“Romania 🇷🇴 ~Rock Sculpture of Decebulas near Dubova along the Danube River”
We completed our time in the North and Central Regions of Romania, and this was the day we drove back down South. One more thing to check out along the Danube River, near the Iron Gate, from the Romania side, and then it was back to Bucharest for us, and planning our departure from Romania, to get back into Bulgaria.
This relief is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe and it took ten years; from 1994 to 2004, for a team of 12 sculptors to complete.
Decebal ~ “Decebalus the Brave One” was the last king of Dacia. He was also one of the mightiest rulers of this Ancient Kingdom.
After reuniting fragmented Dacian tribes, he fought three wars against two Roman emperors, before finally succumbing to the power of Rome in 106.
The national identity of modern Romania is still firmly rooted in its ancient Dacian heritage. This monumental stone portrait of Decebal is the brainchild of Iosif Constantin Dragan, a businessman and historian. It’s situated on the Romanian side of Danube, opposite the Tabula Traiana; a memorial to the Roman conquest of Dacia.
The inscription on the statue is, somewhat ironic, though. It is written in Latin, which is the language introduced to Romania by Decebal’s enemies. It reads:
“DECEBALUS REX – DRAGAN FECIT,” which translates to “The King Decebalus – Made by Dragan.”
Our Balkan Peninsula road-trip is not complete, yet, as we want to finish exploring Bulgaria, since we had departed from there, after only three nights, on a whim, to go to Romania.
“A Rolling Stone Collects no Moss”
This area along the Danube River, is quite pretty, and apparently a popular touristy place. There is a beautiful canyon area to drive through, along the River, but we have seen plenty of canyons on this Balkins trip, already. There were many hotels and restaurants along this Danube River area, but nothing was available for the night. We stopped at many, so the locals are still vacationing, at least the ones without children, or very young children, who are not in school, yet. The prices are very steep for this area, for a stay, anyway, so we moved on, after we got our photos. It was still light out, but we had no idea how far we would have to go to find a room! We grabbed a light dinner, and kept driving. This was the closest we came, to having to sleep in the truck! But, at least in this bigger vehicle, we would actually have more room, if it came down to it. At dark, we finally found a hotel that wasn’t closed, along the busy highway. We were traveling North to South on this day, then East towards Bucharest. The hotel was cheap, but clean, and we grabbed it. We were two of only a few people there. No A/C, no food, no WIFI, and only warm showers, but I was so tired after driving for seven hours, I really didn’t care. We slept good, and felt refreshed the next day.
I did find some information on why, in part, the work stopped on the sculpture; Dragan died in 2008, so I think that there were many reasons involved, in why the work stopped. I read that it was highly political with various interests at stake.
Currently, we have just spent the night in Bucharest, at the lovely Cismigeu Hotel in Old Town. We got a special COVID rate, as we are only two of three people in the hotel. $70 a night including breakfast. vs $200. Brakfasts were delivered to our room at our chosen time, since the restaurant is closed (city covid rule). We were told we can stay beyond the check-out time of noon, and we might do that. I am just plain tuckered out from spending so much time at night tying to stay up with all the journaling and pictures. I have zero desire to tour around, as we are filled-up once again, and satisfied with this country visit. There are some beautiful old buildings in this capital city I might want to photograph, but we shall see.
We can’t recommend Romania enough!
Here are some random photos from our drive-day
We will relax for the afternoon, and try to meet up with an acquaintance, then try to get back over the Danube River into Bulgaria. We have no idea how that is going to go, but all we can do is give it a try. We do not have a current covid test, as we did, when we entered the first time, but we do have a rental vehicle we must return to Bulgaria.
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Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More
A beautiful and interesting last day. Good luck with the border
It was a very special time at the end of our time, here. Thx, weened luck at the border!