for those who were wondering here is the Encyclopedia Britannica on the "country"
Transdniestria, also spelled Transnistria, also called Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Republic and Pridnestrovie, separatist enclave in Moldova, located on the east bank of the Dniester River. Loosely occupying some 1,350 square miles, the self-proclaimed (1990) Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Republic is not recognized by any state; it has a national bank, national currency (the ruble), and customs house, as well as its own flag and national anthem. Historically, Transdniestria was ruled at various times by the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Ukraine, and the Soviet Union. The main city is Tiraspol. Much of Moldovan industry is located in Transdniestria, and in 2005 the Transdniestrian authorities severed power to Moldova. A substantial Russian military presence in Transdniestria strained Moldovan relations with Russia in the early 21st century.
here is the run down of the planned trip- of course day one- we arrive Sofia--- via Warsaw direct from Chicago...
Day 2 Sofia
Tour of Sofia
This morning,
begin a walking
exploration of Sofia. Founded more than 7,000 years ago, Sofia is home to more than 250 historic
landmarks and architectural monuments that
harmonize with the city’s modern
skyline. The remains
of Sofia’s protective fortress walls have been incorporated into an underground pedestrian passage where the remnants
of the original second-century Serdica settlement still
lie. Despite its Byzantine ruins and ancient
mosques, some say that Sofia’s most exciting architecture was built after Bulgaria’s liberation from the Ottoman Empire
in 1878.
Jewish
Stones of Gratitude, St Sophia Church
Many people
are not aware that Bulgaria
was able to protect its estimated 48,000
Jews from Hitler's extermination camps, because the news did not
filter out until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. While he enacted laws against the Jews, King Boris III refused to send them to
the death camps, successfully defying
the Nazi orders.
In the churchyard of St. Sophia's, the Stones of Gratitude pay homage to King Boris, the clergy
and the citizens of Bulgaria
for saving the lives
of so many.
Alexander Nevsky Memorial Cathedral
Built from 1882 to 1912, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was founded to remember the
200,000 Russian
soldiers who died helping to free Bulgaria
from the Ottoman
Empire in 1878. It
is the seat of the Bulgarian Eastern
Orthodox Patriarch. The Crypt Museum
below the church displays Bulgarian Orthodox
icons from the 8th century
on.
Archeological Museum
Artifacts and furnishings from Thracian, Greek and Roman settlements are displayed here, divided into four sections
- Prehistory, Antiquity, Middle Age and, Coins. The museum is in
the oldest preserved building in Sofia, from the 15th century.
Day 3 Sofia - Plovdiv
Rila Monastery
Founded in 927 by Ivan Rilski,
the UNESCO-listed Rila Monastery was originally home to a colony
of hermits and ascetics. Over time, however,
the monastery grew in size and turned
its attention to the wider world,
and by the 14th century
it had become a strong feudal power
with several villages as part of its holdings. The monastery suffered
much under Ottoman rule, but it managed to survive and keep alive
Bulgarian culture and traditions.
The imposing fortress-like exterior belies the cozy and inviting rooms and halls inside. Typical of the National Revival, or "Bulgarian Renaissance,” style of the 19th century, the five-domed main church shelters over 1,200 frescoes and an ornate iconostasis. Worth
The imposing fortress-like exterior belies the cozy and inviting rooms and halls inside. Typical of the National Revival, or "Bulgarian Renaissance,” style of the 19th century, the five-domed main church shelters over 1,200 frescoes and an ornate iconostasis. Worth
noting is the monastery kitchen which served
meals to the monks and hordes of pilgrims alike with its immense stove
and chimney. Another
highlight is the Rila Cross. Made from wood and only sixteen inches high, the cross
was the work of Brother
Raphael, who carved
1,500 human figures, each with a face no bigger than a grain
of rice, into its surface.
The five-domed main church
shelters over 1,200 frescoes and an ornate
iconostasis.
Day 4 Plovdiv
City Tour
Plovdiv is the second
largest Bulgarian city and the second oldest
European one. Founded
in the 12th century
BC, Plovdiv began its existence
on a site protected by three hills.
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius
built a 3,000-seat amphitheater here,
still in use today. Situated
in the center of the East Balkans, on the trade
road from western
Europe to Asia, Plovdiv has survived millennia. Despite barbarian
attacks, destruction, looting
and bloodshed, Plovdiv
has always risen from the ashes.
Hindlian
National House
Plovdiv is famous
for its Old Town
with its distinctive Revival architecture, popular
among
19th century
merchants. The Hindlian
National House is a perfect
example of this style, with a
painted facade and overhanging upper balcony.
Synagogue
The Zion Sephardic
Synagogue in Plovdiv
is one of the only remaining working
synagogues in Bulgaria. Constructed in the late 19th century,
the Ottoman-style synagogue
was completely renovated between
1998 and 2003. The temple
is not open to visitors.
Roman Amphitheater
Built by Emperor Marcus
Aurelius during the 2nd century,
it originally seated 3,000 spectators
and is now used for staging summer
festivals.
Todoroff
Wine Cellars
Visit the Todoroff Wine Cellar in the village
of Brestovitsa, about 18km from Plovdiv. A prime
grape-growing region, the area has produced wine since Roman
times. Originally founded
in
1945 and renovated
in 2001, the Todoroff National
Revival-style winery complex
includes cellars for wine-tasting.
Day 5 Plovdiv - Kazanluk - Veliko Tarnovo
Thracian
Tomb
This 4th century beehive-shaped Thracian tomb was discovered here during excavation of a bomb shelter
during WWII. Its delicate frescoes
are protected by UNESCO, but a full-sized replica is available for touring. Some of the contents of the tomb can be found in the
Kazanluk Archeological Museum.
Kazanluk
Rose Museum
Founded in 1967, the Kazanluk Rose Museum displays
equipment, photos and documents from more than 300 years of cultivation of the special
Kazanlashka Rose, originally brought from India and Persia. An early rose-distillery demonstrates how the oil was first extracted from the petals, and cauldrons, containers and models show the development of the industry.
Etara Ethnographic Village
Get a feel for life in this area during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Woodcarvers, rug-weavers, bakers, potters,
and dye-makers all practice their crafts here using traditional methods. Enjoy a presentation of traditional Bulgarian
costumes. Most of the houses
and cottages on the cobbled streets
are authentic period
structures.
Continuing towards
Veliko Tarnovo, the route becomes
steep approaching the 4,285-foot
Shipka Pass. The Stara Planina
Mountain Range was the battleground among Bulgarian volunteers, Russian
troops and the Turks in the 1877-78
Russo-Turkish War. At the top of
the pass, the Shipka Monument
commemorates the victory,
and from its roof a sweeping
panorama of the Stara Planina
Mountains can be enjoyed.
Day 6 Veliko Tarnovo
- Arbanassi - Veliko Tarnovo
City Tour
Built along
the cliffs of the Yarnova
River, Veliko Tarnovo
has been inhabited since the
Paleolithic Age. Thracians and Romans settled
here before the 2nd century
AD, and the city became the capital of the Second
Bulgarian Empire just after its founding in 1186. The remains of the Royal Fortress still stand at the top of Tsarevets
Hill. The town was conquered and razed by the Turks in 1393, but remained a center of Bulgarian national
struggle. The houses of Veliko Tarnovo
seem to grow out of each other's
roofs. After morning
touring, depart for Arbanassi, a medieval village
seated on a plateau
overlooking Veliko Tarnovo.
City Tour
Arbanassi is a medieval
village seated on a plateau
overlooking Veliko Tarnovo.
The village has preserved five churches and two monasteries, built and decorated
with murals and icons
at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. The Christ's Nativity
Church is one of the oldest
among them and has the most interesting decorations. Along with the
typical biblical scenes
on the walls are portraits of the church's
donors, Greek philosophers, and the family tree of Jesus Christ.
Visit the merchant
Konstantsaliev’s house, built in the 17th century
of stone and timbers and surrounded, like most of Arbanassi’s early
dwellings, with a high stone defensive wall. Inside,
the house is decorated with typical 19th century furnishings befitting a well-to-do tradesman. Reception rooms, bedrooms, kitchen, bakery and larder take up the first floor,
while the basement floor houses the servants’ quarters, stable and storerooms.
Day 7 Veliko Tarnovo
- Ruse - Bucharest, Romania
Ivanovo
Cave Monastery
Visit the Ivanovo Cave Monastery near Ruse. Monks settled here from the 14th-16th
centuries, digging cells,
churches and chapels
into the rock face 100 feet above the Ruse River. The 14th century
murals attest to the exceptional skill of the artists of the Tarnovo school of painting. Today the caves are listed
as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site.
After independent lunch in the Danubian city of Ruse, meet the Romanian guide, cross the border and continue on to Bucharest, Romania, arriving by early evening.
Day 8 Bucharest
City Tour
Known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards, glorious Belle Epoque
buildings and reputation for the high life, Romania's capital
was once known
as the "Little Paris." Founded
by Wallachian princes, it evolved from a fourteenth-century settlement that was part of a chain
of fortresses built across the Danube
plain to protect
Wallachia from the Turks. Bucharest
came into its own
with Romanian independence in the late 19th century, when French and French-trained
architects were called
in to transform what had been a large village
into an imperial capital.
There is even an Arc de Triomphe
on the elegant Soseaua Kiseleff,
a boulevard longer than
Paris' famed Champs-Elysees.
Today Bucharest
is experiencing renewed
energy after its communist years.
The city's older architecture remains one of its main attractions, reflecting the succeeding styles
of its various rulers. The heart of the city is Piata Revolutiei, the site of the old Royal Palace.
It lies
halfway along Bucharest's historic
Calea Victoriei, the city's main artery. The majority of sights
are conveniently within
walking distance of the Piata
Revolutiei and, to the east of the Calea
Victoriei, the Piata
Universitatii.
House
of the People (Palace of Parliament)
The 1,100-room Palace of the Parliament was one of the grandiose schemes of Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romania’s deposed and executed president. Originally named the House of the
People, it was intended
to be the headquarters of the Romanian
Communist Party. The monumental structure is one of the largest buildings in the world;
only the Pentagon
has more floor space.
Ceauşescu razed most of the historic buildings on Spirii Hill in
the center of town
in order to build it. The interior
is clad with approximately one million cubic
meters of Transylvanian marble:
reportedly, Romanian tombstones had to be made of other stone during the years of construction, from 1984 to 1989. Please
note: the tour inside the Parliament building is strictly
controlled for security
purposes and only ‘group’ tours
are conducted. Tour times are reconfirmed only 24 hours in advance
so your guide will provide
updates as needed. As security
is strict on entry, please note that valid ID (passport) is required to enter and airport-style screening
should be expected.
Coral Synagogue
One of the few active synagogues in Romania, the Coral Synagogue-or Templul Choral in Romanian-was built in the mid-nineteenth century
to mimic the Leopoldstadt-Tempelgasse
Great Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Vienna. A memorial in front commemorates the Romanian Jews who perished during
the Holocaust.
Jewish
Museum
Located in the former
United Holy Temple,
the Jewish Museum
offers exhibits on the history of Romanian Jews. Enjoy viewing collections of Romanian Jewish
literature, art, history, memorabilia, and the ongoing
contributions of this ethnic group to Romanian
culture.
Village
Museum
Displaying houses
and objects from rural life in Romania,
the Village Museum
in Bucharest is the
oldest and one of the largest open-air
museums in Europe.
Visitors are offered
the chance to view 50 complete homes
set up along the shores
of Lake Herastrau along with folk
crafts and creations from almost
every part of Romania.
Day 9 Bucharest - Sinaia - Azuga - Brasov
City Tour
The town of Sinaia in the Prahova Valley is Romania’s
most popular ski resort and a gateway
to the beautiful Bugeci
Mountains. Winter sports,
including a 5,000-foot bobsledding run, and excellent summer hiking and climbing make Sinaia a year-round destination. In 1870, King Carol I built his summer residence, Peles Castle, here,
guaranteeing the town fame and fortune.
Peles Castle
Peles Castle
is one of Romania’s most important museums
and the final resting place
of several Romanian monarchs,
including King Carol I, King Ferdinand and Queen Maria. Inaugurated in 1883, Peles combines elements
of the German and Gothic Renaissance that bring to mind the extravagant Bavarian
castles of King Ludwig. Seven terraces surround
the castle’s 160 rooms,
which are opulently decorated with leather,
ebony, walnut and mother-
of-pearl and display invaluable collections of art and furnishings.
Peles Castle Gardens
With a backdrop
of soaring Carpathian peaks, neo-Renaissance Peles
Castle presides over
1,300 acres of what used to be King Carol’s hunting
preserve. The extravagant palace is surrounded with seven terraced
gardens of Italian
marble, decorated with statues, fountains, urns and flowerbeds.
Sinaia
Monastery
Founded by Prince Mihai Cantacuzino in 1690 upon his return
from a pilgrimage to Mount
Sinai, Sinaia Monastery consists
of two courtyards surrounded by low buildings. In the center of each is a small church
built in the Byzantine style.
One of them, "Biserica Veche" (Old Church) dates from 1695, while the other
"Biscera Mare" (The Great Church)
was built only in
1846. The monks' library
possesses such treasures as the Cantacuzino family jewels, and the
earliest Romanian translation of the Bible
- dating from 1668.
Azuga
Rhein Cellar
In the little mountain
town of Azuga,
visit the Rhein Cellar, where winemakers produce sparkling wines using the traditional Romanian
method. The Rhein Cellar is the official supplier of the Romanian
Court. Learn about Romanian sparkling
wines and sample
the wares in the tasting room.
Day 10 Brasov - Bran - Brasov
City Tour
Brasov is an old Transylvanian town set at the foot of a mountain and filled with medieval
architecture, cobblestone streets
and small houses.
The city dates back to the 13th century
when it was a busy trading
town. Many of Brasov's medieval
and Renaissance buildings
still exist, thanks to the diplomatic skill and military
foresight of town leaders. During
repeated Turkish attacks in the region
from the 15th to the 18th century,
Brasov, with its strong town fortifications, escaped
major war damage.
Highlights of the well-preserved Old Town include the 14th century
Black Church, which received its name after the Great Fire of 1689 tinted
its walls, the Council Square
at the center of the old city with the old City Hall as its centerpiece, and the First Romanian School Museum, which houses some of the oldest examples
of Romanian printing
and typography.
The Black Church of Brasov
Among the many buildings
and monuments of Romania, the Black Church
of Brasov, dominating as it
does the medieval center of the city, occupies a special place.
It is one of the most important churches
built by the Transylvanian Saxons
during their 850 years of history.
The Black Church gets its name from the damage sustained
in the great fire of 1689, when the
flames and smoke blackened its walls. The reconstruction of the church
took over a hundred
years to complete.
On display are art, carpets
and tombs of former community members dating back to the 16th century.
Schei District
For hundreds
of years, Romanians
were only allowed
into the walled
Saxon town of Brasov at certain times, and only through the Schei Gate.
The Schei District
grew up in a narrow
valley along the outside
of the wall, and today is still comprised of whitewashed little
Romanian homes, cobbled streets
and tiled roofs.
Visit Romania's first school, built in 1850, and where the
country's first opera was written.
The spires of 15th century
St. Nicholas Orthodox
Church emerge
from above the tree tops.
Synagogue
The beautiful Moorish
Brasov Synagogue was constructed in 1901 for a community of close to
1,200 Jews. Today the Jewish
community may number around 500.
City Tour
Bran, located
in a mountain pass between
the Bucegi and the Piatra
Craiului mountains, was an
important defensive town along the trade road in the 15th and 16th centuries. Today it is best known for imposing
Bran Castle in the center
of town.
Bran Castle
Saxons from Brasov built turreted Bran Castle in a mountain
pass between the Bucegi and the
Piatra Craiului Mountains
in the 14th century. Its original purpose
was to protect Brasov from the Ottoman Turks,
but it also became a strategic trade center. Its connection with Prince Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler, is tentative, but its placement
on a cliff looming 60 meters
above the town, its gothic stone walls,
towers and secret passageways came to
embody the popular image of a Transylvanian vampire castle. And so it has
become “Dracula’s Castle” and a popular
destination.
Day 11 Brasov - Sibiu
From Brasov continue
to Sibiu. En route you may choose
to visit Brancoveanu monastery in
Sambata de Sus as a great representation of the local
architecture style.
Day 12 Sibiu - Biertan - Sighisoara
City Tour
Sibiu is an early Saxon walled town in Transylvania. Established in the 12th century and razed
by the Tatars in 1241, Sibiu has two levels.
The "upper town", surrounded by remnants of the 15th century
defensive walls, contains
most of Sibiu's
historic sights. The "lower town" is a charming array
of Sibiu’s oldest
houses and cobbled
squares. Connecting the upper and lower
towns are dozens
of tunnels, stairways
and hidden passages. The large medieval
square Piata Mare is at the heart of the city and began life in 1411 as a corn market. Today
it is home to many shops and cafes as well as museums. En route visit Biertan.
Fortified Church of Biertan
Biertan, first mentioned in 1283, was founded on land granted
to Saxons in the 13th century
by Hungarian overlords. A UNESCO
World Heritage Site,
the town and its fortified
church constitute one of the largest
and most well-preserved of the medieval
Saxon urban ensembles. The development of the town from the 13th to the 19th century can be traced in
its architecture. Built on the high ground,
the church is the focal
point of the village and the
fortress walls, guarded
by four towers, surround it. The vestry doors were displayed at the
World Exposition in Paris in 1900 because
of their ingenious medieval locking system.
Brandy
tasting
Enjoy a private brandy
tasting this evening
at the home of a local family
who have been involved with brandy making
for more than three centuries.
Day 13 Sighisoara - Gura Humorului
City Tour
A medieval
town in the heart of Transylvania, Sighisoara was built by German Saxons,
and is considered the most beautiful and complete medieval
architectural ensemble in Romania. In the
13th century Hungarian
overlords granted the Saxons land here in return for help
defending the area from the Tatars. The Saxons typically built compact villages
centered by fortified churches.
A city tour of Sighisoara’s medieval
Old Town begins at the entrance
to the citadel, under the massive 210-foot clock tower.
Continue along the square to the house of Vlad Dracul, Vlad the
Impaler’s father and then take the Scholar’s Stairway up to the 14th century Gothic Church on the Hill.
Clock Tower
Dating from the 14th century, the clock tower formerly controlled the main gate of the 2,500-
foot defensive wall. Its seven-foot-thick walls were used to store ammunition, food and the city's treasures. The clock was placed in the tower in 1648, and its Swiss mechanism added
in 1906. Seven different
slow-moving figurines carved
from linden wood replace each other
every midnight all week, and at the top of the spire
is a meteorological clock that forecasts the weather. Since 1889 the Clock Tower has been home to the History
Museum and a small
Museum of Torture.
Sighisoara Citadel
Sighisoara’s Old Town is a medieval
hill citadel that has preserved much of its 15th century wall, enclosing almost 200 stone houses
and public buildings. The citadel was designated a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1999.
After the tour of Sighisoara, transfer
to Gura Humorului. It will be
a long travel day, but worth
it to get to the spectacular region of Bucovina,
a remote province
in northeastern Romania. This was once the heartland of the Ashkenazi Jews, and today is famous
for the beauty of its deep Carpathian forest
and Orthodox monasteries. The route goes through
immense Bicaz Canyon. The road through Bicaz Canyon hugs the banks of the Bicaz River, which twists and turns among 700-foot
limestone cliffs. At the bottom
of Bicaz Canyon
is Lake Rosu, Red Lake, formed
when a rockslide dammed the Bicaz River
in 1837. On the way you may choose to visit two painted monasteries, Agapia and Neamtu.
Day 14 Gura Humorului - Voronet - Moldovita - Iasi
Painted
Monasteries of Bucovina
Explore the heritage of Bucovina, a remote province
of northeastern Romania.
This was once the
heartland of the Ashkenazi Jews and today is famous
for the beauty
of its deep
Carpathian forest
and its lovely Orthodox monasteries. The painted monasteries of Bucovina
- Moldovita, Sucevita,
Voronet and Humor -
are small structures originally constructed within thick fortress walls.
Their 15th to 16th century
stone exteriors are frescoed with biblical
scenes that served as “painted
Bibles” for illiterate peasants seeking sanctuary
from the frequent battles
that swept the area.
Voronet
Monastery
Voronet Monastery
has become one of the most well known of the painted
monasteries because of its wonderful fresco,
the Last Judgment,
painted on the protected west wall of the
little church. At the top, angels are rolling up the zodiac
to show that the world
is ending, and toward the bottom
the condemned - bearing
an amazing resemblance to the Romanian enemies of the time,
the Turks and Tatars - are being claimed
by the devil. The fresco’s characteristic dark sky blue color, made with crushed
lapis lazuli and still vivid
today, has been named Voronet Blue in the art world.
Moldovita Monastery
Moldovita Monastery
is found in the middle
of a little village, and appears beloved
and well tended. Originally built in 1410, the first church was destroyed by mudslides. Rebuilt
in the early 16th century, the church is surrounded by thick fortress
walls. Its exterior
frescoes, painted mainly within
square frames, show scenes from 16th century
daily village life.
Continue to Iasi to visit the the Jewish sights
there.
Iasi Jewish Heritage
Iasi before WWII was an important
Jewish city with 127 working
synagogues. Its Great Synagogue, still surviving today,
was founded in 1670. The father of Yiddish theater, Abraham Goldfadden, established the first-ever professional Yiddish theater in Iasi in 1876. In late June of 1941, however, officials of the new fascist government of Marshall Ion Antonescu authorized a brutal
pogrom in Iasi, in which up to 12,000 Jews were killed
over a period of several days.
Today the Great Synagogue holds
daily services, and houses a small
History Museum that tells Iasi’s
story.
Day 15 Iasi - Sculeni, Moldova
- Chisinau
This morning
transfer to Sculeni,
Moldova where you will
be met by the Moldovan
driver and guide. Continue to Chisiniau. Upon arrival in Chisiniau, check into the hotel and immediately afterwards start the city tour
including the Jewish heritage sights.
City Tour
First mentioned
in the 15th century when it
was founded around a monastery, Chisinau has seen a variety of invasions by the Turks and Tatars.
In 1918 Chisinau was transferred to independent Romania, but in 1940 the Red Army reclaimed the city for the Soviet
Union. Most of the picturesque parts of the city date from this inter-war period
when many of the
houses were built from the local limestone. The majority of modern Chisinau
is comprised of 1950s style Soviet architecture, much of which was initiated
or overseen by Leonid Brezhnev who, as first Secretary
under Stalin, ran the new republic from 1950-1952.
A bust of Pushkin in Stefan cel Mare Park commemorates the poet's exile in the city. From
1820 to 1823, Pushkin
lived in Chisinau,
attending balls and parties, fighting
duels and writing his long poem Prisoner of the Caucasus
and perhaps parts of Eugene
Onegin.
Jewish
Heritage
Chisinau’s Jewish
population flourished in the 18th century, and by the beginning of the 20th century there were 16 Jewish schools
and 70 synagogues in the city. Today there is one
remaining working synagogue, in north-central Chisinau, which was originally built for the glassblowers’ guild. The remains
of a pre-war yeshiva and a memorial
to the 53,000 Chisinau Jews killed
in the Holocaust mark the old Jewish
Quarter.
Jewish
Cemetery & Memorial
The Jewish
cemetery across from Park Alunelul
was established when the park took over the
territory of the former Jewish
cemetery. Park Alunelul,
meaning Little Hazelnut, is the site of
a Holocaust Memorial to the Jewish victims
of the Holocaust, and of those who suffered in the
1903 Chisinau pogrom,
in which 49 were murdered
and 2,000 families
left homeless.
Jewish
Cultural Center
The Yitzak Manger
Jewish Cultural Center
and Municipal Library
in Chisinau was established in
1991. 45,000
books and newspapers in Russian, Romanian
Yiddish and Hebrew are available to the community. A museum takes
up part of the building, exhibiting documents and artifacts reflecting Moldovan Jewish
history from the 18th century
to the present.
Day 16 Chisinau
Cricova
Winery
Explore one of the largest underground wine cellars in the world
at the Moldovan wine producer, Cricova.
The miles of tunnels were excavated in the 15th century and the
limestone carted off to help build Chisinau. Since 1954 the Cricova winery
has used them to
store their products in the constant temperature and humidity of the underground labyrinth. The cellars include
a priceless collection of pre-WWII wines as well as the renowned wines of
Cricova.
Old Orhei
40 miles
northeast of Chisinau
is Old Orhei, a traditional Moldovan
village with unpaved streets and flocks of ducks and geese squawking
underfoot. The little houses are painted
blue and green and some of them are home to cozy B&Bs that cater to weekenders from the
capital. Up the road from the village
is the Cave Monastery in Orhei Vechi.
Orthodox Christian monks who believed the cave would be a fortress
against invaders excavated this 13th century church from a limestone cliff. Archaeologists have recently discovered ruins of Turkish
baths and a 15th century protective wall that surrounds
the religious complex.
The Cave Monastery was inhabited until the 18th century.
Closed during Soviet times, it was re-opened in 1996,
and services are now held regularly.
Old Orhei Open Air
Museum
Explore the Old
Orhei Monastery Complex,
carved out of a limestone cliff overlooking the Raut
River. Inhabited since pre-historic times,
the complex includes
Christian and pre- Christian monastic cells and places of worship and the remains
of a fortress built in the 14th century.
Meal with local
family
Enjoy a meal of traditional favorites
in a Moldovan-style home in a village
near Old Orhei. Local students
in national dress come to perform a small folklore
show after the meal.
Villages
near Old Orhei
About 40 miles northeast of Chisinau near the Old Orhei Complex are the traditional
Moldovan villages of Butuceni and Trebuzeni, with unpaved streets
and flocks of ducks and geese
squawking underfoot. The little houses
are painted blue and green and some of them are
home to cozy B&Bs that cater to weekenders from the capital.
Day 17 Chisinau
Day trip to Transdniester
Take a day trip to the Transdniester region,
a narrow strip of Moldovan
land bordering Ukraine where separatists have declared a disputed independence. Organized as a de facto presidential republic with a parliament and all the attributes of a sovereign state, Transdniester is in the unique
position of being recognized as a separate
state only by the
partially-recognized states of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia.
Populated by a majority
of Russian- and Ukrainian-speakers who feared that the newly- independent Moldova would merge with Romania,
Transdniester gives the traveler a glimpse
back into Soviet times. Explore
the time capsules
of Tiraspol and Bendery, the region's
capital.
In Bendery,
visit the remains
of the massive Ottoman fortress
built by Suleiman
the Magnificent in the 1530s. Bendery
Fortress was attacked
many times before it
was finally overcome by the Russians
in the late 18th century.
Day 18 Chisinau - Odessa, Ukraine
This morning
you will be picked up by the Ukrainian driver and transferred to Odessa.
Day 19 Odessa
City Tour
After southern
Ukraine and its coveted Black Sea coast was ceded to Russia by the Ottoman
Turks in 1792, Catherine the Great founded
a naval base and strategic
fort here, naming
it Odessa after an ancient Greek city believed
to be in the area.
Odessa quickly grew into a thriving merchant port as well, shipping
the abundant Ukrainian grain around the world.
Always considered a cultural center,
Odessa has produced
some of the world's finest
classical performers, and may be best known for its Potemkin
Steps, immortalized in Sergei
Eisenstein’s film “Battleship Potemkin.” A tour of the city includes
the exteriors of the Odessa
Opera and Ballet Theater, symbol
of the city and the Vorontsov Palace, as well as a climb up the famous
Potemkin Steps.
Archaeology Museum
Ukraine's oldest
museum, the Archeological Museum displays artifacts
excavated from burial mounds along the Black
sea coast. Scythian
gold and 10th century slavic coins are found in the
Gold Room along with a gold vase from the 14th century
BC.
Partisan
Caves tour
The Odessa
catacombs were formed
as quarrymen with horses cut and dragged
blocks of limestone from beneath the city to build most of Odessa's
palaces and government buildings. The tunnels, possibly
five hundred miles of them, can be found everywhere under the city
and its suburbs. Odessa's
rich found that the temperature and humidity of the tunnels
were perfect for storing
wine, and its smugglers found they were perfect for storing and moving
contraband. The most well-known of the tunnels'
uses, however, was during WWII, when
Axis forces overran the city and the Ukrainian partisans
took their resistance movement literally underground. Beneath the village
of Nerubayskaya, a unique Museum
of Partisan Glory was established within the catacombs.
Day 20 Odessa
Jewish
Heritage Tour
Spend a day exploring
Odessa’s rich Jewish
Heritage, beginning with one of only three synagogues to survive the USSR, Brodsky.
The Brodsky
Synagogue was built in 1863, becoming the first Reform
temple in Eastern Europe, and remains a testament to Jewish intellectual activity of early 20th century
Odessa. Built by the Brodsky Jews (emigrants from Austro-Hungary and Germany) in the Florentine Gothic style, the Brodsky
Synagogue gained renown
as a center for the Jewish intelligentsia. Many notable
Jewish personalities are associated with the synagogue, which hosted composers and musicians from all of Europe. Today Brodsky is among the three of Odessa’s
78 synagogues to survive the Soviet period,
although its prayer
hall is filled with a four-story
cement storage safe for city archives, added in 1925. The Reform
synagogue was turned
over to the strictly
Orthodox Chabad-Lubovitch community
in 2004.
Stop at the Holocaust Memorial
on Prokhorovska Square,
commemorating the estimated
70,000 Odessa
Jews who perished
during Nazi occupation. A memorial stone
inscribed with the names
of 43 “Righteous of the World,” who helped to save some of the Jews of Odessa
stands near the moving 2004 sculpture called
“Holocaust” and the stone marking
the beginning of the “Road of Death,” the route to the Transdnistria extermination camps.
Visit Moldovanka, the center of Jewish life in Odessa
before the Revolution. An area of workers’ houses arranged in a grid-type plan and originally settled by Moldovans, the Moldovanka area is the setting
of many of Isaac Babel’s
stories.
Now at the heart
of the modern Jewish community, the Migdal Community
Center strives to preserve Jewish heritage in Odessa. It offers Hebrew classes along
with classes in traditional
Ukrainian Jewish folk arts, and also runs exchange programs
with other Jewish
community centers in the US, Israel,
Germany and Austria.
Migdal sponsors the Museum of the History
of Odessa Jews, located
at the center. The thriving
community that Migdal (meaning tower) serves is a testament to the tenacity
of Odessa's Jews.
All that remains
of the Second Jewish Cemetery
are overgrown plants
and broken bits of
carved stones that once marked
the graves, but it
was here that the victims
of the 1905 pogroms were laid to rest. The cemetery
was opened in 1885 and ordered destroyed
in
1978. Only a few bodies were ever moved.
Luckily, the memorial
to the 1905 pogroms
survived and was transported to the third
cemetery, the only Jewish burial
place still in use in Odessa.
Take a walk on Deribasovskaya Street,
a pedestrian street
that runs through
the heart of Odessa. Named after Jose de Ribas, a Spanish
Jew in the Russian service
who won an important naval victory
over the Turks,
the street borders
one of Odessa’s first parks and is a
wonderful place to stroll and people-watch. Notice the bronze
gentleman sitting on a bench, Leonid Utyusov.
Born to a Jewish
family in Odessa
in 1895, jazz singer and actor Leonid
Utyusov became so celebrated in Russia that in 1965 he was awarded the title, “Peoples’ Artist of the USSR.”
Originally named Weisbein, he picked Utyusov
– a word that means “cliffs” - as his stage name. His memorial on Deribasovskaya Street in Odessa
is a life-size sculpture of the artist sitting on a bench,
with room for anyone to sit down next to him. Utyusov
also has a ship
named in his honor, and a memorial
postage stamp issued in Russia in 1999.
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