CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

More than 2500 years have passed since on the place of today’s Constanta there was a settlement founded by the Greek navigators and merchants who came from Millet.

More than 2500 years have passed since on the place of today’s Constanta there was a settlement founded by the Greek navigators and merchants who came from Millet. In their voyages at sea, the Greek navigators have been attired by the shelter offered by the bay and peninsula of the Black Sea shore, as well as by the good trade opportunities offered by the natives, Getaes. The most flourishing period of this city’s fortress, named Tomis, is the middle of the 1st century A.D. In this time many temples were built, big buildings, public squares and baths, marble shops, streets and new districts. However, the flourishing fortress was devastated by the Avars in 601 A.D. Some centuries after, on the ruin of Tomis, a small development of anglers began, which gradually in the following centuries became Constanta. Our bus will depart from the harbour and after only a few minutes we will arrive in the old city of Constanta, at the Ovid Square, named so after the famous Roman poet Ovid, exiled here by the Roman emperor in 8 A.D. His statue, built in 1888 faces the sea. Right behind the statue lays the archaeological museum where we will make our first stop. With collections of prehistorical Greek, Roman, Byzantine medieval archaeology makes this one of the richest museums in the country. Among the statues exhibited here, the most famous are those of Fortuna Goddess and Pontos God (protectors of the town) and of the Glycon Snake, the protector of the house and family. On leaving the museum we will walk further through the old centre, pass by the Turkish mosque, which with its 155 feet high Minaret makes it the most important Mosque in Constana. Although orthodox, Romania has many other religious minorities. After a few minutes walk we will arrive at the orthodox Catherdral of St. Peter and Paul where we will be introduced to the world of the Orthodoxism. The walking tour ends at the Casino, a beautiful building on a cliff directly by the sea, with a beautiful view over the harbour of Constanta. The port of Constanta is the main Romanian port and the largest port in the Black Sea. It has a geostrategical position being located on the route of two pan-European transport corridors; river corridor VII (Danube) and the railroad corridor IV. From here, we will reboard our buses and be taken on a sightseeing tour of Constanta. The road will take us to Mamaia, the Romanian Black Seas Pearl, the most beautiful resort on the coast. Here we will stop at the resorts centre where we will have the opportunity to take a swim in the sea, walk on the beach, go shopping in the many shops situated here or enjoy a coffee on one of the numerous terraces with a view over the sea. After our free time in Mamaia we will make our way back to our awaiting ship in Constanta. Please note that there is only approximately 20 minutes of walking involved in this tour however you will encounter approximately 8 steps in the museum, 10 steps in the cathedral and 30 steps down to the casino.