I had the pleasure to be the photo guide for a young family from Oman, for two weeks, at the end of April-early May. They asked me to choose some areas that I love in Romania and to accompany them. In the beginning, we visited some villages near Brasov, the town I live in. The following week, I chose to spend it in Maramures. You may have seen in the Portfolio Section on this site, that I have a special part designated to this county. I feel like being home, every time I go there, although each encounter seems different to me. The traditional outfit, the dialect, the customs, the architecture, the beautiful traditional wooden houses, that unfortunately are less and less, the food, the mountains in the area, everything is different. I love it! And most of all, I love the villagers. Their hospitality, the pride displayed in wearing the traditional clothes on Sundays or holidays, the way they enjoy your visit. Well, I admit that I find Maramures much transformed one visit to another. An old wooden house disappears, a new and modern house appears in its place, the elders die, the young people go to foreign countries, the fairs are losing their traditionalism, an old church in which I took part in some religious services in the past, is now closed and forgotten… But somehow, I do not have any clue how, like an old man who loves life and it is stubborn to continue, Maramures finds resources to carry on. It proves to its visitors, but especially to himself, that some things will never be lost! That its essence is too deeply rooted in every village hearth, in each field planted and grown, in every man living there. I am very fond of that special something only Maramures has. I am confident that it will never be lost!
