Traces of Saints - Saint Andrew's Cave

The spread of Christianity  in  Scythia Minor is related to the image of Saint Andrew, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ. His itinerary and acts can be retraced by some carols, legends and customs from Dobrogea and  Bessarabia. One of these carols mentioned the hermitage or monastery of Saint Andrew. Then there are several hydronyms and toponyms like the spring of Saint Andrew, the water of the Saint or Saint Andrew's Cave, which can be seen today near Ion Corvin village, in Constanţa County.

The  Saint Andrew's Cave is a real church carved in stone, located at the base of a small forested mountain. On the cave walls are many icons that can be seen in the light of candles. In place of the altar is now a large icon of Saint Andrew.

In the present cave church , in a niche of the narthex, exists a kind of bed, originally carved in stone, which tradition says was resting the Apostle. Today, the ill believers come here to regain health, spending several days and nights on the bed of Saint Andrew. This is a general believe that a saint place or artifact have the power of curing maladies (e.g. Healing Springs, holy relics, healing icons etc.) 

Near the  Saint Andrew's Cave  were built two churches.

Saint Andrew's Cave Monastery - general view

Saint Andrew's Cave Monastery - Iconostasis 

Saint Andrew's Cave Monastery - Dome

The bell in the courtyard of monastery

Wooden plate object (toacă in Romanian) used to call people to church

Little hammers for beating the wooden plate object

Saint Andrew's Cave

Saint Andrew's Stone Bed

Icons inside the cave

Would you reach My beach?

This is My beach - wild, quiet, rough and salty. 

I won't talk about it as a social place, with its rules, behaviors and mechanisms. I'll talk about what you can do if you'll come, someday, on Saint George beach.

On My beach you can find the silent traces of tempest.

On My beach, in the night,  you can find sea glowworms. 

On My beach you can discover treasures. You can collect them, paint them and make a special gift.

On My beach you can build castles, fortresses or you can bury yours feet in sand. 

On My beach you can meet new friends.

On My beach you can become a shadow and froze the time... for a while.

On My beach you can draw your love on sand.

On My beach you can search for shells, littles rocks, even water chestnuts (Trapa natans) brought by waves.

On My beach you can express your beauty...

...Or you can hide it.

On My beach you can see yours feet, yours hands, yours soul. Since when you haven't introspect yourself?

Photographers: Mihaela Holostencu, Alexandru Leonov, Alexandru Chiselev

Keep it alive or destroy it!

This is the true truth (even you don't want to admit it): the rural and traditional space is today in dissolution. Population is aging, houses fall (one uninhabited house collapses after 5 years), traditions disappear rapidly, monstrous architectural forms arise... 

You can preserve the things still exist or you can destroy them... is your decision! But don't cry for them later.

Welcome to our home

The peasant household preserved in situ at Enisala Village includes the house with chiler (a type of storeroom) and some of the typical annexes for this area (Razelm Lake microzone): stables, sheds, summer kitchen and oven, fountain.

The planimetry of house is traditional: central hall and two rooms (the clean room and the bedroom), winter kitchen and storeroom.

The ornaments of fronton, with phytomorphic, geometric and zoomorphic patterns, are commonly in traditional architecture of this area.

This household - museum is the synthesis of traditional architecture from Northern Dobrogea in the early twentieth century.

  Enisala household

 

 Balcony

 The central room

The good or clean room (for guests and for celebrations)

 The bedroom

 

Kitchen

Stables

The woman who believed in gestures

It is necessary to  arrange three graves for forgiveness of sins! still believe the elders of the Dobrogean villages. And they still light nine fires in the Maundy Thursday to warm the souls of deads and bind a bicoloured wire in a tree for abundance... And perhaps somewhere, someone throws in the water shells of Easter eggs to float on the Saturday River and finally to announce the Deads Easter. Aunt Ioana from Alba Village performed, like an unwritten law, all these ritual gestures. 

Binding the Mărţişor wire for abundance

The funeral fires in the Maundy Thursday 

  

Coloring the Easter eggs

  

Throwing the Easter egg shells on a little river to announce the dead souls that their Easter will come after a week

 Putting the Easter eggs shells in the manger for the health of animals

Putting the Easter eggs shells in the manger for the health of animals

The bread who laugh and cry

Utilized in profane, quotidian and ritual context, we can say that exist two forms of bread: that who laugh (the holyday bread, birth and wedding loaf) and that who cry (the funeral or commemoration loaf, the alienation, the war bread).

On the other part, it exists the cultic bread, utilized in the religious ceremonies.

The Christianity recognizes two forms of ritual bread: Saint Eucharistic bread and the blessed or holy bread.

Beginning from this major alimentary symbol in Christianity can be observed the separation between Catholicism (unleavened bread or azyme) and Orthodoxy (leavened bread). 

 

 The making of bread (Letea Village, Danube Delta)

 

 Ritual bread (bride's bread - lejâi, Ukrainians - Letea Village, Danube Delta)

 

 Martyrs (eight-shaped breads baked for March 9th)

The bread, the Easter bread (with cross) and the  leavened bread (for church)

Communion bread

 

Commemoration breads

Eat in multi-ethnic style

I like to believe that Dobrogea is a meeting place between North and South and East and West. Here came sometime, people from different geographical areas, with various religions, cultures and lifestyles. And they told to this place HOME and made it exactly like the original HOME.

The traditional gastronomy is just one aspect of Dobrogea... but a very tasty one.

Photos taken in the court of Ethnographical and Folk Art Museum Tulcea.

Sarmale (forcemeat rolls in cabbage leaves)

Donuts

 

Romanians from Luncaviţa Village prepared  sarmale, donuts and Dobrogean pie.

 Aromanians  - Stejaru Village

 Aromanians prepared leek pie and fried peppers.

 

Italians from Greci Village prepared paste asciuto, pann de fritze and tiramisu.

 

 

Greeks from Izvoarele Village

 Souflaki

Spinach pie

Turks from Ciucurova Village

 

Baklava

Russian - Lipovans (Starovery) from Sarichioi Village

Preparation of caşnik

 

Preparation of piroşki

Ukrainians from Dunavăţu de Jos Village

 

Wedding breads

Baked carp

Russian - Lipovans (Starovery) from Slava Cercheză Village 

Preparation of vareniki

 Honey with nuts