In my eyes, Oltenia is more than a place of exquisite pieces of architecture placed in the most wonderful natural environment. It is a place teeming with all kinds of stories. I had the chance to hear some of them, with zmei and saints who descended among people, or the first dwellers of those places who made the hollows of huge ancient trees their homes. It is a place where locals can be seen working before sunrise, and are still working after sunset. It is where a person who passes away is raised three crosses: one on their grave in the graveyard; a second one at the well to quench the late villager’s thirst when they step to the underworld; and the last one in the hearth of the village, next to a small wooden chapel.
Oltenia is a land that I took so much pleasure in seeing again, and where I want to come back some day… and another day….
