3362 MOLDOVA - International Moldovan Philatelic Society

As it is written on this special postcard, the International Moldovan Philatelic Society (IMPS) promotes world-wide awareness of the history and culture of Moldova throught the medium of philately. On the other hand, it is an evolution of the highly successful project MoldovaStamps, first developed by the President of the society, Niall Murphy, in 2003 and developed continuously since then. MoldovaStamps succeeded in it's objective to be one of the best online single-country philatelic web sites in the world. It has enjoyed the support of people from over 160 countries and has earned a considerable reputation. MoldovaStamps is one of the most popular philatelic web sites in the world.

3317 MOLDOVA - Postcrossing Meetup, Chișinău, 23 June 2018

3317 The eighth postcard of the series
"100 years since the Great Union of Romania" (8/12)
- Old Orhei landscape.

The previous postcard of the series "100 years since the Great Union of Romania" (7/12)

Another meeting of the Romanian postcrossers in the year of the Centenary of the Great Union took place on June 23, 2018, in Chișinău. Actually it was the second Postcrossing meeting between members from Moldova and Romania, which took place on the occasion of the launch of a stamp dedicated to the Postcrossing project. Mihnea Răducu chose for the postcard a landscape from Orheiul Vechi Archaeological Landscape (about which I wrote here), submitted by Moldova to UNESCO for inclusion among the World Heritage Sites.

2428, 3278 MOLDOVA - Rudi Geodetic Point - part of Struve Geodetic Arc (UNESCO WHS)

2428 Rudi Geodetic Point

Posted on 02.04.2016, 01.12.2019
The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea (designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005), about which I wrote here. In Oblast of Moldavia and Bessarabia, back then in Russian Empire, were 27 observation points, but UNESCO included only one in World Heritage Site, located near Rudi village, in Soroca district. This point was set up in 1847, and the obelisk was opened on June 17, 2006.

3278 Rudi Geodetic Point

3227 MOLDOVA (Chişinău) - National Theater "Mihai Eminescu" in Chişinău

 

 

The National Theater in Chişinău, the first stable theater of Romanian expression in Bessarabia, began its history on October 10, 1920, on the initiative of a group of leaders of local public life. Oficial inaugurated on October 6, 1921, with the play Răsvan şi Vidra by Bogdan-Petriceicu Hasdeu, it suspended its activity in 1935, "for financial reasons." Although it didn't enjoy a long life, its existence was of enormous importance for culture of Bessarabia.

3125, 3126 MOLDOVA - The First Moldova-Romania Postcrossing Meetup, Chişinău, 29 July 2017

3125

Right in the day in which Moldova celebrated the Constitution Day (adopted on 29 July 1994), a group of enthusiastic postcrossers from Moldova and Romania met for the first time in the flesh (online they have known each other for long time and have swaped, of course, many postcards). The meetup was held in Central Post Office of Moldova in Chişinău, where was also organized a collaborative exhibition of postcards from around the world.

3126

"Being from neighbouring countries with many traditions and a language in common (not to mention a hobby!), it just made sense for them to cross the border and meet… and also to try to make Postcrossing more popular in Moldova", somebody wrote on Postcrossing Blog. On this occasion was edited four special postcards.

3056 MOLDOVA - Orheiul Vechi Archaeological Landscape (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

3056 Church of the Complex Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei)

The Orheiul Vechi Archaeological Landscape lies along the gorge of the lower course of the Răut River, 14km upstream from its confluence with Dniester River, on the territory of the Trebujeni and Butuceni villages, and organically combines the natural landscape and vestiges of ancient civilizations. This is an extremely strategic position: the Răut links it with most of central and northern Moldova, while the Dniester is the most important trade route between northeast Carpathians and the Black Sea Basin.

2883-2885 MOLDOVA - Moldavian cuisine

Moldavians are Romanians, so of course that the Moldavian cuisine is part of the Romanian cuisine. It has been greatly influenced by Ottoman cuisine, but has also elements from other cuisines in the region. Probably the best known Moldavian dish is a well-known Romanian dish, mămăliga (a thick cornmeal mush). This is a staple food on the Moldovian table, served as an accompaniment to stews and meat dishes or garnished with cottage cheese or sour cream. Actually, it is often used as a substitute for bread.

There are quite a few different types of dishes, which are sometimes included under a generic term. For example, the category ciorbă includes a wide range of soups with a characteristic sour taste. These may be meat and vegetable soups, tripe (ciorbă de burtă) and calf foot soups, or fish soups, all of which are soured by borş (made from bran), zeamă de varză acră (sauerkraut juice), vinegar, or lemon juice. In Moldavia, the word borș means simply any sour soup. Chicken soup with meat, known as zeamă, is very popular.

A traditional holiday dish (especially for Christmas, and for wedding ceremonies) are sarmale, prepared from minced meat (usually pork, but also beef, mutton or poultry), mixed with rice and spiced, and rolled into leaves of cabbage or vine (fresh or pickled). The combination is then slow boiled, preferably in large clay pots. They are often served with sour cream, mămăligă, and hot pepper. Can be prepared also sarmale for fasting, replacing meat filler with rice, mushrooms or chopped vegetables.

I find extraordinary this set of postcards, and I can't abstain to reveal the link where you can find them all, so you can enjoy them.

2843 MOLDOVA (Chişinău) - Wine Festival in Chişinău

In the entire Moldavia, from the Carpathians to the Dniester, and from Ceremuş to the Black Sea, the growing of vines is a very old tradition, its viticulture dating back more than 6,000 years. In Middle Ages, it has grown significantly, becoming an important occupation for moldavians, and this was preserved until today. In 2009, Republic of Moldova (which is only a part of historic Moldavia) was the 22nd largest wine producing country in the world. Therefore, a wine festival to celebrate the winemaking traditions is even an obligation.

2672 SWEDEN (Stockholm) - Zoie Ghika, Moldavian Princess

The beginning of the 18th century was a period of material reconstruction in Sweden as the country tried to recover from the huge costs of King Charles XII's wars therefore relatively few commissions were forthcoming from the court, the church and the nobility. Many of the newly trained Swedish artists, among them Alexander Roslin (1718-1793), went abroad to search for a living. Thanks to contacts and letters of recommendation he became a court painter both in Bayreuth and in Parma.

1496 MOLDOVA (Chişinău) - National Museum of History of Moldova

Located in the historical center of Chişinău, the National Museum of History of Moldova owns 322,172 items, the diversity of which covers the history of Moldavia over the centuries, from prehistoric times to the present. From the very beginning, it was located in the historical building of the former Chişinău Boys’ Gymnasia No. 1, later the Boy’s Lyceum named after B.P. Hasdeu (in 1945-1963 in the premises there was housed the frontier detachment "Nistru", and in 1963-1977 - the Polytechnic Institute). The earthquake of 1977 caused serious damage, so that the old building was demolished and replaced by a new one, which retained only the exterior of the historical monument, built in eclectic style, and decorative elements of the gymnasia assembly hall, repeated in three domical rooms of the new building.

0727 MOLDOVA - Young women in traditional clothes (National Folk Dance Company "Joc")

As I wrote in more detail here, Moldavia (Moldova) is a historical region and a former principality, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester (Nistru) river. The western part of Moldavia is now part of Romania (47.5%) and the eastern part belongs to the Republic of Moldova (30.5%), while the northern and south-eastern parts are territories of Ukraine (22%). Majority of the population consists of Romanians, who speak a subdialect of the Romanian language. As a result, the Moldavian folk costume is generally the same all over historical Moldavia, and has, of course, many similarities with the one of the Romanians from the other historical regions. The main elements of the traditional costume for women in Moldavia are the shirt or chemise (cămaşă or ie), the straight apron (catrinţă), the wrap round skirt (fotă), and the veil (maramă).

0484 TRANSNISTRIA - Fortress of Tighina (Bender)

The first traces of a settlement on the site of the present city Tighina (Bender) dates from 1st-2nd centuries AD, during the Dacians. Subsequently, mentions about a city appear in the early Middle Ages, the shoal from Tighina being protected by a fortress from the 9th-11th centuries. During Cuman domination (11th-13th centuries), the city is already named Tighina (in Cuman language means "pass"). The city was first mentioned as an important customs post in a commerce grant issued by the Moldavian voivode Alexandru cel Bun to the merchants of Lviv in 1408. Later, Ştefan cel Mare builts a fortress of earth and wood (a palanca), conquered by the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1538. The Ottomans rename the city Bender, meaning "transient enhanced", and build here, within a year, under the supervision of the architect Koji Mimar Sinan, a fortress of stone.

0236 TRANSNISTRIA - A retired aircraft

To understand what is the deal with Transnistria (the name means Beyond the river Dniester), you should know some history of Moldavia (Moldova in romanian), and for that we must go back almost 700 years ago. Well, as is said in Chronicle from Putna, "in year 6867 from the creation of the world (1359 AD), with God willing, have started the country of Moldavia". Namely in 1352, Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Croatia, has set a mark between the Carpathians and Siret, intended to defend the Hungarian kingdom against Tartars invasions, and its leadership entrusted it to Dragoş, a romanian voievod (voivode) from Maramureş, at that time a possession of the crown.