First Greek Colonist, then Romans, then the original Vandals destroyed it, etc etc...Today the ruins of Callatis, Tomis, Histria and Capidava bear witness to the importance and glory of pre-modern Constanta and its environments.
Today, post communist and dictatorship, sporadic efforts are made to unearth and preserve what is left of the many archaeological treasures. But funds are in short supply, and priorities are focused on today's survival versus historic mementos. Many of the old finds are subject to modern 'vandalism' and are being destroyed, dismantled and plainly taken (such as bits of mosaic in Histria) as souvenirs by locals and visitors alike.
It is the last European country where brown bears still live (who knows for how long they will defeat the profitable trade in Asian miracle cures of bear kidneys et al), I met one of the probably illegally exported specimens on a street in Durres, Albania.
First a number of visual impressions of the city and its environment, and if one feels like reading a little more....a bit of history and present at the bottom.
Ovid thinking deep thoughts
Chandelier in the decrepit Casino
Architectural Plaque at Casino
Casino in wintry atmosphere..
Constanta City Scape
Abandoned il Refinery
Roman Carving in Histria
Fruit trees in bloom amongst the ruins and in rural back yards
Histria, the old town flourishing during Roman times
Histrionic Ruin
Country Farmer's cottage
Village Road
Amphora in Constanta City Square
Antique Roman Glass
Interior of City Museum
Thinker and his Companion - Roman Era
Constantia was a mixed experience...one saw abject poverty in the country, where small dilapidated cottages lined mud topped roads, and water was still wound up from garden wells, outhouses sat beside property fences, caved in or half covered roofs, and ovens adjoined back walls. A few women in kerchiefs, thick boots and long overcoats went about their business, and men glowered. Chickens pecked amongst the first sprouts of garden vegetables, and the odd shepherd led his flock to overgrown strips of bare land to browse. Larges flat expanses of farm land were interspersed with abandoned oil refineries and roads and canals to nowhere. Farmland has been added to co-operatives by independent owners (who got their land back after Communist Dictator Ceausescu was toppled) for economies of scale, however, the co-operative managers manage to magically 'just break even' after each harvest, ergo the small farmers do not enjoy any financial benefit from their newly won lands.
Decaying irrigation ditches - yes, irrigation machinery - no. Reason: any irrigation equipment left unguarded by heavily paid help is stolen almost overnight by roaming Romany (Gipsies in politically incorrect language) and sold for scrap.
Scrap metal trade seems to be the legacy of Communist economy, and is a thriving business still. Initially handled by Romanian Mafia, now seems to be more controlled. The Mafia disappeared to money friendly countries, after making their windfalls and depositing proceeds in overseas accounts. Still lots of 'raw material' around, as mega oil refineries built for Iranian Oil (under Shaw Rehza Palevi) never got their oil, and now slowly rust into messes of pipes, tanks and mountains of scrap metal. The port is full of scrap ships, and the equally rusting gantry cranes load old metal for export...high grade ore I suppose.
Canals, constructed for the greater glory of Ceausescu, for no other reason but bragging rights, are silting up after never being connected to any water supply or to any sea access.
The Great hotel strip of Mamaya located on miles of sandy spit appears like a backdrop to a futuristic horror movie, abandoned edifices, rotting walls, garbage, discarded utensils, broken windows make it difficult to imagine any happy summer crowd frolicking on the beaches. The town itself is a mass of Fifties Communist ugly tenements, allegedly uninsulated and almost unheatable, which were erected again to the greater glory of Ceausesu for his loyal flock.
Driving along, one notes that there are no restaurants of cafes, hardly any people walking anywhere, but hundreds of dogs, who breed and breed and breed...
Despite the efforts of the hated Dictator, who repressed the country and its people for far too long with dire consequences, a few remnants of former glory remain. The last of those is the Art Deco Casino, which fronts the sea. Closer inspection reveals that it as well has fallen victim to decay and abandonment. Broken windows, flaking plaster, cracked mortar and half destroyed light fixtures all over.
The Archaeological museum is a notable exception to the general decay, and looks presentable from the outside, where a statue of Ovid watches over passers by...he apparently spent quite some time in this city. Some remarkable artefacts of Constanta's history are housed within, after all this city goes back to the ancient Greek story of Jason and the Argonauts. He and his team came here, with the help of Medea (daughter of King Aetes) to find the Golden Fleece. One of the most impressive statues is that of the 2nd century Glycon, a mythical creature with a snake's body, the head of a deer and human eyes and ears.
Beside the Museum are the remnants of the larges Edifice in the Roman Emperor. It was a vast complex built on several terraces linking old Constanta to the Port, it was paved with priceless mosaics. It was used by present day kids as soccer field and rock throwing competition site, before it was protected and covered to preserve what remains of the mosaics.
Near the present town hall are remnants of old Tomis city wall, the one that was erected by Medea's dad, King Aetes. Rows of giant Roman amphora line pathways in the small park around the town hall.
The history of Constanta is filled with fascinating events, personages, artefacts and shows what an impressive centre of culture, wealth and power it once was...too much to tell in a blog. One just hopes, that it overcomes its present demise of post communist resignation and despair. Corruption, lack of skills, inability to adjust to the need to learn and be able to perform regular work after decades of communist 'welfare' state with guaranteed housing and 'jobs'. Only since a very short time has Romania been 'reconnected' to the rest of the world after being forcefully isolated from it, it may take a number of generations before the country finds its feet again.
With luck there will be other changes for the better than the 'fundamental ones' promised when Ceausescu fell. Then, the most visible and 'fundamental' change consisted of changing city street names from the tried and true Communist Hero monikers like Lenin et al, to unpronounceable local names like Kogalnieanu, or to ones with historically important meaning such as Romulus or CuzaVoda.
The populace is waiting.....and hoping
