Romania Through the Eyes of the RRI Iasi Contest Winners

Anna and Kiril Nakhapetean talk about their experience in Romania

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România Internațional, 21.11.2019, 14:36

Radio Romania International has invited you this year to take part in a general knowledge contest dedicated to Iasi County. The contest enjoyed a lot of success, with hundreds upon hundreds of correct and complete answers. Anna Nakhapetean, of the Russian Federation, was the winner of the grand prize. She came to Romania with her husband, Kiril Nakhapetean, enjoying a nine day trip, full accommodation, between October 10 and 18, 2019, based at the Majestic Hotel in the city of Iasi. Anna and Kiril Nakhapetean were on their first visit to Romania, and were pleasantly surprised with what they saw, especially in Iasi itself. Here is Anna Nakhapetean talking about it:

“This trip to Romania was one of the most wonderful trips we have ever taken. We love traveling, we have visited many countries so far, but Romania left us with very pleasant impressions, which overturned all the stereotypes we had, which is why we will definitely come back.”

Anna Nakapetean went on to recall how the friendship started between listeners to the RRI Russian Service and Romania:

“Many years ago, about 15 years, when I was at work one day, I had a problem with my radio set, I couldnt tune in on FM stations, and I found RRI. I liked your broadcasts so much that I found your website and started listening on a regular basis. This is not the first contest I took part in, there have been many interesting contests. Also, your broadcasts are very interesting, talking about Romania, the Lipovan Russians, about traveling, with news from your country, and now I tune in to RRI daily.”

Staying on the topic of impressions about Romania and Iasi, we tried to find out what our listeners like or disliked. Here is Anna Nakhapetean:

“It is a very difficult question, because we liked everything. First of all, we liked the people, who are very friendly, then we liked all the museums, the beautiful castles, I also liked the fact that Romanians have so much faith. To tell you the truth, I liked everything, but I disliked that I gained weight, the food is great, and I couldnt turn anything down.”

While still under the strong impression following the trip to Iasi, Anna and Kiril Nakhapetean recounted:

“We went to the Agapia Holy Monastery, and when we walked into the church we saw the relics of Saint Seraphim of Sarov. This saint was born in a place called Dereyevo, where my mother is from, and I was greatly impressed to find in Romania this great saint of Russia. Another thing that left a strong impression was the celebration of St. Paraskeva, and the fact that, due to the love for this great saint, the two bishoprics, Orthodox and Roman Catholic, work so beautifully together. It is remarkable that you have so many churches and monasteries, even in the smallest of villages. Also, with regard to the Orthodox church, in Romanian churches the faithful are received with great kindness and warmth, I have never seen a woman being turned away and not allowed in the church because she didnt have her head covered or because she wore trousers.”

Knowing that the winners of the contest dedicated to Iasi are passionate about traveling, we wanted to know what were some special things that they noticed about Romania. This time, the answer was provided by Kiril:

“I would like to say that Romania has a memorable and special architecture, both in terms of historic buildings and new ones. Even new apartment buildings with many stories have a specific architecture, and are different from all that I have seen in other countries. In iasi I was most impressed by the two libraries, which are veritable castles, while the university library is like a museum. The library and the city are true works of art. We have seen many beautiful sites, because on our trip from Bucharest to Iasi we had the opportunity to see rural Romania. On this occasion, I would like to thank the staff at RRI for the excellent way in which they organized our trip. It would be enough to mention that the car in which we traveled registered about 1,500 km, therefore we had the possibility to see everything we wished for. In terms of our expectations, we didnt think the travel schedule would be so rich, and for that we thank you deeply. I would also like to emphasize that the wine in Romania is just wonderful. I understand now that the quality of the wine has to do with the climate and the fertile soil, but I also believe that this quality of the wine has to do with the kind soul of Romanians, who put a lot of love in making this beverage.”

Asked what five words they would use to describe Romania, the winner of the Iasi contest answered without hesitation: colorful, tasty, hospitable, sincere, and kind.