Danube Delta - Major Attractions and Sights

BABADAG is a town situated 23 miles south of Tulcea, on the shore of a

lake, at the foot of forests by the same name. A name of oriental origin,
Babadag can be translated as " the Father of the Mountains". A Turkish
minority are still part of the town's population amounting to 9,000. Art
lovers may like to visit the town's art museum, a museum house of oriental
character, a mosque dating from the 16th century, which is actually the
oldest monument of Moslem architecture in Romania, with a spire of 23 m in
height, as well as the Kalaigi drinking fountain (19th century). For those
interested in history, there are to be found ruins of a settlement dating
back to the Iron Age over which traces of life in La Tcne (4th century
b.C.) and subsequently of the Roman-Byzantine epoch (6th century A.D.)
were superimposed.

Around June 15 there is a great picnic in the lime tree forest in the proximity of the town.
Babadag is a useful base for exploring the west shore of lake Razim.
There is a bus-service to Enisala and Jurilovca.
South of Babina, at about 10 km distance, there is the lake Rosca which harbours geese,
egrets, storks and Europe's largest pelican colony.
Bisericuta, an island on lake Razim, is located approximately 6,5 miles
east of Unirea. Remains of settlements dating from the Bronze Age and
Byzantine times can still be seen.
Caraorman ("the black forest") is a village situated on the sandbank of
the same name, south of the locality of Crisan (Sulina Arm). Around it are
sanddunes nearly four feet high and an oak tree forest of a tropical
aspect, which is now a strict reserve, protecting wildlife such as owls,
eagles, falcons, wildcats, boars and wolves.
Chilia Veche is a village situated 50 miles north-east of Tulcea on Chilia
Arm. It was one of the earliest deltaic human settlements known as
Achillea during the Greek antiquity, as Licostomo (two wolf's mouths) by
the Genoese, and as Eskil-Kalé during the Turkish domination. In the 15th
century it was one of the main Moldavian towns. In 1479 Prince Stephen the
Great rebuilt the walled city at Chiliá (today in Ukraine) using 800
bricklayers and 17,000 workers. It is the most striking example of the
degree of development of the construction techniques reached in Moldavia
in the 15th century. At that time, Chilia Veche was situated at about 3
 miles from the seashore; at present it lies 25 miles from the sea. Its

monumental church, with steeples of over 90 feet high, is visible from

quite a distance. At 8 km farther, the hamlet of Câslita lies at the end
of a picturesque track, which runs through an old forest inhabited by
foxes and wild boar.
Crisan, a village situated on the banks of Sulina Canal, is the main
starting point for a trip both toward the north (Matita, Letea) and toward
the south (Caraorman, Litcov, Rosu-Rosulet). A monument here commemorates
inauguration of the Sulina Canal (1859). It has a fisheries station, a
hotel, and a camping.
Denistepe (Dealul Mare) lies north to Babadag (876 feet in elevation), and
its name is of oriental origin, i.e. "the hillock of the seas". A legend
has it that the Argonauts who had set out in search of the Golden Fleece
from Colchis moored their ship here by tying it to the iron ring fixed at
the top of nearby rocks. Scientists from Grusia investigated the tale of
the Golden Fleece and discovered the method used by the ancient
inhabitants of Colchis in order to get gold from the rivers of the
Caucasus by means of a ram's hide tanned in a special manner.
Enisala is a village situated 5 miles east of Babadag, and about 1 km from
the ruined Heracleia Citadel, which overlooks lake Razim. Along its
history, it was a Getic-Thracian settlement, later on the greatest Dacian
necropolis in Dobrudja, and further on a Roman military camp. What can be
seen today are the ruins of the Byzantine fortress of Heracleia (645-650
A.D.) rebuilt by the Genoese in the 13th century to secure trade at the
mouths of the Danube. At some point, it was a Turkish fortification, and
in the 14th century it was ruled by Mircea the Old, Prince of Wallachia.
It is an important station for the artificial breeding of fish.
Gura Portitei is a village of a few Lipovani reed huts which connects the
waters of the Razim-Golovita complex with the sea about 7 miles from
Unirea. It has been marked on European maps ever since 1710. There is a
fisheries station, a campsite, chalets and a restaurant. It is a peaceful,
secluded place sought by Romanian intellectuals, and the starting point
for those who go to the Periteasca-Leahova seabird reserve, to the north.
Independenta (former Murighiol), a village situated 25 miles south-east of
Tulcea, is placed at the main turn of the Sfântu Gheorghe branch. A health
resort of local interest, it is also named Morughiol, i.e. "the violet
lake", because of the colour of the lake, whose mud and water have
therapeutic properties. Nearby salt marshes, there is a natural reserve,
which is the favourite nesting place of wading birds. One can reach Sfântu
 Gheorghe branch by boat. In the vicinity are the remains of a Genoese

fortification. A camping ground is also available.

At 65 km to Constanta, Istria or HISTRIA, whose name derives from the
ancient name of the Danube - Istros, was founded by Greek colonists
(merchants and sailors) come from Milet (a city situated on the western
coast of Asia Minor in today's Turkey). By the end of the 1st century B.C.
the Romans took over, so that the traces that make up present-day the
archaeological site today like defence walls, squares, temples, basilicas,
thermae, shops, workshops, household tools and items, remnants of
frontispieces, of other architectural elements, and of streets evince a
Roman-Byzantine urban organization and a flourishing civilization (5-6th
centuries A.D.) which lasted until the 7th century A.D., when the town was
left by its inhabitants and fell into oblivion.
Letea is a village on the sandbank by the same name, south to the village
of Periprava (Chilia branch). In its proximity is the Letea forest, very
much like a tropical forest, with grey oaks tangled with lianas, elms and
poplars, which make up a strict reserve inhabited by falcons, owls,
black-winged stills, avocets and red-crested pochards, white-tailed eagles
and wildcats, as well as snakes. The forest is surrounded by sanddunes,
where tortoises, lizards and some 1800 species of insects are to be found.
Mahmudia, a village situated 22 miles south-east of Tulcea on the road to
Independenta, is a river port. Remains of a Roman-Byzantine fortress named
Salsovia - Sunrise, dating back to 322 B.C., are still to be seen. The
village is now the chief town of a bishopric. It is claimed that this is
the place where Licinnius was killed by order of Constantine the Great,
with whom he shared the throne of Byzantium in A.D. 325.
Maliuc is a village on the Sulina branch of the Danube, and an important
starting point for trips to Mile 23 village and lakes Fortuna and Papadia.

Mile 23 is a typical fishing settlement located in the first loop of the

"Great M" (on the "Old Danube"). The village is made up of reed cottages.
Men's main occupation is fishing, while their wives tend the gardens of
vegetables, the orchards of plum, quince and pear trees, and the
vineyards. Golden orioles (which nest in pear trees) and sladder-frogs are
the commonest forms of wildlife around there. It has a fisheries station
and is a locality of high touristic interest for trips to lakes Leghianca,
Matita, and Rosca, and to the sandbanks of Stipoc and Chilia, which are
about 7.5 miles from the village of Crisan.
Pebiteasca - Leahova fauna reserve is situated in the lagoon area of
Razim-Sinoe lakes (3,900 ha); its fauna is formed of coast birds. The area
includes a series of sand banks and the lakes of Leahova Mare and Mica,
Periteasca, Pahane and Cosna.
Periprava, an ancient fishery and trade centre (Licostoma) is now a
village situated 65 miles north-east of Tulcea, in the proximity of the
third and last inland delta of Chilia branch. A typical fishing settlement
of tourist interest, it is a starting point for trips towards Letea
sandbank and forest, to Lakes Merhei and Matita, to the Lopatna Canal, as
well as to Mile 23 village.
Perisor - Zatoane is a natural reserve south of Sfântu Gheorghe. On 14,200
ha, numerous swans, pelicans and cormorants find their nesting place. The
interest in this reserve lies in the Zatonul Mare and Zatonul Mic lakes.
Popina is an island in the northern part of Lake Razim which is also known
as Pochina on 19th century maps. Its surface covers 225 acres; its height,
a record for the whole Danube Delta, is 154 feet in elevation. It is a
natural microreserve - a place where red winter ducks and shore swallows
like to nestle. In November and December, Lake Razim's western shoreline
is invaded by a million white-fronted geese and 20,000 red-breasted geese
(half the world population), which come from arctic Russia, and stay
there, or around Istria farther to the south, until the reedbeds freeze.
Rosca - Buhaiova - Hrecisca is a fauna reserve situated in the Matita
depression, between the Letea and the Chilia sandbanks; it has a surface
of 15,400 ha. This is a spring nesting place for the greatest pelican
colony in Europe. Amidst its lush vegetation, there are colonies of
egrets, spoon bills and yellow herons.
Sfântu Gheorghe, a village situated at the spot where the branch of the
Danube by the same name flows into the sea, lies 70 miles south-east of
Tulcea. Mentioned in records as early as 1318, the settlement was later
used as a military base by the Ottoman fleet. Its typical deltaic
architecture and the possibility of eating one's fill of black caviar
(sturgeon eggs) arouse tourists' interest. It has a fisheries station for
the processing of black caviar, a new lighthouse (187 feet high), and an
old lighthouse (1856). It has the most extensive sea beach on the littoral
of the Black Sea. In its proximity are the Saraturile Sandbank and Sacalin
Island (formed in 1897), which is a microdelta of Sfântu Gheorghe branch.
SULINA, the second town of the delta after Tulcea, is an important river
and sea port situated at the spot where the river branch by the same name
flows into the sea. The town has a shipyard, light manufacturing, and a
food industry. Around 950 it was a Byzantine port by the name of Sellina,
a Genoese port in 1318, and later on a naval base for the Ottomans. Early
in the 20th century it became a free port, the Porto Franco described at
length in the novel Europolis by the Romanian writer Jean Bart (Eugeniu
Botez). In 1802, a still existent building hosted the European Commission
for the Danube. An old lighthouse of typical deltaic architecture (dating
from the 19th century) stands in the middle of the town. The town has a
hotel and an extensive maritime beach.
Troesmis Fortress, at 30 km from Turcoaia village, is a Thracian-Getic
fortress mentioned in the 3rd century B.C. during the conflict between
Lysimach and Dromichet. In the Roman era it became a strong military
centre. Between the 1st century and the 7th century A.D. it was one of the
greatest towns in Dobrudja.
 The gateway to the Danube Delta is the town of TULCEA, a port situated on
the Tulcea channel which splits towards east into the main branches of the
Danube, namely the Sulina channel in the middle and the Sfântu Gheorghe
one in the southern part of the Danube Delta.
The town, spread on seven hillocks just like the famous Rome, was
inhabited ever since the 7th c.B.C.. The ancient Castrum Aegyssus
mentioned by Herodotus and later on by Ovid, was founded by the Greeks in
the 3rd century B.C. and conquered by the Romans two centuries later.
Written documents mention the name of Tulcea in the 17th century when it
was well known due to its numerous wind mills. At 334 km distance from
Bucharest and 123 km away from Constanta, Tulcea is nowadays an industrial
town, a sea and river port, with a population of about 110,000
inhabitants.
A visit to the museums in town, namely the Delta Museum, the
Ethnographical Museum, the Art Museum, the History and Archeology Museum,
as well as to the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral and to the Turkish Mosque of
Azizie, or a walk to the Independence Monument Hill may provide
specialists as well as non specialists with useful and interesting
information regarding the natural environment along with the cultural
background of the town of Tulcea, and of its surroundings.
Tulcea is also host to two festivals, namely the International Folk
Festival of the Danubian Countries held in August and a winter carnival in
December.
Unirea (former Jurilovca), a settlement on the shore of Lake Golovita, is
a typical fishing village founded in the 18th century. Its architecture,
costumes, and customs are of Lipovan tradition. It has a museum and a
hotel. From the port of the fisheries station, motorboats start at regular
hours for the tourist centre of Portita. At Dolojman Cape are the remains
of a Greek town, probably Argamum (Orgame), the earliest ancient
settlement on the territory of Romania mentioned in written documents
during the time of Hecateus of Milletus (5th-6th centuries B.C.)
Uzlina, a village 40 miles south-east of Tulcea, is one of the few fishing
settlements on the left bank of Sfântu Gheorghe branch. Here are the
central offices of the Biosphere Reserve of the Danube Delta and of the
Cousteau Foundation. The Isac and Uzlina lakes to the north are protected
areas for pelican colonies.