Posted
on August 27, 2014
Today
Moldova celebrates its Declaration of Independence from the Soviet
Union on this date in 1991.
Moldova
is located between Romania and Ukraine, and its location was both
fortunate and unfortunate in that it was strategically positioned on
a trade route between Asia and Europe. The region was made part of
the Roman and Byzantine Empires during ancient times, and much later
the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. In between, it was invaded
again and again: by Goths and Huns, by Tatars and Turks, by
Bulgarians and Mongolians and Magyars and many other groups.
Moldova
is landlocked (it does not touch any ocean or sea), but it is close
enough to the Black Sea to enjoy a mild, generally sunny climate.
Unfortunately,
Moldova is the poorest country in Europe. I think the breakup of the
Soviet Union particularly affected this region, as it experienced
energy shortages and decreases in industrial and agricultural output.
The service sector now dominates the economy; the service sector
includes things like entertainment, computers, communications,
health, media, tourism and hospitality, banking, gambling, education,
and law. That sounds like everything, right? What the service sector
does NOT include is growing food (farming, ranching), mining, and
manufacturing goods.
Some
of the things I might want to see, if I were ever to visit Moldova,
include Emil Racovita, a karst cave that is one of the longest caves
in the world, which has 20 underground lakes and whose rooms are
covered with soft, colorful clays in green, blue, red, black and
white. |
| Bender |
 |
| Soroca |
 |
| Orheiul Vechi |
Another
cool thing is the medieval walled cities such as Bender and Soroca. I
would also have to check out the rock-hewn churches and other
structures of Orheiul
Vechi.
And of course I would want to eat some stuffed cabbage rolls
and sauerkraut! Mmm...
Also
on this date:
Plan ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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