Iasi - capital of Moldavia, the forgotten region (Iasi (Romania))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Iasi (Romania)
Date:	20/05/08 (33 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, good nightlife, some great buildings

Disadvantages: Bit out of the way

Iasi (pronounced YASH), is a city in Eastern Romania (Moldavia), it's the 2nd largest city in Romania and lies just several km's west of the Moldovan border.

Getting There
===========

Trains conveniently connect Iasi with the rest of the country and Chisinau in Moldova as do mini buses. If you are by car then the roads from Suceava or Moldova are undoubtedly better than the boucing road that I hitchhiked along from Braila-Barlad-Vaslui to Iasi. I also recommend hitchhikers to camp up by dark as there is no traffic on this road at night!

The city is well set up with public transport, buses, trams and taxis grace just about every route.

History
=====

Strangely enough little is known about the early history of Iasi, the name is thought to have derived from either the Sarmatian tribe Jazyges or the Alanic tribe Jassi both from Iran. The first documented mention of the city is not until 1408 but with buildings such as the Armenian Church pre-dating that, it leaves the city in a cloud of mystery and historians can only speculate and look for clues.

Iasi would be in the centre of Russo-Turkish conflicts over the next years and the city was burnt in 1513 by the Tatars and in 1538 by the Ottomans.

In the Mid 1500's Iasi replaced Suceava as the capital of Moldavia, Ioan Iacob Heraclid a Kretian prince of Moldavia set up the first school and Lutheran church of the time. 80 years later Vasile Lupu set up the first school where Romanian was used as opposed to Greek and shortly afterwards the city was once again burnt to the ground by the Russian Imperialists.

During the 1700's, the main notable happenings were the city being doomed with the plague in the 30's and peace for the city in 1792 when the Treaty of Yassy (also known as the peace of Iasi) was signed by Prince Bezborodko and Grand Vizier Yusuf-Pasha to end the 6th Russo-Turkish War.

You could forgive the citizens of this town for hating their neighbours though as the city became under Greek revolutionary occupation of Alexander Ypsilanti and the Filiki Eteria (society of friends) which sparked a Turkish attack once again in 1822 and in 1844 there was a mammoth of a fire that devastated much of the city. Wooden houses were replaced with bricks and mortar in the 1860's and by now the city had over 1/3 of a Jewish population, who had immigrated from Russia and Galicia between the 16th century and mid 19th century. Having been the capital of Moldavia for several centuries, the city then became the joint capital of the Union of Moldavia and Wallachia for several years but it was finally moved to Bucharest when the country was recognised by the name of Romania in 1862.

During World War 1, Iasi once again became the proud capital of Romania in 1916 as Bucharest was occupied by the Central Powers (Germany, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungary)
but it was returned two years later when the Germans were defeated.

Like much of Eastern Europe, Iasi took a hell of a beating in WW2, as it was the centre of battles between the German army and the Romanian army as well as the Soviets in 1944 and it eventually fell to the Soviet Army. The Jews in particular had a rough time as elsewhere in Europe and the Romanian Army leader who was an ally to the Germans used the Soviet attacks on the city as an excuse to get rid of the Jews who were accused of aiding the Bolsheviks. 14,000 were killed and the remaining 16,000 were deported. Today there are little more than 500 remaining Jews and 1 working synagogue, however Iasi was the center of Jewish cultural revival in the 1960's.

Sights
=====

Despite many great buildings being demolished during Soviet times, the city still has some wonderful structures such as the neo-Gothic Palace of Culture, Trei Ierharhi Church, Golia Church, The National Theatre and the "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theatre. There are also several gardens like Copou Park and according to one of the truck drivers I had hitchhiked with it's also home to the finest girls in Romania! I don't beg to differ!

Nightlife
======
Much of the nightlife revolves around the bars, clubs and restaurants around the Campus, there is something for everyone there and the prices are cheap. Expect to pay about 4 lei for a beer and perhaps 7 for a kebab (one of the strangest I've ever had with ketchup inside!). Entry to clubs is generally free. Because of the enormous population of students, you can have one of the best nights out in Romania for little money in Iasi. Many people speak English, French or Italian, if not 2 or all of them.


My opinion
=========

Iasi is well worth a visit, it's a bit out of the way as tourists prefer to stay in Transylvania or a long the coast but Moldavia is a beautiful region with fine wine and is considerably cheaper than the rest of the country. Combine it with a visit to Moldova, the northern monasteries near Suceava or the Danube Delta. I don't know much about accomodation there as I stayed with friends but you should be able to rent a room from touts at the train station for no more than 40 lei.

Summary: Sometimes you've got to travel far for a ketchup kebab!