The 50 Greatest Bike Rides of the World, by Sarah Woods

The 50 Greatest Bike Rides of the World, by Sarah Woods (2016) contains a chapter on the Romanian Carpathian Mountains (pp. 103-108).  While mentioning other wildlife, much of the chapter focuses on the brown bears, with the disquieting information that they can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour in short bursts, faster than most cyclists (and definitely me).

In this beautiful region Woods classifies the scenery as ‘meditative’, the words ‘traffic-free’ making it sound like a slice of heaven.  There is little detail on road conditions other than a reference to rough country roads and high ridges requiring the need to use low gears, but the endurance level is listed at moderate, probably accurate for most non-ursine situations, though one would have to pick the route carefully.

The chapter is rather disappointing as there as much on bears as there is on the countryside through which Woods passed.  There is no map showing her route and she does not mention any places she visited, nor the way of life of the people one might meet.  She does though provide details of the websites of the Romanian Tourist Board and Cycling Romania, which will be of greater use.

Weather conditions, naturally variable in the mountains, are not discussed, nor the problems of cycling at altitude.  We are not even told in which bit of the Carpathians she was: apparently, while each range offers its own unique cycling experience, the Southern Carpathians are the most popular, with mountain passes and stunning vistas.  She could have said much more about this region and its cycling potential, but the format limits each route to a few pages, and those at her disposal were not well spent.

Mihnea Turcu

Amos Chapple has written an article for RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty about Romanian photographer Mihnea Turcu.  Turcu worked in banking in Bucharest but decided to give up the rat race in 2013 to pursue photography full time.  This came about because of a visit he made in 2009 to an elderly gentleman living in Maramureș, described only as a ‘pixie-like villager’ (an apt description judging by his portrait).

The pair talked about life and spirituality, a conversation which prompted a change of direction for Turcu.  Already interested in taking photographs in rural areas, quitting his office job led to a more fulfilling career combining commercial work to pay the bills with forays into the Romanian countryside to record the changing way of life.

He gained a great deal of recognition after he changed his strategy on Instagram in the autumn of 2021, moving from only posting what he considered his most accomplished technical images to treating social media as a kind of journal, including everything that meant something to him irrespective of quality, and adding commentary expanding on the photographs to bring out not only their meaning but the emotional impact.  This contextualisation adds a great deal to the value of the pictures.

Chapple notes that Turcu looks at all aspects of rustic life, its beauty and the deprivation, old customs hanging on, deep faith, the elderly left behind as young people migrate away.  He adds that the pictures are popular with the Romanian diaspora which left these areas for economic reasons, which is understandable as they are so evocative – though Turcu is pitching at an international audience on Instagram by writing his captions in English (albeit many of the comments are in Romanian).

There is a close engagement with his subjects, to the extent of being able to coax elderly ladies into revealing their ages, probably quite a feat.  Some individuals hold frames full of old family photographs, or of their younger selves, providing a poignant glimpse of their histories.  The overwhelming attributes he captures are toughness, dignity and humour.  As well as Romanians, he has photographed Ukrainians living near the border with Ukraine, not a community that features much in work made in Romania.

Sadly the ‘pixie-like villager died in January 2023, aged 99, but Turcu plans to produce a book based on the photographs he took and conversations they shared, seeing his death as emblematic of the loss of close knowledge of the natural world that depopulation brings with it.  If he does, perhaps we will learn the villager’s name.  Looking through Turcu’s Instagram account, it must be said that he made a good decision when he left the world of banking to do something useful with his life.

Turcu not only photographs the rural areas of Romania, he has also recorded beach life at Vama Veche, a resort on the Black Sea coast near Constanța, which he has been visiting since 1999.  Judging from his photographs and Lavinia Dragomir’s commentary, it has developed from a peaceful, rather hippyish, retreat in which to commune with nature into a busier resort possessing a more commercialised vibe, with music, stalls, and tents crowded together on the beach.

 

References

Chapple, Amos. ‘Romance And Realism: The Former Banker Photographing Rural Romania’, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, 28 January 2023. https://www.rferl.org/a/romania-rural-photographer-mihnea-turcu-instagram/32240985.html

Dragomir, Lavinia. ‘Mihnea Turcu, fotograful care regăseşte Vama Veche în privirile oamenilor’ (’Mihnea Turcu, the photographer who finds Vama Veche in people's eyes’), Europa FM, 7 August 2017. https://www.europafm.ro/mihnea-turcu-fotograful-care-regaseste-vama-veche-in-privirile-oamenilor-galerie-foto/

Minhea Turcu on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mihnea__turcu/