We often say that memories are what keep our heart happy and healthy, especially when you gather such souvenirs from every single corner of your country during your whole existence.
And since my posts are 95% dedicated to hidden gems of Romania, there is no doubt that I've travelled in almost every single area of the country, but there was always one place where we always avoided going just because when people think about Dobrogea they often link it to the Black Sea and the resorts where you can go get a great tan but..that's all.
Or at least that's what I thought. And having the mountains flow through my veins, I never saw myself that kind of person to spend a whole day on the beach without exploring the surroundings.
But last year after we returned from our yearly road trip around Romania we also wanted to explore more this location so people have more alternatives when they want to spend some time on the beach.
Needless to say that this time spent in Dobrogea we got to discover lots of incredible places from simple caves to a citadel hidden from everybody's sight, from amazing gorges to lakes and many more, but also spending a whole day (12 hours to be more precise), on a boat which took us to many islands and spectacular locations which left me speechless one more time thinking that we are blessed to have so many gorgeous locations in a single country. Which is mine and I'm hers.
But until we get there we should take them one by one. :)
The first location started with a loooong drive from the very first hour of the morning which had as a destination a completely different spot than this where we decided to stop and stare for a while.
The thing that caught my attention was nothing else but a tower, most likely a water tower according to its structure but which had no indicators or markers to find out its name or history. The streets were pretty empty on that hour being a hot day of the summer, so my curious and explorer temper decided to walk through the dry grass and get a little closer, with the big hope that maybe I'll make a great discovery.
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The discovery was nothing from what I was expecting but actually the right thing that could happen to make us get ready for this adventure which was going to take us on some of the wildest lands of Romania where animals are at their own house and they decide when it's time to accept guests and when not.
On top of the ceiling you could forget the counting very easily, sheltering tens, if not hundreds, of different species of birds which learned how to live together and share the same house and food in the middle of nowhere. That's how their reaction of suddenly flying away when they saw a human, was completely understandable considering that maybe not very many people come and visit a forgotten ruin out there.
Though, the curiosity to find out what that place was, made us open the google maps and the internet to search for it, and even though we couldn't find anything about the mysterious ruin, we did find a place which caught our attention and curiosity by simply seeing its name on the map - Pestera La Adam.
It was located just 5 mins away of driving from our current location and the level of curiosity increased when we discovered we are talking about a cave but which was nowhere to be found being surrounded by an arid area and lots of solitude and dried lands.
When we previously explored caves, those were either in the mountains or in the forest, but what about a cave in the middle of nowhere?
We must see this! - it was our first thought and the simple motivation we needed to start searching for it.
Being a very dry and arid area, of course, you could see here and there random rocks, but who would actually think that they can hide something or that they have played such an important role in the past?
The truth is, just like humans have a place where to return whenever they miss 'home', so do animals and the human beings of the past ages.
Happy or not, those are not simple legends but actually the best way (in my opinion), to learn a little bit more about your country and how people used to live like, millions of years ago.
It's called Adam's Cave, and it represents our first guilty pleasure of the trip which maintained the suspense and mystery until we stopped the car far away from the rocks we've been seeing until now, thinking that it could be one of them, but we were wrong, and we needed the GPS the whole time until we turned off the engine right in its direction because there were no indicators to point anything on that way.
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The adventure started with a long walk through the dry grass until we found a valley and had to go down to it and pass over a pond and a tiny moat which made us believe there used to be a river some time. From here, the things were pretty clear finding ourselves in front of a huge imposing stone wall covered by a fragile blanket of trees that somehow survived the scorching heat.
Adam's Cave is located in a small village called Gura Dobrogei that back in 2002 had only 172 locals and which hides many interesting destinations, the cave being just one of the many natural monuments of the area.
The cave dates for many centuries and it's been part to many ages, but the first studies were made back in 1995 when there were discovered five carved stones which later on found their place in the composition of an altar of the God Mitras, also known as the God of Light.
Actually, the cave itself was not the single important place but the whole area, being discovered lots of fossils on the surroundings covering an area of 5 hectares, the most important one being represented by a molar of a homo sapiens fossilis that existed for 100.000 years.
These are just some of the many reasons why La Adam Cave is considered the place with the greatest historical value from Europe, bringing additional information to paleontology and archeology that is studied all around the world.
Through the many fossils found around the cave, we remember a total of 60 species of Quaternary mammals and 80 species of Jurassic fossils, but also species of troglobionts and bats.
The narrow portal which made us step into the cave made sure to specify the fact that we might not be outside anymore under the blue clear sky, but we are still being watched through the eyes located on the ceiling of Adam's Cave that no matter what the weather and season is, someone will always look after you and make sure you leave the place unchanged after your visit.
The rocks of the cave were a little bit different than what we were used with, being very crumbly and slippery, covered in earth which made the climbing more difficult.
Overall, that didn't represent a strong enough reason to stop our exploration, but actually, make us more curious to see what we can discover around.
As soon as we climbed up the stone wall, the adventure seemed like it came to an end, or at least for the claustrophobic ones because there are two very narrow paths of just 40 cm height where you have to crawl through a very tiny eye of rock that is not recommended for fluffy people over 80-90 kg because there are risks of getting stuck and the panic attacks won't make it a fun memory.
Thought, as soon as you pass these areas, you'll find yourself in some bigger galleries which definitely worth a visit, but keep in mind that being a cave with a high level of humidity and very warm place, the spiders and mosquitoes will assist you during the whole expedition.
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The touristic attraction which represents a very important and interesting place for the lovers of speology and history highlights some of the most interesting stories and legends we only discovered through books and which seem like being part of anything else but our world.
The rocks which still share some unspoken stories unable to be understood during those times, after more than 2 millions of years since they were shared, represent the main source used to compose the altar of divinty and where the stories with the one born from the rocks, started.
The God of Light, Mithras, which I previously mentioned, was part of the Persian Empire with four centuries before Christ, and it became really popular between the soldiers of the Roman Empire gathering more and more practitioners for his cult between I - IV centuries before Christ.
Mithras was considered the divinity of soldiers, often likened to sincerity and loyalty, which created a huge controversy among Christianity that appeared after his existence.
A more curious thing is that the God of Light himself was born on 25th December and it was presented next to 12 disciples (6 on each side) on all the sculptures, just like Jesus Christ.
No doubt there is a huge number of legends and stories about this moment of life which prove you one more time that the more you know, the less you know, but which worth to be promoted further and appreciated by people who are disovering it.
La Adam Cave is located in the northeast side of the village named Gura Dobrogei, in Târgușor which is just 40 km away from Constanta.
The access to the cave can be made on the national road DN2 between Constanta and Mihail Kogalniceanu for 25 km and then follow the county road DJ222 between Mihail Kogalniceanu and Târgușor for another 11 km.
From Târgușor until you reach Gura Dobrogei village you will need to follow a paved road and then deviate from the main road to a dirt road until you reach the direction to the cave.
The GPS coordinates are: 44°27’51″N 28°28’17″E.
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT TRIP! 🗾
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