Winners of the RRI quiz “Govora Spa, a Healing Oasis”

We give you the winners of the RRI quiz Govora Spa, a Healing Oasis

România Internațional, 16.05.2015, 14:29

Radio Romania
invited you to participate in a new prize-winning contest entitled Govora Spa,
a healing oasis, devoted to one of the most famous spas in Valcea County, in
southern Romania. By closing date, April 30, we received 258 correct and
complete answers.

The Grand Prize
is a 7-night stay with full accommodation in a double room, with six days of
spa treatment available. This includes two daily sessions between June 15 and
30, 2015 at Hotel Palace, housed in a historic building erected between 1911
and 1914 in Govora Spa, Valcea County. As usual, the winners will have to
provide for their own international transport to and from Romania, and cover
the prospective expenses related to obtaining a visa for Romania.

The contest was
sponsored by Hotel Palace – SC Baile Govora SA, and was organized by the
Valcea County Council, Govora Spa Town Hall, the Ramnic Archbishopric and the
Valcea branch of the Union of Fine Artists.

Before we let
you know the names of the winners, here are the questions again, together with
the correct answers, which you were able to find out from our shows, from the
RRI web site as well as our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ accounts:

When was Hotel
Palace built in Govora Spa? The answer was between 1911 and 1914.

What is the
Govora Spa resort best known for? Answer: its waters rich in iodine and sodium
chloride, as well as the sapropelic mud recommended for the treatment of
breathing, rheumatic or digestive disorders.

What is the name
of the city acting as seat for the county where Govora Spa is located in?
Correct answer: Ramnicu Valcea.

Name five
tourist attractions in Valcea County. For this answer you could choose from
among tens of sites presented in our broadcasts or online, including the spa
resorts, well-known monasteries, traditional pottery shops in Horezu and
various museums in the region.

And now, here
are the winners: the 30
honorable mentions offered by our sponsors went to:

Herbert Jörger, of
Germany, Mohamed El-Sayed Abdel-Rahim and Mary Magdi Yousef, from Egypt,
Abdelilah Boubchir, Algeria, Volodimir Bondar, from Ukraine, Idriss Bou
Oudina, of Morrocco, who
wrote to the French Section, Nina Şevciuk, of Belarus, Dmitri Kotenev and
Vasili Guliaev, from Russia, Xue Fei, Li Lili, Fan Hongjie, He Xige, all 4 from
China, Enric Ballester Burcet, José Luis Corcuera and Juan Franco Crespo, all 3
from Spain, Massimo de Muro, Marco di Leo, Raffaele Ponticelli and Agide
Melloni, all 4 from Italy, Bernardino Atilio Orellana, of Japan, Raif Chaaban, of Lebanon, Hamad
Kiani, of Pakistan, Fachri, of Indonesia, Chitturi Vamsi, from India, M. A.
Waheed, of Oman, Henk Poortvliet, from the Netherlands, Mofizur Rahman, from
Bangladesh, Hans Verner Lollike, of Denmark, and Syed Ali Akbar, of Pakistan.

We had 20 3rd prizes
that were awarded to the following friends of RRI:

Werner Hoffmann, of
Germany,Abdelillah Izou, of Morrocco, Olexandr Kozlenko,
from Ukraine, Paul Jamet, of France, Prigodici Nikolai, of Belarus, Ji Yuan, of China, Miguel Ramón Bauset, from
Spain, David Iurescia, from Argentina, Cinzia Colo and Stefano Riccardi, both
from Italy, Jaroslaw Jedrzejczak, from Poland, Obaid Alam
and Asghar Shah, both from Pakistan, Radhakrishna Pillai N and P.
Sivashanmugham, both from India, Ashik Eqbal Tokon, of Bangladesh, Keith
Simmonds, from France, Kamlesh Gautam, Sourodeep Sarkar and Chaitali Sarkar,
all 3 from India.

Obaid Alam, of Pakistan, explained
why he participated in this contest: I am short wave listener, I listen to RRI
amongst many short-wave radio stations. I have become so much inquisitive about
Romania after tuning in to RRI. I have a strong desire to visit this great
country and meet its people. I am convinced that there is so much to see and
learn in Romania. Whenever I come across a quiz about Romania I immediately
take part in it irrespective of winning or not.

Also Keith Simmonds, from France
explained briefly: I just like competing,
especially when it gives me an opportunity to explore new ideas, new lands and
their history and culture. I particularly like to follow Romania on all the
various media because of the beauty and diversity of its cultural landscape and
the uniqueness of its people.

We also had 20 2nd
prizes that went to the following listeners of RRI:

Iacob Corneliu George, from Romania, Bezazel Ferhat Ben Rabeh, of Algeria,
Eugeniusz Krzemieńczucki, who wrote to the Ukrainian Section, Meriem Sabine
Mrane, from Algeria, who wrote to the French Section, Vladimir Andrianov, a listener of the Russian programs, Alexandr
Abramov, from Russia, Shan Jinhai, of China, Roberto Álvarez Galloso, of the
US, and Adervall Lima Gómez, from Brasil (both wrote to the Spanish Section),
Simona Baj, Gabriele Meregalli and
Cristina Risso, all 3 from Italy, Jahangir Alam Manto,
from Bangladesh, Surendra Kumar, Binarani Mondal and S. B. Sharma, all 3 from
India, Matthew Weitendorf and Weldon Walles, from the US, Christer Brunstrom,
of Sweden, and Sola James Agboola, from Nigeria, who wrote to the English
Section.

Here is
what Weldon Walles,
from the US, wrote: I have been a loyal listener for many years. I am a writer
of crime novels and often listen to RRI while I am writing. The beautiful
landscape, architecture and culture inspire my writing, i sometimes get lost in
the worlds I create by wandering through the streets of imaginary cities that
are influenced by the wonders of Romania. I most often listen to the program
Romanian without tears and the news. I also enjoy the contests and try to
participate as often as I can. I hope to visit Romania one day and be further
inspired in my writing as I believe that experiencing the places that we admire
gives a whole new appreciation of what inspires us.

Jahangir
Alam Manto, of Bangladesh,
also gave his arguments for participating in this contest: What motivated me
in deciding to participate in this contest is quite simple, being an ardent
supporter and regular listener of Radio Romania International over last 26
years I have developed an affinity for Romania and its people which I hope will
one day culminate in me personally exploring this historic land and
experiencing the warm wonderful hospitality of proud Romanians. I specially
interested in traditional treatment technique. I have listened, read articles
about Govora spa through RRI, where I have learned that at present spa tourism
has become a major segment of the international tourist market and Romania has
about 34 spa resorts. […] RRI is one of my favourite short wave stations, because
of its commitment to the media. Whereas other stations around the world have
cut back on broadcasting and facilities, RRI has done the opposite. I
appreciate this effort and will support the station into the future as long as
I am alive. Participation in RRI contest is an opportunity to explore the
Romania.

Sola
James Agboola, of Nigeria, wrote: The reasons for which I compete and follow RRI programs on air or online
is that I trust the organisers. I believe that the competition will be free,
fair and credible. Above all, I love the rich contents of RRI programs.

Christer
Brunstrom, from Sweden, also provided his arguments for participating in the
contest devoted to Govora:I enjoy taking part in your Contests as they provide a
lot of information about Romania. I use your home page and the Internet to find
the answers to your questions. I have been a listener to RRI since the early
1960s and I find the station to be an excellent source of information about
your country, its people and Culture. I am also very fond of Romanian Music
which you frequently include on your programmes.

From India, Binarani Mondal,
wrote: During my school-hood I
have heard the name of Nadia Elena Comăneci, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976
Summer Olympics and wondered that she was the first female gymnast who scored a
perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event, moreover she was a Romanian! In youth
I have gone through the thriller ofDracula, originated
from Romania! You may know being an inhabitant of West Bengal (India) I have
brought up with the communist environment, thus I have some natural curiosity
about the Romania history of communism. Obviously all these tempt me to follow RRI programs
on air or online. And to me Radio Romania International is a wide-open window
to know Romania better. This time just to judge my knowledge about the DACIA
present-day Romania I have compete the contest!

Another friend from India, S. B. Sharma, wrote
the following: RRI is our third eye to see and
feel Romania, Romania history, arts & cultures, people &
places and travel destination. RRI is my one and only best
source to gather information about Romania. one day I want to visit Romania
that’s why I am collecting much information about great country. So I
follow RRI broadcasts.

And from
the US, Matthew Weitendorf, wrote: As a librarian with an interest in museum
studies, i make it a point to listen to World of Culture and the History Show.
Both of these programs offer a wealth of information that is not readily
available to those of us living in the United States. For similar reasons i
enjoy listening to broadcasts of Inside Romania. Learning about the Govora Spa
is its own reward, bu the chance for an opportunity of actually visiting one of
the places one hears about via Radio Romania International is one that I did
not want to miss.

The 10 1st prizes went to the following listeners of RRI and
Internet users: Romanian-born Alexandru Buşneag, of Germany, Boudoukha
Mohamed, from Algeria, Volodimir Gudzenko, of Russia, who wrote to the
Ukrainian Section, Christian Ghibaudo, of France, Alexandr Kuzeminski, from
Ukraine, who wrote to the Russian Section, Wu Xuan, of China, Julio Mora Sánchez, from
Cuba, Giovanna Zagni,
from Italy, Mogire Machuki, of Kenya, and Mitul Kansal, from India.

Here is what Mitul Kansal, from
India wrote to us: I have been a regular listener of RRI English service since 2004. RRI is
the only source for me to learn more and more about the history, culture,
economy, traditions, nature, politics and peoples’ daily lives activities. Its
programs are up-to-date, to the point, well-discussed and
well-analyzed which gives me a true picture of Romania and its point of
view on various national and international issues. Now why I am taking part in
this contest because I am nature lover and love the beauties of nature.
Secondly I have learnt that Hotel Palace in Govara Spa is an ideal hotel
for conferences, for spa and for visiting the green environment and full
touristic attractions.

Another faithful
listener of RRI, Mogire
Machuki, from Kenya, explained: This contest like other previous
contests continue to let me discover the real Romania. In fact am so impressed
by the cultural and traditional revolutions found in Romania. For one here for
example in my country Kenya natural healing used to be applied during
yesteryears but as the situation is now technology has changed everything. This
contest has opened a new chapter for me to peruse through and get to understand
that Romania tradition still posses a place in the modern Romania. It has a key
role to play and I am quite happy that we have this type of natural healing in
Romania, something I never imagined still exists. I am taking part in this
contest because I for one love nature, living traditional can contribute to
healthy bodies free of diseases. In fact through this contest about
Resorts and Spas has thrilled me. It is a project of its own. Like
me I never drink bottled water, am used to water from river sources.

We also had 10 special prizes that went to the following
listeners and Internet users: Marco Schaa, from Germania,Ben Chohra Ali, of Algeria, Nikolai Larin, from Russia, Ge Shaopeng, from
China, Alexis Rocas Ramírez, of Venezuela, Hugo Calderón Carbajal, from Mexico,
Michela Citro, from Italy, Per Allan Olsson, of Sweden, Muhammad Shamim S, from
India, and Jonathan Murphy from Ireland.

Muhammad
Shamim S, from India, wrote the following: In today’s world, tourism does not merely mean a
vacation, a source of entertainment, or a way of expanding one’s knowledge but
tourism in the recent years has emerged as one of the most important socio-economic sector of nation. It is now
recognized as an industry providing substantial support to the economy of a
country. […]It also
helps in improvisation of infrastructure, creates more opportunities of
employment and most importantly provides foreign exchange. Tourism in Valcea
county plays a vital role in the Romania’s economy, cultural growth and unity.
Valcea’s great diversity and cultural richness provides ample potential for
growth in tourism. The rich heritage of art, architecture, pre-historic spots, places of historical importance […] all speak of the infinite possibility of Valcea
becoming a favourite tourist destination in Romania.

Per Allan Olsson, from Sweden
explained his participating as follows: I am, I must admit, shamefully
healthy, so my reason for competing is not primarily to receive treatment at
the spa, even though I wouldn’t pass the opportunity to indulge myself in mud
baths and mineral water therapy, but more to relax in a beautiful and inspiring
environment, with opportunity to make exploratory trips in the Valcea County,
which obviously is full of both cultural and culinary treasures for the visitor
to enjoy. I have more recently picked up an old childhood hobby of mine,
shortwave listening, so I haven’t followed RRI programs for longer than about a
month, but the initial impression I have is that RRI programs, and that
certainly includes the presenters, is characterized by their professionalism
and friendliness towards the listener, and that is a concept that has had me
return again and again to the station’s broadcasts as well as to the web site.

Our old friend from Ireland,
Jonathan Murphy, also gave arguments for his participation in the contest: I am entering this competition first and
foremost because I would like to visit Govora Spa and Valcea County! I have
never been to this part of Romania. The closest I have come isCurtea
de Argeş andTârgovişte. Afterresearching my answers
for this competition, I learned that Valcea County offers a perfectly balanced
holiday within its borders, with nature, history, art and architecture,
folklore, and even a zoo! […] I follow RRI’s programmes on the radio and online in
order to understand Romania better: its history, culture, politics and people.
I have a longstanding interest in Romania and have enjoyed living there in
2014. […] I am
indebted to RRI as an
invaluable source of news, comment and friendship. Many thanks for organising
competitions such as these and giving your audience a chance to research
Romania and the dream of visiting!

Thank you all
for answering our questions and for telling us what inspired you to take part
in the quiz. And now the most eagerly awaited moment: the winner of the 7-night
stay for two, with full accommodation in a double room, with six days of spa
treatment, two sessions a day, in Govora, Valcea County, is … Beate Hansen,
of Germany! Congratulations, we are looking forward to seeing you in
Romania in the second half of June!

Beate Hansen
told us why she took part in RRI’s contest: One of the reasons why I take part
in these contests is that chances to win are high. I don’t have all the
problems that can be treated in Govora or Mangalia, but any reason for me to
return to Romania is welcome. I think Romania is experiencing interesting and
optimistic processes, which I wouldn’t want to miss. But because the German
mass media do not cover them extensively, the only sources of information I am
left with are the Internet and RRI. I also access the Internet, but the
advantage when listening to the radio is that you can do other things as well
at the same time.

The awards and
honourable mentions will be sent by post, so please send us a confirmation
letter, email or fax, regarding both the receipt and the content of the
parcels. Once again, thank you for participating in the Govora Spa contest, and
make sure you don’t miss our broadcasts and our future quizzes!