Near Slanic Prahova, Prahova County, there is a small salt mountain beside a salt lake, called Baia Baiului.
The effect was like a cup on its side, with the salt lake in the cup, overshadowed by the mountain.
Now the salt mountain has fallen into the lake. It may have been preventable, with enough research and effort.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 12th July 2008
The fresh water springs may well re-create the cave and the lake, but for the present the whole effect has been destroyed.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 12th July 2008
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For further information, see Grota Miresei, The Bride's Cave |
Alex writes:
"Better for this car to be in Romania and not in the USA!"
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 1st July 2008
Romania entered the European Union just one year ago, so many people do not understand what it really means and implies. It is not just papers and talking, not just facts at a higher level.
For example, Romania must now take care of people with special needs, so there must be provision for them to cross the road and bypass stairs in buildings, and of course many other things.
Dr Gheorghe could write a book about the stupidity of workmen and supervisors who make provisions for people with special needs but with no real understanding of what these people require.
Here is a very clear example of this stupidity. The photograph shows the entrance to the single huge medical unit in Filiaşi, where many specialists and general practitioners have their consulting rooms and surgeries.
It might seem to be the entrance to a cave, but one must understand that through this door for Dr Gheorghe's practice alone, over 11 000 people every year, or over 100 000 people altogether counting all the clients who walk through just this door.
So it was required to build a concrete ramp for special needs access into and out of the building.
Look at it!
Dr Gheorghe imagines a comedy movie with Charlie Chaplin or Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot as a special needs client.
They try to climb up this very steep and narrow piece of concrete, to the door. After much labour, the person arrives not just in front of the entrance, but in front of a closed door, so they can either fall back down again, or if they are very strong, they can catch with their hands (or mouth if they have problems with their hands!) this strange iron construction on the right, which seems to be the entrance to a jail or a cage.
But do not worry, because if they fall down and some parts of their body are broken, the medical unit is close by, and can help them very quickly, but only if the doctors jump out of the building or slide down a rope like a monkey!
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 18th April 2008
A man washing his car on the left bank of the Danube, using water from the Danube, and a lot of chemical substances in the process, which washes straight into the river with the next rain. There are many car washing places in Drobeta Turnu-Severin which he could use.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 7th March 2008
Dr Gheorghe was with Alina Neagoe at the site of the "Three Counties Monument" to obtain information about the work being done there.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 7th March 2008
At this point the monuments have not been damaged, as can be seen in this photograph, but it is important that workers engaged on other tasks realise the historical and cultural significance of monuments such as these.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 7th March 2008
For more than twenty years, Dr Gheorghe has lived and worked in the Bilta area. In this area shown on the map in a valley between two large hills there is a large forest of acacia trees in which he has made many searches for the ancient village of Bilta over those years. It is a large forest, covering 1000 metres down each side of the ridge, and stretches for 1000 metres along the ridge.
On 2nd March he was in this area with Alina searching for ancient wooden dams. After searching in the main fossiliferous area nearby, they climbed the hill to the north to the acacia forest, to look for ancient dams in the acacia valley.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2nd March 2008
But on top of the ridge between the valley of the fossiliferous site and the valley of the acacia forest they encountered an image of a crime: the entire area of the acacia forest had been cut down by workers. They made many roads for the exploitation of this dead forest and this has led to sever erosion because of springs, rain and wind.
Dr Gheorghe is sure that if he asked the workers for documents which gave them permission to destroy the forest, they could produce a lot of documentation which gave them permission for this crime against nature.
In only a few places there are some young, planted acacia trees to replace those cut down. Even so, putting in these small plants may be useless, because the environment which nurtured the forest has been changed forever.
There was a time when the entire region of Romania was covered by forest. The region of Transylvania was named because of its forests, trans = across, sylvania - forests. Now the number and extent of those forests has been greatly decreased, and it feels like a familiar relative has died.
The whole world should know what a beautiful land Romania is, what a wonderful culture and civilisation has grown up here, what kinds of animals and plants live and grow there. This exploitation degrades that heritage.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 2nd March 2008
This is a secondary street of Bilta Village in Romania, near Filiaşi, shown in the third millenium after Jesus Christ.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 16th February 2008
January 2008 was very cold, less than -10° Celsius, a strong wind and a lot of snow.
All Romanian people have a strong sense of property, sometimes even with things that are not their property, such as public car parking. It is a real fight to keep your parking spot free here, and people use all kinds of methods to safeguard their parking spot.
Here the owner of the small car has parked his beloved car in the middle of the snow, and after he comes back from town, finds another car has blocked the exit of his car. Since both cars are on public property, it would seem right on a first come first served basis that the second car should have parked so that the first, smaller car could get out, and not block his car completely.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 6th January 2008
The war begins!
The owner of the small car puts a piece of paper on the window of the big car, with a note reading "What are you doing here? Next time, I'll move your car right outside Filiaşi!"
The owner of the large car reads this, then adds a note: "Move it if you have enough money to do it!" and leaves his car where it is.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 6th January 2008
Dr Gheorghe writes:
This is an expert in archaeology working in winter in Romania today, for about €300 per month. I believe that the single reason for this difficult task is his love for his work, and his vocation.
Dr Dorel Bondoc is a quiet man, very able in his job, and ready to do everything he can for his passion, History. He is a hero; If Romania had 1000 people like him, we would be the best country in all the world.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 24th November 2007
This ridiculous wooden sign, which reads "Archaeological Excavations. Access Restricted" is the sole protection for this important site. It is like a science fiction movie - the law is very clear about what must be done for this protection, but it is not done, for lack of funds.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 24th November 2007
Here, in one small kitchen and one small bedroom, this specialist works, eats and sleeps for week after week, in very cold conditions with no comforts, when about 2000 years ago at this place, the Romans had underfloor heating, and a very comfortable life style.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 24th November 2007
This is the scene at the northern area outside the castrum, where the Roman therms (hot baths) were!
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 24th November 2007
In the middle of the Slaveni site, an important castrum in which digging is totally prohibited, two concrete poles have been erected for electric light, inside the main buildings of the castrum, even though this is a protected area, and there has been no action to mark the area so that such mistakes are not made in future.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 30th November 2007
This is a photo of an ambulance perhaps 20 years old, which has the left hand door, the driver's door, missing. It was photographed on the road between Cioroiu Nou and Craiova. This is a very dangerous situation, but there is no money to fix the door or get a new ambulance, even though the lack of a door puts the driver and his passengers, the nurse and the patients, in danger.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 16th October 2007
The Henri Coandă Museum is near the small village of Perisor, half way between Cariva and Calafat, a beautiful city on the left bank of the Danube.
Henri Marie Coandă (June 7, 1886 – November 25, 1972) was a Romanian inventor, aerodynamics pioneer and the builder of world's first jet powered aircraft, the Coanda-1910.
Although he was born in Bucharest, his grandmother and grandfather came from Perisor, which is the reason for the museum.
He was the discoverer of the Coandă effect, named after him, and used it to build the first jet airplane, in 1910.
However it crashed at an airport near Paris, when Coandă lost control of the aircraft, and it left the runway and caught fire.
He continued a very productive career designing and building aircraft, hovercraft, and even the world's first jet powered sleigh!
Bucharest's Henri Coandă International Airport is named after him.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 11th November 2007
Text: Adapted from Wikipedia
This warplane in the garden of the Coanda Museum has an interesting story attached to it.
When it was brought here to be placed near the museum, a lot of people from the village came to have a look. The local priest climbed into the plane's cockpit, to see how it felt to be the pilot of the plane.
However he had with him, hidden in his cassock, a small chainsaw, called in this area a Drujba, and while he was in the cockpit, he started it up!
Everyone thought he had somehow started the plane's engine, and there was great consternation in the gathered throng, and everyone ran away terrified.
In front of the plane are Amelia and her daughter Maria-Amelia.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 11th November 2007
GPS coordinates of the Soviet MIG fighter at the Coandă Museum.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 9th February 2008