The Gipsy Kings

  Soroca, Moldova
Thursday, October 18, 2007

Today, Matt (one of the guys from the hostel-there are only three of us) and I traversed over

Looking Across to Ukraine

half of the country to see the Gypsy kings. Soroca is the Roma capital of Moldova and the Roma have traditionally been known as Gypsies. First brought as Mongolian and Tatar slaves in 1242 and later joined by nomads from India, Roma are prevalent in Moldova, Bulgaria, and Romania (named for the Romans, not Roma) and can generally be identified by their darker skin and poorer clothing. They are mistrusted by most, harassed by authorities, and blamed for everything from petty crime to social instability. There are, however, some well of Roma, and we saw their hillside mansions as we strolled along the Dniestr River, glancing across at Ukraine. From this perspective, the two countries appear quite similar, but I found Ukrainian towns significantly more prosperous than their Moldovan counterparts.

The main attraction in Soroca is the fortress, constructed at the northeastern tip of Moldova in 1550. Though rather small, the fortress has five towers, affording good views of the area, a

Soroca Fortress

small church, and a well. At most castles or forts, you can see where the well used to be and drop a penny down it, if you wish. This well was the first I have seen still in working order. A bucket of water had been brought up, and visitors invited to drink. I know the water at our house in New York is from a well, but it's not the same.

Drinking Well Water

Although I dread getting sick, I had to have a few sips for the novelty of it. I can see some of the older readers of this entry just laughing at the idea of well water being a novelty...

At the fortress, we were approached by a young man asking us to take a picture of him in front of the fort. Very friendly, he introduced himself saying, "I am Russian terrorist." Whoa buddy. Hope you don't try to get into the US any time soon. We quickly explained the difference between "terrorist" and "tourist" and snapped the photo before returning to the bus

Inside the Fortress

station. While we had been enjoying the sights, our bus driver had been enjoying a two hour  break. He laughed when he saw we were ready to go back to the city already. It's quite possible our $7.50 return fare seemed extravagant to him for a day trip and we hope he wasn't offended by our spending so little time in Soroca. Regardless, Moldovan bus drivers need to be paid more. How do I know this, you ask? Well, our bus driver was so poor it appears he could only afford one cassette tape, which we had the good fortune to listen to about six times in the course of our journeys with him. One of the songs consisted of a girl singing "Die, die, die!" which I'm trusting has a different meaning in Russian, but by the sixth rendition, I was ready to.

Inside the Front Gate

So far, I have not discussed what Moldova is most famous for, and that is wine. I don't usually like wine, but for Moldova's reds, I made an exception. Each night, the guys at the hostel and I picked up a couple bottles from the grocery store (which sold nearly as much liquor as sustenance) for less than $2 each. The most expensive bottles scrapped $7. Not being a wine connoisseur, I can't tell you if it was good, but I am told it is, and I enjoyed it. We also managed to make it out to a rather posh bar one night, having six drinks for 10 Euros. What a deal Europe's poorest country is.