TIME DOES NOT PASS - WE PASS THROUGH TIME - TIMPUL NU TRECE - NOI TRECEM PRIN TIMP.

Ce este o sirena ? What is a mermaid ? O sirena este o zana acvatica legendara, cu cap si tors de femeie si coada de peste, care uneori canta marinarilor, vrajindu-i. A mermaid is a legendary water fairy, with the head and torso of human female and the tail of a fish, that sometimes would sing to sailors and enchant them. In ceea ce ma priveste pe mine, eu am de gand sa cant frumusetea acestor locuri, o frumusete pe care eu o gasesc fermecatoare. As for myself, I am going to sing the beauty of these places, a beauty which I find enchantig.
Ce este Pontus Euxinus ? What is Pontus Euxinus ? Pontus Euxinus este numele antic al Marii Negre si al tarmurilor pe care valurile ei le scalda de milenii. Pontus Euxinus is the ancient name of the Black Sea and the shores that have been bathed by its waves for thousands of years, since time immemorial. Daca, la inceput, colonistii straini au gasit aceasta mare neospitaliera, numind-o Pontos Axeinos, ei au sfarsit prin a o numi Pontus Euxinus - Marea cea Ospitaliera. If, in the beginning, the ancient foreign colonists found this sea inhospitable, calling it Pontos Axeinos, they ended up by calling it Pontus Euxinus - the Hospitable Sea. Si, daca la inceput, ei au crezut ca oamenii de pe tarmurile ei sunt barbari, au sfarsit prin a-i admira si iubi - deoarece acesti oameni, in ciuda aparentei lor dure, erau la fel de ospitalieri ca si marea lor - si asa au ramas pana in zilele noastre. And if, in the beginning, they thought that the people living on its shores were savage, they ended up by admiring and loving them - as these people, despite their rough appearance, were as hospitable as their sea - and this is how they have been ever since. Deci, bine ati venit la Pontus Euxinus ! So, welcome to Pontus Euxinus !

Aici, la Pontus Euxinus, mai precis la Tomis, cum colonistii greci au numit orasul in secolul 7 IH, a fost exilat poetul latin Publius Ovidius Naso, in anul 8 AD, de imparatul Augustus. Here, to Pontus Euxinus, more precisely to Tomis, as the Greek colonists named the city in the 7th century BC, was banished the Latin poet Ovid, in the year 8 AD, by Emperor Augustus. In timpul exilului la Tomis, autorul binecunoscutelor Metamorphoses - Metamorfoze, Amores - Iubiri, Ars Amatoria - Arta Iubirii, a mai scris inca doua volume de poezii - Tristia - Tristele si Epistulae ex Ponto - Scrisori de la Pontus Euxinus sau Ponticele. During his exile at Tomis, the author of the well known Metamorphoses, Amores - Loves, Ars Amatoria - The art of love, wrote two more collections of poems called Tristia - Sorrows and Epistulae ex Ponto -Letters from Pontus Euxinus. Aceste poezii ilustreaza solitudinea, tristetea si disperarea poetului, dorul de casa, desi acesta era prietenos cu bastinasii, invatandu-le limba si scriind poezii in limba lor. These poems illustrate the poet's solitude, sadness and desolation, his home sickness, even though he was friendly with the natives and learned their language and even wrote poems in their language. Ovidiu a murit la Tomis dupa aproape zece ani de exil. Ovid died at Tomis after nearly ten years of banishment. In cinstea poetului, in Piata Ovidiu din Constanta, locuitorii orasului, au ridicat o frumoasa statuie, sculptata de sculptorul italian Ettore Ferrari in 1887. Homage was paid to the poet, and a beautiful statue, sculptured by the Italian sculpturer Ettore Ferrari in 1887, was erected in Ovid's Square in Constanta by the inhabitants of the city. Iata epitaful poetului, scris pe aceasta statuie, atat in limba latina, cat si in limba romana: Here is the poet's epitaph, written on this statue, both in Latin and Romanian.

Sub asta piatra zace Ovidiu,

Cantaretul iubirilor gingase, rapus de-al sau talent.

O, tu, ce treci pe aici, daca ai iubit vreodata,

Te roaga pentru dansul

Sa-i fie somnul lin.

Here I lie, who played with tender loves,

Naso the poet, killed by my own talent.

O passerby, if you've ever been in love,

Let it not be too much for you

To say: May the bones of Naso lie gently.

Nu departe de Piata Ovidiu, se afla o straduta romantica, care coboara lin spre mare, numita de cetatenii Constantei Sulmona, pentru le aminti de orasul Sulmona, locul de nastere al poetului, loc pe care poetul l-a iubit atat de mult si caruia i-a dus dorul aici, in exil, la Tomis. Not far from Ovid's Square, there is a narrow street gently sloping to the beach, named by the citizens of Constanta Sulmona, to remind them of Sulmona, the poet's birth place, which he dearly loved and missed during his exile years here, at Tomis. La dreapta, puteti vedea statuia lui Ovidiu din piata din centrul orasului Sulmona si statuia poetului din Piata Ovidiu din Constanta. To the right, you can see Ovid's statue in the square in the center of Sulmona, and the poet's statue in Ovid's Square in Constanta.

Nu departe de Constanta, se afla un orasel cu numele Ovidiu, unde se presupune ca s-a aflat mormantul poetului. Not far from Constanta, there is a small town called Ovidiu, the alleged location of the poet's tomb.

Tot in cinstea poetului, unul din liceele din Constanta a fost numit Ovidius si sunt mandra ca am studiat si eu in aceasta scoala timp de opt ani. Also, in the poet's honour, one of the highschools in Constanta was named Ovidius and I am proud of having studied in this school for eight years.

Dupa ce Dacia - Romania de azi - a fost cucerita de catre romani in anul 106 AD, numele cetatii Tomis a fost schimbat in Constanta, in cinstea Constantiei, sora vitrega a Imparatului Constantin cel Mare, care a fortificat si dezvoltat orasul intre 320-350AD. After Dacia - present day Romania - was conquered by the Romans in 106 AD, Tomis was renamed Constanta, in honour of Constantia, the half sister of Emperor Constantine the Great, who fortified and developed the city between 320-350 AD.

In cele doua poze din partea dreapta, se pot vedea ruinele antice - grecesti si romane. In the two photos to the right, you can see the ancient ruins : Greek and Roman. As putea numi prima poza - Ruine grecesti si Catedrala, iar pe cea de a doua - Ruine romane si Primaria. I could name the first photo - Greek ruins and Cathedral and the latter - Roman ruins and City Hall.

Am facut aceste poze intr-o zi frumoasa de iarna, geroasa si insorita ca in poezia lui Puskin - Dimineata de iarna. I took these photos on a beautiful winter's day, frosty and sunny like in Pushkin's poem - Winter morning. Cand m-am sculat dimineata si am vazut brazii de la fereastra imbracati intr-o haina alba de zapada, ce stralucea in soarele diminetii, mi-au venit in minte cuvintele lui Pushkin - maroz i sontze, deni ciudesnii - ger si soare - ce zi ciudata! When I woke up in the morning and saw the fir trees at my window covered by a white snow coat, shining in the morning sun, Pushkin's words came to my mind - maroz i sontze, deni ciudesnii - cold frost and sunshine - day of wonder! Imi place muzicalitatea versului in limba rusa si de aceea am incercat sa redau versul in limba rusa, desi este destul de greu. I like the musicality of the verse in Russian and that's why I tried to write the verse in Russian, although it is not so easy.

Asa ca, fara sa mai stau pe ganduri, l-am luat pe Pufulet si am pornit prin oras pentru a ne bucura de splendoarea acestei zile insorite de iarna. So, without giving it a second thought, I took Pufulet and went for a stroll in the city, enjoying the splendour of this sunny winter's day.

Nu m-am gandit sa iau cu mine un aparat de fotografiat, asa ca am imortalizat frumusetea si splendoarea naturii pe un simplu telefon mobil si ma bucur ca am facut lucrul asta. It did not cross my mind to take along a camera, so I imortalized the beauty and splendour of nature on a mere mobile phone and I am happy I did so. Chiar daca pozele nu au fost facute cu un aparat de fotografiat performant, mie imi plac foarte mult si le gasesc foarte expresive. Spontaneitatea vorbeste de la sine. Even though the photos were not taken on a state of the art camera, I like them very much and find them very expressive. Spontaneity speaks for itself.

Imi place sa ma plimb pe stradutele inguste din acest cartier al orasului, pe faleza si pe malul marii si sa vad indragostitii plimbandu-se de mana. I like to walk on the narrow streets in this
district, on the cliff and on the beach and watch the lovers that walk hand in hand. Aceasta parte a orasului este plina de istorie, poezie si romantism. This part of the city is full of history, poetry and romance. Pe faleza se afla statuia marelui poet romantic roman - Mihai Eminescu - 1850 -1889. On the cliff, one can see the statue of the great Romanian romantic poet - Mihai Eminescu - 1850-1889. In anul 1882, Eminescu a venit la Constanta si, timp de zece zile, a locuit aici la mansarda hotelului D'Angleterre, situat pe una din stradutele romantice, aflate nu departe de tarmul marii. In the year 1882, Eminescu came to Constanta and, for ten days, he lived here, in the attic of Hotel D'Angleterre, situated on one of these romantic streets, not far from the seashore.

"Mai am un singur dor:

In linistea serii

Sa ma lasati sa mor

La marginea marii;

Sa-mi fie somnul lin

Si codrul aproape,

Pe - tinsele ape

Sa am un cer senin."

"One wish alone have I:

In some calm land

Beside the sea to die;

Upon its strand

That I forever sleep,

The forest near,

A heaven near,

Stretched o'er the peaceful deep"


In timp ce ma plimbam pe faleza, la apusul soarelui, nu departe de statuia lui Eminescu, imi veneau in minte versurile din poezia " Mai am un singur dor ". While I was walking on the cliff, at sunset, not far from Eminescu's statue, the verses in the poem "One wish alone have I" kept coming to my mind. Traducerea facuta de Corneliu M Popescu in limba engleza este foarte buna si poetica, dar al doilea vers - in linistea serii - care mie imi place foarte mult , nu a fost tradus. The translation made by Corneliu M Popescu in English is very good and poetical, but the second verse - in the night's stillness - that I like very much, was not translated.

"Luna tu, stapana marii, pe a lumii bolta luneci
Si gandirilor dand viata, suferintele intuneci;
Mii pustiuri scanteiaza sub lumina ta fecioara,
Si cati codri-ascund in umbra stralucire de isvoara!
Peste cate mii de valuri stapanirea ta strabate,
Cand plutesti pe miscatoarea marilor singuratate."

" Scrisoarea I" - " Satire I "

"Moon, fair ruler of the sea, over the sky's round vault you glide,
The sight of you recalls the grief's that locked within man's bosom bide;
Beneath the virgin glow are there a thousands deserts glittering
And thousand forest shade conceal the wells from their waters spring!
Over how many million waves extends thy timeless empery
When on your way you sail above the lonely wander of the sea! "

"Dintre sute de catarge
Care lasa malurile
Cate oare le vor sparge
Vanturile, valurile?
Dintre pasari calatoare
Ce strabat pamanturile,
Cate-o sa le-nece oare
Valurile, vanturile? "

"Dintre sute de catarge" - "Of all the ships"

"Of all the ships that the ocean rolls
How many find untimely graves
Piled high up by you upon the shoals,
O waves and winds, o winds and waves?
How many a bird that leaves its bower
And o'ver the sky in autumn droves
You beat and blindly overpower,
O waves and winds,
O winds and waves?"

As vrea sa spun cateva cuvinte in memoria lui Corneliu M Popescu, un tanar talentat care a tradus poezia lui Mihai Eminescu in limba engleza. I would like to say a few words in the memory of Corneliu M Popescu, a very gifted young man who translated Mihai Eminescu's poetry in English. El s-a nascut in Bucuresti la 16 mai 1958 dar, din nefericire, inceteaza din viata tragic, impreuna cu mama sa la cutremurul catastrofal de la 4 martie 1977. He was born in Bucharest on May 16, 1958 but, unfortunatelly, he passed away tragically together with his mother in the catastrophic earthquake of March 4, 1977. Avea numai 19 ani! He was only 19! Putem spune ca, in scurta lui viata pe pamant, a stralucit ca un luceafar pe cer si inca straluceste ca un far pentru tanara generatie, fiind un exemplu. We can say that, in his short life on earth, he shone like the evening star in the sky and he is still shining like a lighthouse for the young generation, being an example.

Aproape de statuia lui Eminescu, se afla Farul Genovez, care a fost construit intre 1858-1860, in memoria negustorilor genovezi, care veneau la Pontus Euxinus in secolul 13. Close to Eminescu's statue, stands the Genoese Lighthouse, that was built between 1858-1860, in the memory of the Genoese merchants, who came to Pontus Euxinus in the 13th century.

Unul din liceele din Constanta a fost numit Mihai Eminescu in onoarea poetului nostru national. One of the highschools in Constanta was named Eminescu in honour of our national poet. Sunt mandra ca, timp de 2 ani, am studiat si eu in aceasta scoala. I am proud that, for two years, I studied in this school.

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