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Gallery of Romania,
land of the Gypsies & Dracula
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)
 Print
this Article • About
the Author • Bibliography/Sources
This is an article on the
current cultural, ethnic, historical, religious, social, and
linguistic dimensions of Romania, complete with photos, from
my 2007 vacation. It also investigates the issue of Islam
in Europe both today and as a result of the Ottoman Jihad.
To see the complete history
and my personal observations that go along with these photographs,
read our Inside Romania
article.
Vlad Dracul "the Impaler", defender of Romanians
against the Jihad
Ioan Antonescu, Romania's Axis Fascist popular leader during
WWII
My photo of a Gypsy family collecting their taken goods, with
the daughter at center nude. (click to enlarge)
My photo of the city's most beautiful building from the past,
with thousands of birds flying into it. (click to
enlarge)
My photo of the archeological museum with Constanta's unique
buses. (click to enlarge)
My photo of a strange Islamic-looking building, an obvious
influence of the Jihad's rule. (click to enlarge)
My photo of empty downtown Constanta. (click to enlarge)
My photo of an ancient Roman pillar near several tombs, written
in Greek.
My photo of Romania's Constanta downtown, with the center
building collapsed. (click to enlarge)
My photo of the poor center city. Clothes can be seen hanging
to be dried at the center. (click to enlarge)
My photo of a room with a visible ceiling completely collapsing.
Traffic in Bucharest is a mess, as nearly all wealth of Romania
is centered here (from vivid.ro)
Romania's currency of the
past, the Old Lei, was so worthless that the government embraced
a similar tactic of Mexico, Italy, and Turkey by slashing
several zeroes from its value. The "New Lei" is
relatively valuable by comparison to other currencies of poor
nations, but Gypsies and local store owners exploit mathematical
difficulties as well as the ignorant tourists to charge them
double or worse. Almost no English is spoken, though for youth
it is compulsory often. There are few shops for visitors because
they do not expect any.
The New Romanian Lei currency slashed several zeroes of the
worthless old currency.
My photo of the exterior of an Orthodox cathedral. (click
to enlarge)
My photo of another angle of the same church. (click
to enlarge)
My photo of the interior of the beautiful church, with candles
for the saints in the corner. (click to enlarge)
My photo of the deep interior of the church, with popes ready
to absolve faithful visitors with headscarves. (click
to enlarge)
My photo of
a fantastic ceiling artwork inside a cathedral. (click
to enlarge)
My photo of the exterior of a lovely mosque.
My photo of a close-up of the exterior, with Arabic written
above the door.
My photo of the amazing interior of the mosque.
My photo of a view of the city from the exclusive minaret
of the mosque.
________________________________________
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
James Mayfield is the owner
and Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I am working
for a doctorate in history, with a specific emphasis on Islamic
and European histories. I am well versed in all world cultures,
ethnicities, religions, languages, politics, and historical
evolution in relation to and against each other.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
USED:
Personal observations.
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