Mangalia Mosque

Mangalia Mosque is the oldest mosque in Romania, being built in 1575 by Esmahan, the daughter of Ottoman sultan Selim II. Located in Mangalia, Constanţa County, it serves a community of 800 Muslim families, most of them of Turkish and Tatar ethnicity.


The seaside town of Mangalia is home to an important landmark left behind by Ottoman rule over the region, to wit the Esmahan Sultan Mosque, built in 1575. Esma Han, daughter of Sultan Selim II and wife of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, was very fond of the region, and decreed that a mosque be built where Mangalia lies today. That place of worship was officially inaugurated in 1590, and is today surrounded by a 300 year-old cemetery among can be identified architectural fragments from buildings from ancient Greek colony of Callatis. Turkish dignitaries were buried here, and tombstones bear inscriptions in Old Arabic.


The mosque is a veritable museum. It was built in the Moorish style, using carved stone and bricks from an old Roman tomb. It differs from other Muslim places of worship in Dobruja (Dobrogea) in that the front entrance is surrounded by a veranda. The building stands 12 meters tall, and has 85 cm thick walls. It is relatively small by the usual mosque standards.


Mangalia Mosque is a historical monument. In the 1990s, local authorities renovated the building and surrounded it with a tall fence. The mosque was again renovated in 2008, with financial aid from a generous donation of 1 million euros made by a Turkish businessman. The roof was replaced, and the minaret was consolidated. The interior walls and the fountain in the yard were renovated. Its waters are once again used in the sacred ritual of washing the dead. The oldest mosque in Romania is once again a welcoming venue for believers and tourists alike.

Turks in Romania

The Turks (Romanian: Turci) are an ethnic minority in Romania, numbering 32,596 people according to the 2002 census and hence making up 0.2% of the total population. The majority of Turks live in the historical region of Northern Dobruja (Turkish: Dobruca), particularly in Constanţa County, where they number 24,246 and make up 3.4% of the population, Tulcea County with 3,334 (1.3%) and Bucharest with 2,473 (0.1%). As an officially-recognised ethnic minority, Turks have one seat reserved for them in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies.


As the entire Balkan Peninsula become an integral part of the emerging Ottoman Empire (a process which concluded with the fall of Constantinople to Sultan Mehmed II in 1453), Wallachia became engaged in frequent confrontations and, in the final years of Mircea the Elder's reign, became an Ottoman subject. In the two Danubian Principalities, Ottoman suzerainty had an overall reduced impact on the local population, and the impact of Islam was itself much reduced. Wallachia and Moldavia enjoyed a large degree of autonomy, and their history was punctuated by episodes of revolt and momentary independence. After 1417, when Ottoman domination over Wallachia first became effective, the towns of Turnu and Giurgiu were annexed as kazas, a rule enforced until the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 (the status was briefly extended to Brăila in 1542). Alongside Dobruja, a part of present-day Romania under direct Ottoman rule in 1551-1718 was the Eyalet of Temeşvar (the Banat region of western Romania), which extended as far as Arad (1551-1699) and Oradea (1661-1699). The few thousand Muslims settled there were, however, driven out by Habsburg conquest. The presence of Muslims in the two Danubian Principalities was also attested, centering on Turkish traders and small communities of Muslim Roma. It is also attested that, during later Phanariote rules and the frequent Russo-Turkish Wars, Ottoman troops were stationed on Wallachia's territory.


Islam in Romania is followed by only 0.3 percent of population, but has 700 years of tradition in Northern Dobruja, a region on the Black Sea coast which was part of the Ottoman Empire for almost five centuries (ca. 1420-1878). According to tradition, Islam was first established locally around Sufi leader Sari Saltik during the Byzantine epoch. The Islamic presence in Northern Dobruja was expanded by Ottoman overseeing and successive immigration, but has been in steady decline since the late 19th century. After Northern Dobruja became part of Romania following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the community preserved its self-determining status. This changed during the communist regime, when Romanian Muslims were subject to a measure of supervision by the state, but the group again emancipated itself after the Romanian Revolution of 1989. Its interests are represented by the Muftiyat (Muftiyatul Cultului Musulman din România), which was created as the reunion of two separate such institutions. The Islamic religion is one of the 16 rites awarded state recognition.

Tatars in Romania

Tatars (Romanian: Tătari) were present on the territory of today's Romania since the 13th century. According to the 2002 census, 24,000 people declared their nationality as Tatar, most of them being Crimean Tatars living in Constanţa County. They are the main factor of Islam in Romania.


The Tatars first reached the mouths of the Danube in the mid-13th century at the height of power of the Golden Horde. In 1241, under the leadership of Kadan, the Tatars crossed the Danube, conquering and devastating the region. The region was probably not under the direct rule of the Horde, but rather, a vassal of the Bakhchisaray Khan. It is known from Arab sources that at the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century that descendants of the Nogai Horde settled in Isaccea. Another Arab scholar, Ibn Battuta, who passed through the region in 1330-1331, talks about Baba Saltuk (Babadag) as the southernmost town of the Tatars. The Golden Horde began to lose its influence after the wars of 1352-1359 and at the time, a Tatar warlord, Demetrius is noted defending the cities of the Mouths of the Danube. Toward the end of the 16th century, about 30,000 Nogai Tatars from the Budjak were brought to Dobruja. Nogai Tatars consider themselves as descended of the people of the Golden Horde and they take their name from Nogai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan.


Crimean Tatars were brought to Dobruja by the Ottomans following the increasing power of the Russians in the region and its annexation of Crimea in 1783. After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 1783, Crimean Tatars began emigrating to the Ottoman coastal provinces of Dobruja (today divided between Romania and Bulgaria). However, after the independence of Romania in 1877-1878, between 80,000 and 100,000 Crimean Tatars moved to Anatolia, a migration which continued afterward. As such, the number of Tatars in Northern Dobruja decreased from 21% in 1880 to 5.6% in 1912. In 2002, they formed 2.4% of the population of this region. The Nogai component of the Tatar population are not separately enumerated in Romanian censuses. Most have emigrated to Turkey but it is estimated that a few thousand Nogais still live in Dobruja, notably in the town of Mihail Kogălniceanu (Karamurat) and villages of Lumina (Kocali), Valea Dacilor (Hendekkarakuyusu) and Cobadin (Kubadin).


Between 1947-1957 Tatar schools began operating in Romania and in 1955 a special alphabet was created for the Tatar community. In 1990 the Democratic Union of Muslim Tatar-Turks was established. Currently Romania respects the minority rights of Tatars and does not follow any policy of Romanianization.

Decumarellus sarbui

Decumarellus sarbui is the first cave genus belonging to the Tyrini in the whole world; such a genus of the Tyrini tribe has never been signaled in a cave. It lives in Movile Cave, near Mangalia, Constanţa County, Southeastern Romania. The species is endemic for the chemoautotrophically based groundwater ecosystem at Mangalia and unique in the world.

Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Staphyliniformia
Superfamily: Staphylinoidea
Family: Staphylinidae
Subfamily: Pselaphinae
Tribe: Tyrini
Genus: Decumarellus
Species: sarbui
Scientific name: Decumarellus sarbui Poggi, 1994

The genus Decumarellus is dedicated to the Romanian bio-speleologist Vasile Decu and at the same time reminds of the un-doubtful relationship with the genus Marellus. The species (sarbui) is dedicated to Romanian scientist Dr. Şerban M. Sârbu, from the Department of Biological Sciences of the Cincinnati University, USA.


Decumarellus sarbui shows the typical morphological adaptations to the live in caves. It might be the extreme result of the differentiation of a branch of the genus Marellus, which settled down in the hypogeus habitat and evolved independently, at least since the possibility of a link between the cave and the surface fauna came to a stop. According to the geological, hydrological and palaeo-geographical data, the isolation of the cave goes back to the end of Miocene (almost 5.5-5.2 millions of years ago) when the climate of the Southern Dobrogea got extremely dry in connection with the crisis of salinity from Messinian.

Murfatlar Vineyards

Blessed with one of the most suitable natural settings, Murfatlar Vineyard is situated in the Southeastern part of Romania, between the Danube and the Black Sea, in the center of the Dobrodja plateau. The vineyard stretches across a surface of more than 3000 ha, covering the villages of Murfatlar, Valul lui Traian, Poarta Albă şi Siminoc. Several elements as: the continental climate, diverse territory the vineyard covers, a sheltering effect against the cold currents coming from the North-East, and the unique and extremely favorable influence of the Black Sea that results in less aggressive summer heat and less frosty winters, offers Murfatlar Vineyard the perfect micro-climate to produce a large variety of quality wines.


For ages, vine growing has been the basic occupation of the people in Dobrodja, and those at Murfatlar are proudly aware they carry on a very long tradition. Scythia Minor, the Roman appellation of the region, was best known as a vine growing region. The wine obtained here was often used as trade currency by the local population and the Greek colonies on the Black Sea coast. Written testimonies on wine making were also left by the celebrated poet Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC - 17 AD), exiled at Tomis (9-17 AD) by the Roman Emperor Augustus.


In 1907, were planted Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Muscat Ottonel and Folle Blanche assortments at the the initiative of two Romanian specialists. The core of what was about to become the most prestigious and best known Romanian vineyard was established at the beginning of the century along with the noble West-European assortments planted on Romanian soil. In 1943, Murfatlar Vine and Wines Research Site was created. The range of wine assortments was extended to Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer Rose, Italian Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. In 1955, the vineyard was consolidated and expanded to a surface of about 2600 ha, by the including of Murfatlar State Entreprise. Gradually, the wines produced at Murfatlar became highly appreciate both on the local and the international market, the enterprise becoming the leader of Romanian wine producing. In 2000, a group of Romanian private investors became the major share holder.

Photo by sonjabgd

The extensive vineyards and wineries are located in conditions similar to southern France and California. Over 300 days of sunshine, along with cool breezes from the sea, make this area ideal for the production of sweet dessert wines, but soft, rich red wines are also produced here. At wine contests all along the world, the Murfatlar wines were awarded no less than 350 golden medals. (from Murfatlar)

Great Mahmudiye Mosque

A landmark of the Turkish role in the region, the Great Mahmudiye Mosque (known also as Carol I Mosque) of Constanţa was built between 1910-1912, during the reign of King Carol I, as a copy of Konieh Mosque (Anatolia - Turkey), unique in the whole Dobrudja area. The faithful name it "Kral camisi" or "Geamia Regelui" (King's Mosque).


The mosque is the first building in Romania made of reinforced concrete, by engineer Gogu Constantinescu and architect Victor Ştefănescu. It is designed in Egyptian-Byzantine style, with some Romanian architectural features, making it one of the most distinctive mosques in the area. It features a 50 meter high minaret, built in Moorish style, which offers a stunning view of the old downtown and harbor. Five times a day, the muezzin climbs 140 steps to the top of the minaret to call the faithful to prayer.


The mosque is the seat of the Mufti, the spiritual leader of the 55,000 Muslims (Turks and Tatars by origin) who live along the coast of the Dobrudja region. The centerpiece of the interior is a large Persian carpet, over 200 years old, a gift from Sultan Abdul Hamid. Handmade woven at the Hereche Handicraft Center in Turkey, it is one of the largest carpets in Europe (9x16m), weighing 500 kg. The Carol I Mosque in Constanţa is the center of Islam in Romania