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Published: August 9th 2014
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Horinca still
The man is holding the stirring handle and wearing a traditional hat. It is double distillery to get the proof up. Brasov August 3 2014
The Maramures is a official region/county in Northern Translyvania in Romania. In fact the original Marmures region is just the North East side of this region, bordered by the river Tisa and Ukraine to the North and consisting of three valleys enclosed by mountains which has ensured its relative isolation over the years.
The major town is Sighetu Maramatiei on the Ukrainian border. It is not easy to get to and that is what makes the area so unique. It hard to believe you are still in Europe in some respects. We are in fact only 100 miles/160km from the Bieszczcady mountains in Poland where we were staying a few weeks ago.
The area is known within Romania as the area upholding old traditions. In many respects it is like going back to Spain in the sixties and seventies with people working the fields by hand. Modern Europe is there because émigrés have come back to build houses (without finishing the exterior in many cases) or to show off new cars usually outside street cafés in Sighetu. There is a strong sense of family which bring the émigrés
back each year to visit parents.
We caught up on sleep at the pension following our early arrival and then spend the afternoon wandering through Vaduz Izei which is at the confluence of the Mara and Iza rivers. Our aim was to visit some local craftsmen/women although they turned out to be not easy to find and at least two, we found out later, were dead! We did find a painter of icons on glass, a traditional form, and a rug weaver.
We bumped into a funeral. This took place at the deceased's home before the lace covered coffin was transported by flat bed truck bedecked with flowers to the cemetery. Apparently a trip to the church is not involved.
As we walked around we noticed that each house had a well and we saw a number being used. The main street was being dug up to have new mains drainage installed. It turned out that Vaduz Izei did not yet have mains water. It was not a problem and the pension had plumbed water for the shower etc. We were under strict instructions not to drink it.
We had booked in to stay at Casa Muntean (www.casamuntean.com) and we can highly recommend it. It is a pensiunea. We had a clean double room with shared bathroom although there was only sporadic other guests and the bathroom was essentially our own. Think B&B with the rooms built around where Florin, Ioana and the boys, Ovidio and Claudio (note the proud Roman names) and his parents lived. You almost felt you were part of the family such was the warmth of the welcome. Both Florin and Ioana spoke excellent Engish.
Meals were provided by Ioana and were simple homely food .......just what we want given that we were not cooking for ourselves. Lovely fresh soups, meat and potatoes and for our last meal, Mittitei, a kind of sausage shaped hamburger, served with mustard sauce which we had seen served in the local market.
Florin had trained as a Maths teacher and then did local food sales as it trebled his salary. For the last ten years he has been a professional guide. After picking us up at 4am he had taken the UK ambassador to the Ukraine and his family up a local
peak. As in the Bieszczady you need some transport so on our first full day we hired Florin for 60 Euros to drive us around local sights. Our first destination was the market at Ocna Sugatag. So what did you want to buy? Clothes, furniture, vegetables, or massive water melon; or perhaps a cow, goat or wiener (pig) or two - sold by individual negotiation from a wooden crate or the back of a lorry or van.
The area is known for its wooden churches. I could not get it out of my head that they looked like a cross between a KKK figure and Darth Vader. Florin took us to churches which were impressively old, 1600 - 1750 and also a brand new one.
We also got to learnt about Othodox Christian practices. 90% of Romanians are Orthodox with the rest being Roman Catholic or German Lutheran. The Jewish population, which made up half of the Sighetu Maramatiei population before WWII, was wiped out/deported or emigrated in 1942-44 as elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Most died in Austwitz-Berkanau.
So in the Orthodox tradition the congregation stand or kneel with women at
the back. There are no pews or seats. There is also no musical accompaniment.
The old churches are magnificent. This is a deeply religious community and most churches are still used. All are carefully maintained so that 400 year old iconography is still bright.
New monasteries and churches are still being built. A third Orthodox Church is under construction in Sighetu. ("Romanians are happy to give money to build a church but not roads"). The impressive Barsana monastery with its flock of wooden spires for ten nuns has been built since 1993. Florin took us to new monastery in Sapanta. It only has two buildings so far supervised by six nuns.
Sapanta is where one of the areas most famous landmarks, the Merry Cematery, is located. This was created in 1935 by a local carver when he did the first wooden memorial painted auspicious blue with a picture and a poem describing the person buried. Most show an occupation whilst others show a fate - the poor deceased run over by a car or train. It is colourful and unique and nowadays expensive (500+ Euros) if you want to be buried
there.
What makes the Maramures special is the simple agrarian life many people and in particular the older generation lead. Seeing them raking hay into stacks by hand was not uncommon. Florin took us to a water mill which still ground corn commercially. There was an old threshing machine connected as well. The mill water shute was also used for washing carpets in a conical vat. This complex was the location of the village still for making 'Harinca' from fermented plums or apples. In one the boiling vessel was stirred using a manual crank whilst in another it was run off the water wheel.
We had 100 proof harinca served with all our dinners from a bottle including a carving constructed within the bottle. The stuff served by Ioana was quite smooth. The stuff I tasted at one carver blew my head off and possibly removed a layer of epithelial cells on the way down! Apparently the owner of the still keeps 10% of what ever he makes with your plums or apples.
There is a big tradition of carving in the region which more recently has revived with returning émigrés appreciating their roots. Most make large entrance gates or crucifixes for the villages. We visited one carver with his team hard at work planing large planks in the dust and 30+ degree heat. British H&S would have had a panic attack.
We rented bikes on our second day which gave us more freedom. We went up side valleys and enjoyed the peace and quiet you get as soon as you leave the main road.
Our last day at Sighetu was mostly spent in the Memorial Museum to the victims of Communism. This was in the prison where many political prisoners were held and died. It was a knowledgable display made you wonder what living under a totalitarian regime is really like. It is difficult to imagine. We briefly discussed it with Florin who said "it was like living in North Korea". I wish I had had more time to discuss it with him further.
But then you touch a place like the swipe of an iPad and move on. Our first days in Romania left one feeling how wrong are most perceptions of the country. One memory will certainly stick: following an old toothy lady in head scarf, cardigan, full skirt, socks and plastic slippers to try and find a wood carver's house. She was so willing to help intruding tourists and left us in safe hands.
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