Even if you are not an enthusiast of Roman Empire history, it would be a shame to take a trip to Romania and not visit the most beautiful Romanian monasteries. One of them is Turnu Monastery, a true gem hidden in Valcea county.
The name of Turnu Monastery – an important tourist attraction in Romania – erected in the immediate vicinity of Cozia Monastery, comes from the tower on “Teofil’s Peak” built by the Roman legions of the Arutela castra during the 2nd century (turn means tower).
Set in a fairytale location, on the left bank of Olt river with majestic mountains towering over it on the other side, you cannot help falling in love with this place. You can also brag to your friends about having sat at “Trajan’s table” – a rock named after a legend that claims Trajan had once eaten here. In addition to the Roman castra, you can also see the Bivolari thermal springs, and two Rupestrian monk cells with stone-carved beds where the most pious of monks would sleep.
It is hard to imagine sleeping on a stone bed when you are used to the comfort of modern living, but you can get a glimpse of that lifestyle by sitting on the cold surface for a few minutes and imagining the determination and devoutness that defined these rooms’ former “tenants”.
As for the 500-year old church, although it is not impressive in size, its beautiful fresco-covered walls and stone sculptures, as well as the hospitality of the monks, make it a hidden treasure worth exploring.
Romanians have a saying: “the richest feast is joyless if the host’s words and bearing do not make the guests feel welcome.”
We include The Turnu Monastery in the program in multiple forms of booking tours to museums, monasteries or medieval villages, but this must only tell us when and how you have scheduled vacation just to you can suggest and overlap with various events that occur frequently, such as concerts, festivals, plays, fairs and exhibitions itinerant, seasonal discounts, etc..
