The Synagogue That Was

Here is an odd and sad story – the story of a place of worship, the story of a place that witnessed the history of a Jewish community and was the symbol, the place of gathering and the center of life of this community. A place which was sold as a piece of real estate and its purpose changed. Instead of becoming a place of remembering it will soon forget all.

 

 

This was the second day of our trip in Western Romania. After having spent the night in Baile Herculane and then traveled for a few hours in the wild and picturesque valley of the river Cerna we descended to Turnu Severin.We stopped first at the walls of the medieval city which are also the head of the bridge built by Apolodor of Damascus in the years 103-105 when the Roman army entered Dacia to win the second and final war and conquer this territory. Then we went to the center of the city which looks quite nice and was quite and empty in that summer Sunday afternoon. There we noticed the building, a red bricks structure with a silhouette that looked familiar.

 

 

Without any doubt the building was a synagogue. Or better said it was once a synagogue, because now the firm outside indicated the present destination of the building – a notary office. What we were seeing was the former synagogue built in the center of the city in the second half of the 19th century by the Jewish community of Turnu Severin. The community was not too big in numbers, a mix of about 140 Ashkenazi and Sephardic families, but probably a wealthy and flourishing community as they could afford buying in this location and building the Jewish place of prayer in the heart of the city. I could find no information about the building on the Internet, not the exact year of its building, not about the architect and builder, not about the benefactors who contributed. I do not know if there are any archives of the community, there are certainly Jews who were born here, or descendants of the Jews born here living all over the world, they could have contributed with information, photographs, memorabilia, they could have helped to make this place a museum if there is no longer a viable community for praying, but the fate of the place was to be different.

 

 

I could actually find more information on the Internet about the transaction that settled the fate of the synagogue building. The case made some waves a few years ago. If the information I found is accurate, the building was sold by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania (FCER) in 2006 for the amount of 57,000 Euros (the price of an average apartment in Bucharest) to a family of notaries who opened here their office. Here are two articles (in Romanian) describing the story and the history.

 

http://www.mehedinti.djc.ro/ObiectiveDetalii.aspx?ID=993

http://www.divers.ro/actualitate_ro?wid=37455&func=viewSubmission&sid=1665

 

We could not enter the building, the offices were closed on Sunday. Near the synagogue a big Christian Orthodox cathedral is being built, actually it looks close to completion, and it dwarfs the much modest (in size) synagogue. The building looks like it’s being maintained in good conditions, but soon the external architectonic details still existing that keep trace of the original purpose of the building may disappear, and with them the last memories of another Jewish community in Eastern Europe which is gone forever.

 

 

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Despite What Critics Say (Film: Unknown – Liam Neeson, 2011)

I usually rely on the opinions of exquisite movie critics like Robert Ebert or James Berardinelli and it seldom or almost never happens to be in disagreement with one, not to speak both of them. Luckily I usually read critics opinions after seeing the film and so I did in this case as well, because I may have chosen to skip one of the most intelligent and well written action films I have seen lately. The story is not only well written and the pace of the action kept me on my edge for the whole duration of the film, but it also has logic and is credible, so I dare say that the two great critics got it wrong when they gave the two stars out of four treatment to the film.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401152/

 

The first sequences of the film introduce the viewers in the American-Has-Trouble-In-European-Big-City genre, with Berlin playing the role usually assumed by Paris. The hero is a biotechnology expert which in the first few minutes of the film loses his suitcase, his wife, and his identity. The losing of the identity is soon to be turned into the kind of situation where not only the hero starts to doubt his own self, but also the viewers start doubting what they have seen, or searching for the hidden signification. Another man has taken his identity, his wife seems to have become part of the plot or maybe she is forced to be one, a lot of people try to kill him, and whoever helps him is in mortal danger and does not survive much time on the screen. All this happens in a frozen Berlin in winter, and is filmed with a blueish filter that creates a metallic light atmosphere that just increases the anxiety. Acting is exact, Liam Neeson will not get another Oscar nomination for this role but he succeeds to make us care for him and so does Diane Kruger in the role of the woman who helps him, to find her life blown-up together with her flat in the action.

 

(video source movieclips)

 

This is the fourth film of director Jaume Collet-Serra, whose first film, a piece of horror name House of Wax I also enjoyed. He proves here that he understands the rules of the genre and can make well-paced and efficient movies. The quality of the film comes however first of all from the quality of the script – Unknown is simply brilliantly written, the terrorism and Cold War sequels intrigue reminding Le Carre’s novels provides a logical explanation which put for me every event in place in a story of lost memory and identity that could belong to the Bourne series. My preferred critics were wrong this time.

 

About Roger Ebert’s extraordinary fight with cancer you can read here.

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Film: HaMashgihim (a.k.a. God’s Neighbors) – Israel, 2012

The producers or the distributors decided to translate HaMashgihim with God’s Neighbors for the English distribution of this film. I have a hard time to understand their intention, but I agree that the translation is not easy, as The Supervisors which would be the literal translation does not convey the whole function of the role that the violent gang of three young religious people who are in the center of the story take upon themselves – keeping the rules of decency and respect for religion in their neighborhood. While the supervisors have a role that is accepted in the more traditional Jewish society of keeping for example the rules of kosher, no such role would be but self-assumed in a mixed neighborhood like the one Bat Yam (south of Tel Aviv) described in the film. Their violence is not legal, but it is exits in a society where culture clashes are the rule – and some of them are well represented in this film – between the religious and the modern ways of life, between the born-Israelis and the immigrant new-comers, between Jews and Arabs. First time director Meny Yaesh not only succeeds to bring to screen a world that he seems to know well, but he also does it without any concession, in a manner which leaves little room for hope that any of the conflicts described in the film will be soon resolved.

 

 

There is a lot of talk about religion and tradition in this film. Actually if there are any moments when the action lingers these are caused by too much insistence in the rituals of religion, and the counterpoint, which is violent action comes sometimes a minute too late. However the values of the religion are not idealized in this film, despite the fact that the director and some of the actors are religious, and they cannot be blamed in any case for lack of respect or understanding of the society the heroes come from (young, Sephardic men, traditionally educated, becoming more and more religious). The means they use to protect their values are however so brutal that they never create any sympathy from the viewer. It’s not that the scope is an excuse for the means, but the other way, the means spoil the scope – and this happens even if all the other non-religious characters are presented in a much more schematic manner (the Jewish non-religious society is represented by a seller of porn DVDs, the Arab or Russian neighbors do nothing but infringe the public order and disturb the peace of the neighborhood). However the violence is born into the characters, or at least into the souls of two out of the three members of the gang. If there a hope for redemption for the third, Avi, which is the main hero of the film it comes from love, and not from religion. His feelings for Miri, the non-religious girl whom the gang initially threatened because of what they judged as indecent clothing slowly start to balance the fervent faith and eventually preempt him from irreversibly falling on the wrong ways. In a beautifully filmed but a little too artificial scene towards the end Avi asks God for a sign to lead him on His way, but as we know God does not answer easily and it is in our own selves that we need to find the answers to the big questions.

 

(video source TrailersMoviesCinema)

 

HaMasshgihim does not look at all as the work of a first-timer. It is well written and well paced, and extremely well acted by the team of mostly young actors among which Roy Assaf, Gal Friedman, and Rotem Zisman simply shine. Assaf’s Avi is a complex character, he asks questions and doubts his ways, although his doubts come from inside – he learns Torah but also smokes a joint now and then, he prays on Shabat according to the tradition but also composes trance music used to propagate the missionary religious messages. Director Meny Yaesh knows well not only the city and the neighborhood where the story is located, but also the tradition of the Israeli cinema, where ‘neighborhood’ movies play an important role, since the classic Kazablan made in the 70s to the more recent Hole Ahava B’Shikun Gimel and Hatuna Meuheret. All these movies were written to a large extent in the comic register, this one makes no concession and leaves very little room for hope. It’s a good film, but do not expect to be entertained seeing it. This is the darkest product the Israeli neighborhood film genre has created until now.

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The Old Church in the Hills

 

One of the discoveries in the recent vacation spent in Romania was an architectonic and historical jewel in the hills below the Carpathians, near Hunedoara. The road that descends South to the village of Densus (read Den-soosh) is picturesque and in very good condition, allowing the travelers to enjoy the landscape.

 

 

 

I knew nothing about this place and I am to blame. Some of the sources describe it as the oldest church which is still active in Romania. As you are getting closer the silhouette of the church arrows to the sky in a way which is quite familiar for anybody who has seen the Romanesque churches in hills and mountains of Spain or Southern France. The history of this place is truly fascinating, its walls and stones catch some of the most interesting events of this area at the crossroads of nations and religions. It seems that there was a church in this place since the 6th century, and some of the stones in the structure have been identified as originating from the nearby Roman city of Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetusa (not to be confounded with the Dacian capital located a few tens of kilometers from Densus). Inside the church eight Roman altars built in the 2nd or 3rd century were identified – brought here from the Roman city, or maybe remains of a previous pre-Christian religious structure.

 

 

The present rectangular structure dates from the 13th century, with a semi-circular apse to the East and a large diaconicon to the South. The denomination of the church changed several times during its history – it became Calvinist in the 16th century, and then Greek-Catholic – a branch of Christianity specific to Transylvania which unified the local Greek-Orthodox tradition with the Western Catholicism. In 1948, during the Communist rule, the Greek-Catholic faith was declared illegal, and the church of Densus (as many other) became Orthodox. It is today dedicated to Saint Nicholas.

 

 

Elements of the Roman city stones which were brought here to build the church are visible in the structure (the columns incorporated in the external wall which remind the Cathedral in Syracuse, Sicily), or decoration (the two lions on the roof on the backside). There are also Latin inscriptions on the stones around, which may have been once part of the central structure.

 

source http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fi%C8%99ier:Sf_Treime_Densus.jpg

 

source http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/castelul-corvinilor-vandut-la-suprapret-892383.html

 

Photography is not allowed inside the church, so I could not take pictures in the interior. You can see above two photographs I found on the Internet, they show some of the saints images painted on the interior walls that survived. The older are dated 1443, contemporary to works of Fra Angelico and they belong to a church painter famous in the his time named Stefan.

More photographs, as well as  more information and discussions about this fascinating place for these of you who can read Romanian can be found at:

http://www.crestinortodox.ro/biserici-manastiri/biserica-sfantul-nicolae-densus-67830.html

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A Story of Two Lighthouses and One Monastery That Refuses to Die

As I am a passionate of lighthouses, one of my questions to the local folks during my vacation on the Danube was obviously ‘Are there any lighthouses on the Danube’. The answer was ‘no, not any longer, as today navigation is GPS-guided, but there were until not long time ago’. Their story is fascinating.

 

 

 

A few kilometers from the nice hotel we were lodged in on the river of Danube you can find the area of the Small Cauldrons (Cazanele Mici). This is the place where the distance between the two shores of the Danube is the smallest in the area, and in the past, before the Iron Gates dam was built the white waters looked liked boiling, hence the name. Despite the dangerous waters the small distance between the shores made the place one of the preferred escape border areas for the daring people who tried to cross from Romania to Yugoslavia, and then to continue their road to freedom away of the Communist Romania. Hundreds perished during the crossing shot by the border police, even more were caught and imprisoned. This was another kind of wall then the wall of Berlin, less famous, but not less dangerous and not less the symbol of the futile tentative of the Communists to keep the people confined within the prison that became the whole country.

 

 

 

 

Until no more than 20 years ago two lighthouses regulated the traffic on the Danube in this area. One was located on the Romanian shore, the other at the other side of the gorges on the Serbian shore. Two big commercial ships could not traverse the gorges simultaneously, and two big balls signaled the permission to cross the Cauldrons. One of them was always down, the other up, allowing ships to traverse only one way at once.

 

 

While the disaffected building of the lighthouse on the Serbian shore seems to have remained unused and unchanged since the modern traffic methods were put in effect, the location on the Romanian shore received a new and interesting destination. It became the place where the new monastery of Mraconia (or Mracunea) was built. A monastery that has a long history and tradition, which was destroyed at least five times during its history and built back from ashes. A monastery that refuses to die.

The first mention dates from 1453, the year of the fall of Constantinople, and the monastery was at that time dedicate to Saint Ilie (Eliah). Destroyed by the Turkish invasions, it was rebuilt and consecrated again in 1523, three years before the kingdom of Hungary fell after the defeat at Mohacs. Destroyed a couple of times in the 18th and 19th centuries during the wars between the Russians and the Turks, it flourished in between the two world wars, to be again demolished and covered by waters in 1967, when the Iron Gates dam was built. And yet the history of the Mraconia refused to come to an end, and in 1993 the spectacular location of the former lighthouse on the Romanian shore was selected to be the place of the building of the new monks monastery. In 2008 it was transformed into a nuns monastery, which is now dedicated to the Saints Michael and Gabriel.

 

 

 

There are still works undergoing inside the crossed-shaped church, and we had the chance to see the painters at work. It’s a beautiful place in a fabulous location, a beautiful place of prayers that could not be silenced by history. Do not miss it during your future trips in the area.

 

 

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Carte: Mircea Cartarescu – ochiul caprui al dragostei noastre

Am sentimente impartite in legatura cu multitudinea de jurnale, pseudo-jurnale si culegeri de articole publicate in ultimii ani de mai toti scriitorii si criticii literari ai momentului. Proliferarea genului imi pare a avea o combinatie de cauze obiective si personale. Daca in anii comunismului scriitorii isi ascundeau gandurile asternute in jurnale personale in sertare adanci, pentru a le feri de ochii Securitatii sau pur si simplu renuntau sa isi puna opiniile pe hartie, este fireasca explozia genului imediat dupa 1990. Imbatati de aerul tare al libertatii de exprimare poetii, scriitorii, criticii, publicistii nostri au scris in acei ani fervent si despre orice, dar mai ales despre ei, despre trecutul imediat si prezentul incert, incercand sa faca putina ordine in galagia asurzitoare a evenimentelor post-decembriste. Cum se explica insa continuitatea genului la mai bine de doua decenii dupa 1989? Este oare publicarea in ritm aproape anual a unei carti de memorii recente, comentarii despre actualitatea apropiata mai mult sau mai putin, imediata mai mult sau mai putin, adunarea de multe ori in volume a articolelor publicate in cotidene sau saptamanale literare si de cultura cea mai buna folosire a timpului si resurselor pentru un Liiceanu, Plesu, sau Cartarescu? Marturisesc ca nu am un raspuns clar la aceasta intrebare, si intr-un fel de acest fenomen sunt raspunzatori si sau mai ales cititorii. Ma aflu printre ei si marturisesc ca ma intereseaza ce scriu Liiceanu, Plesu sau Cartarescu (ca sa folosesc aceeasi colectie de nume, lista este mult mai lunga) despre evenimentele zilei, despre modul in care ei traiesc clipa si actualitatea, despre lecturile lor si opiniile lor in legatura cu fenomenul cultural si cu colegii de breasla. Si desi de multe ori si mai ales in gand le contest autoritatea sau expertiza intr-un domeniu sau altul, parerea lor conteaza, si asta si datorita celor ca mine, care le cumparam, citim si comentam cartile de acest gen.

Primul lucru care se poate spune despre ‘ochiul caprui al dragostei noastre’ a lui Cartarescu (HUMANITAS, 2012) este ca se citeste usor si repede. In primul rand pentru ca este foarte bine scrisa, in al doilea rand pentru ca la 200 de pagini ea ofera o colectie destul de concisa de scrieri recente sau recent actualizate, si una nu prea voluminoasa. Exact cat pentru un zbor de la Bucuresti la Tel Aviv.

 

sursa http://www.humanitas.ro/humanitas/ochiul-c%C4%83prui-al-dragostei-noastre

 

Dupa o introducere care vrea sa fixeze volumul in scurgerea timpului (‘Ma privesc acum: un om de cincizeci si cinci de ani care, probabil, nu a facut nimic in viata. Nimic, oricum, din ce era asteptat sa faca. Voi mai trai poate doua sau trei decenii. Vor trece intr-o clipa. Imi amintesc ca ieri cum eram acum douazeci de ani. Stiu cum voi fi peste inca douazeci, cand pasta din pix se va usca, iar bara vietii mele, ca jocurile pe computer, va scadea pana la ultima liniuta’. pag. 8 ) urmeaza o piesa de rezistenta ‘Ada-Kaleh, Ada-Kaleh’ poate cea mai buna din carte. Evocand insula disparuta sub ape pe care legile timpului si ale istoriei au hotarit ca scriitorul sa nu o cunoasca decat din legende si imaginatie, Cartarescu scrie aici in putine zeci de pagini un poem al maturizarii copilului si a fanteziilor sale, recreand in context imaginea unei lumi ingropata sub ape de o istorie nepasatoare la legende. ‘Asa se mai clatinau poate, incalciti in ierburi si pipaiti de mustatile somnilor, si in 1998, anul in care m-am aflat cel mai aproape, la doar cateva zeci de metri, de insula pe care mi-a fost dat sa o iubesc fara sa o fi vazut vreodata. Din nefericire cateva zeci de metri masurati in adanc. Ca sa scriu un reportaj despre cei ucisi in dreptul Cazanelor, am fost la Orsova noua si am vorbit cu multi localnici. Apoi am urcat intr-o barca de pescari si, in miez de noapte, am incercat sa inteleg ce inseamna sa treci inot Dunarea, sttind ca oricand un spot de reflector te putea localiza, dupa care urma sfarsitul. Batranul turc de la vasle nu locuise in insula, dar negotul il dusese de nenumarate ori pe acolo. Vaslea acum tacut, in lumina tremuratoare a becurilor care tiveau marele baraj. Dupa o vreme s-a oprit din vaslit: “Aici, sub noi, e Ada-Kaleh”, mi-a spus. “Cam mijlocul ei, cam unde a fost palatul lui Ali Kadri” … Mi-am amintit atunci ca adanc in creierul nostru exista o zona numita Insula. Ca toti avem o insula scufundata in apele mintii, si pe care o cautam cu disperare, ca pe diamantul topit al fiintei noastre. Ca noi insine si lumea noastra suntem adanc scufundati, in apele timpului si ale memoriei universale, ca o Ada-Kaleh ce nu va fi niciodata reala.” (pag. 30-31).

O perspectiva asemanatoare a relatiei intre biografia personala si geografie apare in ‘Pontus Axeinos’, in care poetul descrie intalnirile sale succesive cu marea, de la prima tabara traita in copilarie, trecand prin trairile imaginatiei prilejuite de biografia si versurile lui Ovidiu, si pana la intalnirile din ultimele decenii, in care decaderea orasului si a destinelor locuitorilor sai pare sa fi intrat intr-o spirala accelerata. Bucata cea mai impresionanta din punct de vedere al biografiei personale este insa fara indoiala cea care da titlul volumului, povestea fratului geaman, frate-oglinda, disparut in vremea copilariei, dar a carui umbra il insoteste pe el si pe mama sa in tot decursul vietii, ca intr-o poveste de dragoste care refuza sa se supuna legilor vietii si mortii.

 

sursa http://www.libertatea.ro/detalii/articol/mircea-cartarescu-maternitatea-giulesti-a-fost-un-loc-al-ororilor-al-mizeriei-umane-amandoi-copiii-mei-s-au-nascut-acolo-300534.html

 

Iubitorii scrierilor lui Cartarescu vor gasi interes deosebit in amintirile legate de procesul de creatie al Levant-ului ale carui radacini surprinzatoare se afla in firava (dar pompoasa) explozie de poezie romantica de la jumatatea  secolului 19 si in relatarile despre lecturile multiple si eclectice ale autorului. ‘Eminescu’ m-a surprins si mi-a placut prin abordarea curajoasa a relatiei poetului cu contemporaneitatea sa, Cartarescu ne-ezitand sa spulbere miturile care impiedica accesul la adevar si cunoastere. “Cele patru fotografii ale lui Eminescu sunt ca patru sectiuni tomografice prin trupul de timp, alungit dinspre nastere catre moarte, al poetului. Sunt, intr-un fel, ca fazele lunii: e aceeasi luna, dar infatisarile ei succesive nu seamana una cu alta. Timpul pare sa inainteze teribil de repede intre fotografii, grotesc si intristator. In mai putin de doua decenii, trupul adolescentului cu ochi calzi si buze senzuale se ruineaza cu desavarsire. In ultima impresie a luminii pe azotatul de argint nu-l mai recunoastem pe Eminescu, si totusi acolo este el cu adevarat, daca adevarul nostru, al tuturor, e ruina si dizolvarea in acizii timpului.” (pag. 97-98)

Daca este sa detectam o tema principala a cartii, o tema care revine in multe, poate majoritatea celor 21 de schite si note ea este – cum se vede si din citatul precedent – cea a confruntarii cu timpul. Tema este prezenta si in Pisica moarta a poeziei de azi, care alaturi de o sensibila descriere a relatiei dintre poet si lumea din jur, trece in revista in cateva pagini de sinteza esentiala generatiile poeziei romane de la anii 60 pana in contemporaneitate. Se simte aici si acuitatea observatiei profesorului de literatura dar si simpatia fraternala a poetului fata de colegii de destin si cuvinte: “Anii ’70 au cultivat un eclectism tardo-modernist unde au incaput tendintele cele mai contradictorii: suavitatea poetilor in descendenta lui Blaga (acest Rilke transilvanean din anii ’20-’30), ca Adrian Popescu, si vigoarea eticista a lui Mircea Dinescu. Poetii cei mai mari ai deceniului opt sunt insa doi fermecatori manuitori de gratuitati gratioase, Serban Foarta si Emil Brumaru. ” (pag. 123)

Mai pot fi gasite in carte si cateva evocari ale unor colegi de generatie disparuti inainte de vreme (Mariana Marin, Alex. Leo Serban intre ei) – le-am gasit pe acestea mai putin inspirate, poate tocmai pentru ca reiau articole scrise sub impactul imediat al pierderii si fara a fi lasat ocazia sa-si faca efectul filtrul timpului si decantarea poetica. ‘Epoca nes’ si ‘Primul meu blug’ pun in pagina amintiri din epoca de aur in stilul colectiei lui Mungiu si intr-un registru comic mai apropiat de volumul precedent al lui Cartarescu. Fara a reprezenta un varf in creatia autorului ‘ochiul caprui al dragostei noastre’ va ramane probabil un volum care marcheaza inca o perioada a activitatii publicistice a lui Mircea Cartarescu si din care antologiile si culegerile viitoare vor avea de ales cele cateva bucati de valoare deosebita.

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Israel Meets India and Nepal (in TV series)

I saw this week the last episode of Kathmandu. It’s the second TV series launched this year dealing with a phenomenon well-known to Israelis – the trips to the Indian subcontinent, which many Israeli youths take, usually after finishing the Army service. A TV series being what it is in the current commercial TV context I did not expect too deep an introspection into the phenomenon. The result was indeed close to sitcom located in exotic environments and the teams should be recognized for the good job they made in finding the proper locations, I have never been to India and Nepal so I cannot comment on authenticity or to what extent they describe realities, but they do certainly suggest them well.

 

source http://www.haaretz.co.il/gallery/television/tv-review/1.1695507

 

The stories in the two series say a lot about how we as Israelis deal with other cultures. Ananda is the story of a young woman who finds herself traveling to India without her boyfriend, befriends there two Israelis to discover soon that they are Arab-Israelis and cheaters, to find herself soon in the position to chose between doubts and trust, between the commodity of return to the routine life and the courage to assume love despite the apparently impossible borders. Kathmandu tells about a couple of Chabad envoys opening a Chabad home in Nepal, helping the various Israeli characters solve their personal problems and find the ‘right way’ to their Jewish identity, and eventually facing the question whether they are up to the difficulties of their missions and at what price. The issue of the contact with the local cultures is present (if at all) only as a background and at a level more superficial than of a bad travel show, mostly dealing with weather, smells and hygienic issues. None of the central characters seem to be really interested in the huge treasure of culture and experiences the Indian continent offers to the visitors which is the main reason for most Israelis to travel to that area. No central character is local. If there is any exchange of ideas it’s one-sided, with the Israelis preaching by words and deeds the Jewish values. The central themes in Ananda and Kathmandu are Israeli, the shows could have been filmed as well in Antarctica or Kiriat Malachi.

 

source http://israelity.com/2012/06/03/shmulik-and-mushkie-go-to-kathmandu/

 

All these having been said none of the two shows is bad, and within the limits of the scripts there are enough good personal stories, emotions, likeable characters and good acting to make the two series interesting to watch. I liked Kathmandu more than Ananda because I am no big fan of Dana Modan (the author and lead actress in Ananda) who miscasts herself badly, and on the other side Michael Moshonov makes a great role in Kathmandu, a role that allows him now to be a star by himself and not the son of … I also found the range of characters and the complexity of the intertwined threads of action more compelling in Kathmandu. I have no doubt that among the two this is the one that deserves a second season.

 

(video source hot)

 

(video source IsraeliNetwork)

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The Ruins of Baile Herculane

It’s one of the saddest and most painful blog entries I have written. My trip to Romania took me to a place which could be one of the touristic centers of Europe, rivaling or even pushing into shadows famous spa resorts like Baden-Baden or Karlovy-Vary. Baile Herculane is located in the Valley of the Cerna river, a couple of hours of driving from Timisoara and connected to it by a good road, recently renovated, beautiful and scenic for more than half of it. Its location is spectacular, in a narrow area of gorges surrounded by high peaks, and its thermal and mineral waters were famous since the time of the Roman rule over Dacia in the 2nd and 3rd century BC. During the Austro-Hungarian rule of the area the place became a famous resort, hotels, villas, spa and treatment buildings were built in the European style of the second half of the 19th century. The empress of Austro-Hungaria Elisabeth (Sissy) loved the place, and this is where she met with the queen of Romania Carmen Sylva in the 1880s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is so painful to see what this place has become today. The historic center looks deserted, the palaces, villas, hotels, spas are in ruins. Some places even look dangerous to walk near. 23 years after the fall of the Communism nobody seems to have taken responsibility for saving and recovering the buildings of exceptional architectural value and beauty, bringing back to life the touristic activities and putting in motion the huge potential of the place. There are a couple of signs talking about an EC investment, they seem too little, I hope that not too late. This place needs and deserves much more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do not know if a blog posting like this one can help. I wish it could. Here are a couple of more articles (in Romanian) that I found on the subject, and a youTube clip.

http://www.gandul.info/reportaj/baile-herculane-si-borsec-ruine-care-nu-mai-au-nimic-de-oferit-turistilor-5871076

http://www.gds.ro/Gorj%20si%20Mehedinti/2011-03-28/Baile+Herculane,+ruina+turismului+romanesc

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRmkWX6Ix2s

(video source http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRmkWX6Ix2s)

 

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Carte: Boris Akunin – Azazel

Boris Akunin este unul dintre cei mai cunoscuti si mai publicati scriitori ai Rusiei de astazi si un oponent al regimului lui Vladimir Putin. Eseist si traducator, expert in cultura japoneza a editat o antologie in 20 de volume a literaturii japoneze si ma intreb daca o astfel de antrepriza exista sau este posibila in alte locuri decat Rusia. Numele sau de familie real este Cikartishvili (sper ca transcriu corect), iar peudonimul Akunin are semnificatia ‘raufacator’ in limba japoneza.

Ciclul care l-a facut cunoscut pe Akunin maselor largi de cititori este cel in care apare ca erou detectivul Erast Fandorin. Au aparut pana acum 13 romane in aceasta serie, si fiecare noua aparitie vinde sute de mii de exemplare in Rusia in ziua lansarii. ‘Azazel’ sau ‘Regina iernii’ cum a fost re-tritrat in alte editii si tradus in unele limbi este prima carte a ciclului, aparuta in 1998 l-am citit in traducerea frnceza a lui Odette Chevalot in seria ‘Grands Detectives’ publicata de editura ‘Presses de la Cite’.

 

source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Akunin

 

Anul in care se petrece actiunea este 1876 si decorul primelor capitole este Moscova prezentata nu fara nuante de nostalgie. Nu este vorba neaparat de nostalgia imperiala (pe care am intalnit-o la alti scriitori care scriu despre apusul imperiului tarilor inclusiv la Steve Berry in The Amber Room’ si ‘The Romanov Prophecy’) cat de o nostalgie la normalitate, la sincronizare cu imaginea Europei acelor timpuri. Rusia tarilor este inca dominata de relatiile sociale si ierarhiile stabilite de Petru I (la sfarsitul catii gasim o utila tabela a rangurilor birocratiei imperiale si a modului adecvat de adresare pentru fiecare), dar are deja insa o geografie bine conturata pe care o ghicim ca fiind si nostalgica si afectiva pentru cititorii moscoviti, si institutii care incep sa functioneze ca intr-o tara ‘normala’. Una dintre ele este politia, si aici isi incepe cariera tanarul Erast Fedorin, descendent al unei familii nobile, inteligent si cam naiv din fire, dar si orfan si sarac, in buna traditie a unora dintre eroii literaturii ruse.

De aici actiunea se dezvolta in mai multe planuri. Unul dintre ele este maturizarea lui Fedorin, de la politistul incepator, naiv si credul, care acumuleza cu repeziciune intamplari si experienta in ale cailor detective si in ale vietii si pana la finalul surprinzator pe care nu il voi dezvalui, dar care implineste procesul de formare si il aduce pe erou in stadiul in care il vom gasi probabil in viitoarele volume. In paralel se dezvolta o intriga rocambolesca imbinand elemente ale romanelor de genul ‘Misterele Parisului’ (sau ale altor capitale preferate din a doua jumatate a secolului 19) cu intrigi moderne pe care le gasim in romanele de spionaj contemporane, inclusiv mobilitatea internationala a eroilor. Efectul combinat se citeste cu interes, intorsaturile de noroc si surprizele puncteaza la momentele necesare, dar farmecul lecturii este accentuat in special de caracterul foarte rusesc al personajelor, multe descinzand din galeriile cunoscute bine din romanele si povestirile clasicilor literaturii ruse.

 

source http://www.amazon.fr/Azazel-Boris-Akounine/

 

In mare masura succesul unei carti din genul numit ‘politist istoric’ depinde de modul in care reuseste sa recreeze atmosfera epocii in care se petrece actiunea, si de felul in care personajele rezoneaza in mintea si sufletul cititorilor. Akunin cred ca a reusit in acest roman de debut de ciclu sa treaca cu brio ambele praguri, aducandu-ne in imaginatie o Rusie poate idealizata dar construita pe masura idealurilor si nostalgiilor atator generatii lipsite de sansa din Rusia ultimilor 150 de ani si in acelasi timp populand aceasta lume cu personaje credibile si cu care cititorul modern se poate identifica. Al doilea roman din ciclu, ‘Gambitul turcesc’ se petrece in anul urmator, cel al razboiului ruso-turc din 1877 si dupa cate am auzit il vom regasi pe Fedorin in transeele Plevnei dar si in Bucurestii intrigilor imperiale de la sfarsitul secolului 19. Daca s-ar putea mi-as rezerva deja un rand in coada pentru achizitionarea acestui al doilea volum.

 

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What Color the Danube?

I am restarting a cycle which I began (and never finished) two years ago and I named it then ‘Tourist in Romania’. There was a little bit of irony in the name, as Romania is my country of birth and the place where I lived half of my lifetime. Revisiting some of the places that I had walked as a youth, meeting new places but especially new realities in a country which underwent radical and sometimes traumatic transformation was a very special experience. And yet, I could not (and did not want to) avoid also a feeling of belonging and of homecoming at many instances. In the time since I left Romania in 1984 until today I walked, drove and flew half of the world becoming a passionate tourist. One thing is sure – traveling in Romania will never be for me just a touristic experience.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTqlLKBKFhg

(video source http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTqlLKBKFhg)

 

So – what color the Danube? The subject was discussed on my Facebook page while I was traveling on its shores, where I spend part of my vacation, in the Cazane (Cauldrons) Gorges area. It certainly is not always blue, as Johann Strauss II sung it in its famous waltz (above in the version directed by Karajan, to the end of this notes in another two versions). Blue Danube is more a state of mind, which was also our state of mind as we spent a week with a couple of our best friends from Bucharest. Yet it gets different colors and nuances, at different hours of the day. Here are a few.

 

a new day

 

in the light of the sunrise

 

the Cazane Gorges

 

the Mraconia Monastery

 

the Iron Gates dam

 

the Danube at Orsova

 

on the river

 

Decebal guards the Dacian border

 

at sunset

… and more music …

 

(video source http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpvOUnz4T7Q)

 

(video source http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDaJ7rFg66A)

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