Voronetz Monastery 1989
Romania 1989
Hard to believe that twenty-four years have passed since I shot this photo. Ceausescu had recently been dispatched to his reward and Romanians were giddy with the prospects of freedom. So giddy that my husband and I were able to hire a guide, car with fuel and driver, hotels, and all meals for a pittance. We seemed to be the only western tourists in all of Romania and so maybe the tourist board decided that half a loaf was better than none.
The painted churches were unattended in those day. They were used as places of worship not tourist attractions. Now they are used as both. Now they have stone walls surrounding them and a ticket office at the gate. In those days, only stately trees and lush grass surrounded the churches. You might see a local woman sitting nearby with a clutch of painted eggs for sale, or some haystacks, or sheep grazing. Oh, it was better in the old days!
My guide for my last trip to Romania was Daniel Gheorghita (covinnus@covinnus.com)
Daniel has just published an e-zine that includes an interview with me. Read it here:
http://issuu.com/iloveromania/docs/iloveromania_3_septembrie_sp
I’ll still be posting my photos from Ethiopia, but today I will begin to intersperse them with photos from other countries… just for variety.