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Pecs and Szeged

South of Budapest, not far from the Serbian border, are the Hungarian towns of Pecs and Szeged, the former especially known for its impressive churches.

Huns on the Train

What do you do in a Hungarian train station when your train is two hours late? Shoot the Huns!

Beauty on the Danube

On one side of the Danube is the old fortified town of Buda. On the other, the flat city of Pest. In 1873, these two Hungarian cities united to become Budapest.

Widely considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe with more than its fair share of World Heritage Sites, Budapest is also home to some 80 geothermal springs, one of the principal reasons the Romans first built settlements here in order to enjoy baths and spas, a tradition that remains to this day.

Model Moldovans

Bored in Chisinau? Hardly. In between all the street photography, a quick photo shoot with three Moldovan sisters:

The Mystery of Moldova

I admit. One year ago I had no idea where the country of Moldova was. I knew it was in Europe, but would have been hard-pressed to pinpoint it. Plus, isn’t it called Moldavia and not Moldova?

Ah.

Trouble is, Moldavia used to be a country, from 1359 to 1812. Then things got complicated for the next 200 years.

The long and short of it is that Russia won the eastern part of Moldavia from the Ottomans in 1812, while the western half eventually merged with the neighboring kingdoms of Wallachia, Bukovina and Transylvania to form what is now modern Romania (so Romania’s eastern province, which borders Moldova, is still called Moldavia. Confusing, I know). Despite Romanian attempts to reclaim the lost territory by aligning with Germany during WWII, the Russians ultimately won and kept the two regions administered separately and encouraged large-scale Russian and Ukrainian migration into Moldova.

Sandwiched and completely engulfed between its two neighbors (Romania to the west and Ukraine to the east), Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Racked by corruption and war with its breakaway republic of Transnistria, Moldova is by far Europe’s poorest country, with a GDP per capita for its 4 million citizens of only $3,173, barely above that of India’s (compare that to Germany’s $44,660, over 10 times higher).

Not part of the European Union, not on the way to anywhere in particular, bereft of any tourist attractions (apart perhaps from its wine industry), and saddled with a reputation for corruption and lawlessness, Moldova is far removed from most travelers’ typical agendas. Perhaps precisely for these reasons, however, it is a fascinating place to visit, and I found the people friendly and welcoming, the rolling hills of the countryside beautiful, and the streets of its capital Chisinau full of life and color.

Here are some images from an afternoon in Chisinau:

Running Through Romania

I zoomed through Romania like a gypsy in a hurry. Did almost no photography, despite hours exploring the cities of Brasov, Cluj-Napoca and Iasi.

Incidentally, Romania has the world’s largest concentration of gypsies (officially, the Romani people). Migrants from India (hence the darker skin) starting the in the 11th century, the Roma haven’t had an easy time of it, with enslavement, harrassment and persecution commonplace throughout Europe (and an attempted genocide by the Nazis during WWII, who considered the Roma as unfit as Jews).

Ignore the Elephant

So can you go to Cairo and not take pictures of the pyramids? To Paris and not the Eiffel Tower? To Moscow and not the Red Square?

I did something similar in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. Was so enchanted by the cool little town curved around a bend in the Yantra river that I completely forgot to take any pictures of the gigantic fortress on the hill overlooking it all. Oops!

So you’ll just have to imagine that it’s there. In the meantime, here’s the rest of the town (plus a couple pics from Bulgaria’s capital Sophia at the end):

Istanbul

Istanbul is one of my favorite cities in the world. Alas, this time around I used it mainly as a convenient transit from the Caucasus region into mainland Europe and spent almost no time photographing. Well, except for a few quick shots on the way to lunch in Sultanhamet:

Mountain Monasteries

If there’s one thing that’s not lacking in Armenia, it’s ancient Christian monasteries set in picturesque remote mountain settings.

Ancient Armenia

Armenia hasn’t had it easy.

The first country to embrace Christianity as their official religion in 301, this mountainous country nestled in the Caucasus mountains has fought for independence through successive waves of invasion: Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Persians, Turks and Russians. It has now been independent since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The 20th Century was particularly difficult, with over 1 million Armenians killed by the Turks during WWI as the Ottomans battled the Russians. Most refer to this as the Armenian Genocide, with deliberate civilian massacres and deportations, although this is a highly sensitive issue with Turkey, which vehemently denies genocidal intent.

Regardless of intent, the toll on the Armenian population was massive and led to a worldwide diaspora of Armenian refugees. Of the 8 million Armenians in the world today, only 3 million live in present-day Armenia, with the rest spread worldwide (Russia and the United States with the largest shares, followed by Armenian populations of over half a million in Iran, France, Georgia and Syria).

Even Armenia’s recent history and transition to independence hasn’t been easy. The magnitude 7.2 Spitak earthquake in 1988 killed over 25,000 and prompted then Soviet Union leader Gorbachev to formally ask the United States for humanitarian help, the first time this had occurred since WWII. And from 1988 to 1994 Armenia fought a bitter war against neighbor Azerbaijan over the (predominantly Armenian) breakaway Azeri province of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Despite its difficult past, Armenia like many former Soviet Republics is a country with a hopeful future, and has expressed interest in applying for membership into the European Union in the coming years (the Caucasus mountains traditionally represent the southeast border of Europe with Asia).