Theme Week Romanian Riviera – Vama Veche
Tuesday, 21 January 2025 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische UnionCategory/Kategorie: General Reading Time: 6 minutes Vama Veche (historical names: Ilanlâk, Ilanlâc, Turkish: Ilanlık) is a village in Constanţa County, Romania, on the Black Sea coast, near the border with Bulgaria, at 28.57 E longitude, 43.75 N latitude. It is part of the commune of Limanu and in 2002, it had a population of 178. Vama Veche administratively belongs to the commune Limanu. The town is located in Dobrogea, on the shore of the Black Sea, less than one kilometer from the border with Bulgaria.
It was founded in 1811 by a few Gagauz families, originally being named “Ilanlîk”. Its current name literally means “Old border checkpoint”, named so after Southern Dobruja (the Cadrilater) had been included in Romania in 1913. In 1940, however, that region was returned to Bulgaria, and the village has since lain once again near the border, but the name stuck. Even in Communist Romania, Vama Veche had the reputation of a non-mainstream tourist destination, which has only grown since the Romanian Revolution of 1989. During the communist era, concern for border patrol sight lines spared Vama Veche the development that occurred in other Romanian Black Sea resorts. It became a hangout for intellectuals; for reasons that are not exactly clear, the generally repressive regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu chose to tolerate this countercultural oasis, as long as people had their identity papers with them. Accommodations consisted of tents or rooms rented from peasants or fishermen. While camping is theoretically not permitted, to this day, many visitors or semi-permanent residents still stay in tents on the beach.
In 2004, allegedly as a result of the campaign, legislation was enacted, limiting construction of new housing and roads or paving of existing roads. As of 2006, this seems to be enforced, with no visible new permanent structures being built within the preceding year. Given the fact that it was considered an outlaw’s beach and a nice hippie place to spend your vacation, for many years it was considered an aquatic heaven. But now, because the toxic waste is out of control, people tend to throw even old fridges and medical waste in the water. What is more, the DDT, a toxic pesticide that was used more than 15 years ago, is still present in the water. Thirty years ago, dolphins and sea horses were the main symbol of Vama Veche, but now, due to pollution they all are part of the endangered species. Also, in the 80’s, there were 20 species of commercial used fish in that area of the Black Sea, while now, there still are 5-6. In the annual report from the National Institute for Marine Development- Grigore Antipa, is stipulated that, as we speak, in Vama Veche are 220 species with different grades of endangerment, while 23% are extinct due to human and toxic waste. You can still go scuba diving if you want to see the last species standing. In 2012 it is still ideal for backpackers, the village provides numerous accommodation options including free camping on the beach.
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Read more on Wikivoyage Vama Veche and Wikipedia Vama Veche. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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