Day 11- We're not in Kansas (aka the EU) Anymore

21 March 2012

Our day in the country of Moldova began with an hour bus ride to the Cave Monastery at Orheiul Vecchi. Along the way, our new guide spoke informed us of interesting Moldovan facts and traditions. For example, she spoke of the differences between child-rearing in the rural areas versus in the cities of Moldova. She also talked a bit about Jews in the country, and how the once large minority had almost completely diminished. 

Once we arrived we had to make a small treck up a rocky hill. At the top you could already see part of the monastery, which appeared to be a small bell tower. On our walk up, we enjoyed the orange scenery around us. When our group reached the top, we were told to use our scarves to cover our heads as a sign of respect. 

In order to get inside the monastery we had to walk through a dimly lit and very small tunnel dug into the rock. However, once inside we were able to see a unique and beautifully arranged monastery. This one was unlike the other Orthodox monasteries we had seen, as it was not painted on the inside or the outside. A small door on the other side of which we came opened up to a sort of makeshift balcony of the same rock. WIth no barriers to impede a deathly fall to the valley bellow we all shuffled around the small space as carefully as possible. Ursula informed us that this had once been the entrance area, with a small staircase leading up from the bottom of the rocky hill. However, a natural disaster a few years ago destroyed the stair case leaving it in the state we saw when we were there. Back inside, we were able to see the sleeping quarters of the old monks who had once lived in the monastery. There were no beds, no blankets, and the ceilings were extremely low. This was definitely not a place built for comfort. At the time we were there, only one monk still lived within the cave monastery. 

After our tour of the inside of the monastery, we all returned to the area above it near the tower. Here we took many pictures of the scenery and of us standing at the edge of the cliff. Even the Professor and Ursula posed together for a picture.  

After the monastery we returned to Chisinau (the capital of Moldova) for our final walking city tour of the trip. Here again we saw another statue commemorating Stephan cel mare. SInce Moldova was once part of the principality of Romania's Moldavia, the who regions share their history up until the sovietization of Moldova and its separation from the rest of Romania. 

The main goal of our tour was to witness first hand the similarities and differenced between Romania and Moldova. Most noticeable was the extend of sovietization in the country of Moldova. Everywhere there could be seen soviet styled buildings, and the city itself gave off a colder more depressing feel than anywhere we had seen in Romania. Among the similarities was that the language itself was Romanian, however, Moldovans speak with a Russian/Ukrainian accent. After our tour we stopped at a market where Professor Cordon told us we had the rest of the day to tour the city on our own before dinner. Jordan and I perused through the market to see if we could find anything interesting. As we walked past, we noticed a group of men intently watching a game of chess. For some reason, this image just struck me. It is not something you would find common in the U.S, and its not something I'd seen before anywhere else in Europe. On this cold and cloudy day, here were six middle aged men spending a Wednesday afternoon, in the midst of a market, playing chess on a park bench. 

After we walked around the city for a bit, Jordan and I decided to return to the hotel for a short nap. Apparently we were beyond exhausted because we slept through our alarm and missed dinner. And so ended our last day of academic travel in Romania/Moldova.