vest] and kebe [cloak], with a raggedy
Delphi
On this clear morning destined for the departure for Delphi I am unconsoled at having to leave Athens, where everything measures up to the artistic emotion. The distance between Athens and Delphi, on a well-kept road, is 243 kilometres. The itinerary includes a halt, around
Our Love Of Our Neighbor
excerpts We travel leisurely. The other passengers are discreet and nice. We cross a few borders almost without knowing it. After passing through Hungary without complications, we already believe in our lucky stars. Everyone's tongue loosens, recalling an episode of
Between Odessa And Piraeus
*I intended to be concerned with literary form in this series of reportage. I can see I have done better than I expected. At the moment, my problem is preserving the chronological order of events. Our departure from Odessa was marked by a small, insignificant in fact, incident,
Taking The Road
Whether the purpose is study, pilgrimage, or entertainment, traveling assumes a great thirst for knowledge and self-knowledge. Ioan Slavici believed that rambling builds one's character. No mean feat, I'd say: were it for this alone, it would still justify an
Last Laugh
My plan for this little article had already taken shape. After having read all the materials, learned quite a few things therefrom, enjoyed the erudition, remembered some of my friends' passion for rare watches, phone cards or antiques, or my own childhood stamp, coin,
About The Art Market
excerpt A few essential socio-economic mutations have occurred in Romania in the last decade. Gaining individual freedom, in addition to the possibility of free economic initiative, briefly, the first steps towards a market economy, had as an immediate consequence the need