Facebook memories during this particular time can be a bit torturesome. I know this is unfair to those that are undergoing real torture. But to someone used to being able to go where they please for the last decade and find themselves with their wings clipped in their hometown when all is going wrong in the world, it sucks. However, I will use today’s memory to look back on an exciting trip I took with a friend. Last May and June, I made a trip through Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus. Today, social media reminded me of the part where I met up with my good friend in Bucharest. We took a night train to Chisinau and hopped on a Marshrutka to Comrot to check out an autonomous area of Moldova called Gagauzia
We arrived Comrat slightly dead from our little adventure from Bucharest. We decided to trek down our guest house, which was only one of two I could even find on Booking. We basically crossed a cow pasture and accidentally walked into some city hall with the wrong address. We finally manage to go about 50 meters and found it. They were a little surprised to see us. They gave room kind of looked like the setting of the 70s porn set. We had silk Chinese pattern sheets, and everything was in Leopard print. We laughed at it.
We walked around Komrot and saw all there was to see within an hour. It looks like most post-soviet towns with a slight Turkish flair, but that was more just noticeable with the language and random Turkish flags around. You see your run of the milk gold cathedral, Lenin, and Kvass stands.
The real highlight of our Gagauzian adventure was going to some small town even more in the middle of nowhere called Ceder Lunga. Both of us were hell-bent on seeing this golden statue of Vladimir Lenin. We managed to get there without checking the Marshrutka schedule for the way back and found ourselves stuck. Luckily, hitchhiking in Moldova was pretty easy. We got picked up by a car with a Russian tag. It was a Gauagaz younger guy that happened to work in Russia. Gagauzia, like much of Moldova, suffers from a brain drain. Moldova is already the poorest country in Europe, and Gagauzia is one of the poorest parts. Many younger people go to Russia or Turkey to work or at least Chinisau.
What makes Gagauzia different than Transnistria
Gagauzia, like Transnistria, declared its independence from Moldova after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Rather than becoming an unrecognized country, Gagauzia only had this status for a short period of time and was reintegrated into Moldova through a special autonomous status. They have been for the most part alright with their status. They do hold some weight towards the geopolitical position of Moldova as well. Moldova is about 50-50 when it comes to wanting to be more aligned with the Russian Federation or the European Union. The Gagauz are overwhelming to be aligned with Russia.
Despite preferring to be under the geopolitical influence of Russia and preferring the Russian language to Moldovan, The Gagauz are ethnically close to Turks, however, they predominantly subscribe to Orthodox Christianity, rather than Islam. They are also Moldova’s second-largest ethnic minority, after Ukrainians.
How do I get there when I can travel again!?
PRE COVID AND PROBABLY EVENTUALLY
The best way of getting into Gagauzia is by starting in Chisinau, Moldova, and making your way to Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia. Regular minibusses (marshrutkas) go to Comrat from the Gare de Sud in Chisinau almost every hour until around 18:00.
The journey takes about 2-3 hours and costs a little more than 2 euros. There are also quite a few marshrutkas going a day to Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria. After 18:00, it is tough to make your way to the autonomous region.
Unlike Transnistria, there is no registration or border check since Gagauzia is only an autonomous region and not a de facto state.
So glad to wake up to a new blog. You are such a good writer with very interesting stories. Please keep them coming!