(Reply to https://conferencealertsintraders.com/ot/letter-to-marinica-tiberiu-schiopu-romania/ ) While I am writing these lines I rewind the time we spent together, those days were full of joy and represented my first meeting with a person from Turkey. So, bearing in mind my keen interest in Oriental cultures, one can easily understand my willingness to meet representatives of different Eastern peoples. I remember that you taught me how to prepare a Turkish tea properly, and a little Turkish grammar (very important topics for me, by the way). I also recall your surprise when you heard me saying “Töbe yarabbim!” to my aunt.
We spent memorable days in Sakarya and Istanbul. In Sakarya University I met the wonderful InTraders team and my Indian mother, and we all kept in touch ever since, being so close, as family members. I can say that the InTraders Conferences not only brings together academicians from all over the world but also creates solid bonds similar to familial ties.
I want to mention that Romanians haven’t got a tea culture, but we cook “börek” and it is called “plăcintă” in Romanian, with different kinds of fillings (cheese, spinach, apples, etc.). By the way, the Romanian cuisine has many Turkish influences: we cook “çorba” (“ciorbă”), “sarma” (“sarmale”), “köfte” (“chiftele”), “yoğurt” (“iaurt”), etc. I like to prepare “gözleme”, it is delicious, although people here don’t cook this dish (or maybe the Turks in Dobrudja use to cook it). Besides the culinary similarities, there are a lot of linguistic borrowings in Romanian from Turkish (nowadays we use about 1000 words originating from the Turkish language), words related to food, parts of the house, adjectives, etc.
You asked me about the life of Romanians…. I can say that life here is sometimes easy, sometimes not so easy (especially because of the politicians – a class of people who create more division than unity – as all over the world). Indeed, many young Romanians (especially the highly educated ones) emigrated to Western Europe and the USA seeking a better life (a great loss for our country). As a result, Romania’s population declined and got old as well. We hope that the political and social situation in Romania will get better soon. You mentioned the exchange rates, I am not very good at economics, but here a euro is about 4,7 lei („leul” is the Romanian currency) and a US dollar is about 4,2 lei.
I am glad that you enjoyed your stay in Romania, and I also hope we’ll see each other here soon, again. Yes, the Danube is a beautiful river, especially in the summertime. You can come here and visit again the Danube and Decebalus’ statue, the beginning of August I think it’s the best period of the year: warm weather, a lot of fruits and vegetables….
I am looking forward to hearing from you! May God keep us all in good health! Inshallah!
Best regards,
Mari
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