Day 5: Discovery of Gagauzia
Chisinau – Besalma – Vulcanesti – Comrat – Chisinau
The day will begin by travelling to Gagauzia where you will visit the
National Gagauz Museum of History and Ethnography “D. Cara-Ciobanu” in Besalma village. The museum presents the history, culture and everyday life of the Gagauz people from ancient times until nowadays. One of the personalities of this small nation was the writer D. Cara-Ciobanu, who spent his life promoting this culture. He founded this museum, which features more than 6,000 exhibits, including works by famous writers, poets and famous artists in Gagauzia. One of the most valuable item in the museum is the collection of original films produced during the Gagauz colonization of the steppe of Bugeac.
Next, you will travel to
Karagani winery - a family winery with a specific emphasis on the Gagauz origins of the Cerven family, who owns the company. Located in Vulcanesti, in the southern part of Moldova, this small family enterprise is engaged in grape cultivation and wine production. Karagani wines are produced by original technology from selected grapes of European and national varieties, grown on its own vineyards. On this land, you will discover the tastes of Karagani wines and the specificity of Gagauz cuisine, while tasting Gagauz dishes.
Later, you will travel to
Comrat where you will enjoy a
city tour. Comrat is the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, located in southwest Moldova. This is a very interesting territory since the majority of its habitants are Gagauzians. These are the only representatives of Turkic origin that affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church. Gagauzians migrated from Bulgaria together with ethnic Bulgarians and settled in Moldova in 19th century. You will see such attractions as the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Museum of Gagauz Culture, Gagauz Art Gallery, Gagauz National University and Alley of Gagauz Glory.
You will continue your trip to
Vinuri de Comrat winery, which is the oldest winery of southern Moldova. Here you will discover the tastes of Vinuri de Comrat wines and the specificity of Gagauz cuisine, while tasting Gagauz dishes during dinner. For over 100 years the winemakers of Comrat are preserving and transmitting from generation to generation the classical traditions of making fresh and naturally elegant wines based on the unique winemaking technology characteristic for the south of Moldova. Vinuri de Comrat is a modern complex processing 4 thousands tones of wine and spirits using the closed-loop cycle, including production and processing of grape, production and bottling of dry, semi-sweet, desert, selected and vintage wine, production of wine spirit. Its portfolio lists more than 50 collections of wine, however, it is very famous for the Cahors wine.
HIGHLIGHTS:
National Gagauz Museum of History and Ethnography “D. Cara-Ciobanu”,
Karagani winery,
Comrat city ,
Vinuri de Comrat winery