Romania

Geography

Romania is a unitary semi-presidential republic located in southeastern-central Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula and on the western shore of the Black Sea. Its capital and largest city, Bucharest, is

the sixth largest city in the European Union.Romania is the largest country in Southeastern Europe and the twelfth

largest in Europe. The terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountains, hills and plains. The Carpathian Mountains dominate the centreof Romania with 14 mountain ranges reaching above 2000 m. Romania has a climate that is temperate and continental, with four

distinct seasons.

Danube Delta

The Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube

Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine. The approximate surface area is 4,152 km², and of that, 3,446 km² are in Romania. With the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1,015 km² with 865 km² water surface), located south of the main delta, the total area of the Danube Delta reaches 5,165 km². The Razelm - Sinoe lagoon complex is geologically and ecologically related to the delta proper and their

combined territory is part of the World Heritage Sites.

TourismAccording to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Romania was estimated to have the fourth fastest growing travel and tourism total demand in the world. Popular summer attractions are Mamaia and other Black Sea Resorts. Most popular skiing resorts are along the Valea Prahovei and in Poiana Brasov. Also, some popula Transylvanian cities such as Sibiu, Brasov and Sighisoara.

Science

Historically, Romanian researchers an inventors have made notable contributions to several fields. In the history of flight, Traian Vuia made the first airplane to take off on its own power. Victor Babes discovered more than 50 types of bacteria while Emil Palade received the Nobel Prize for his cotribution to cell biology. Spiru Haret and Grigore Moisil are some well-known mathematicians of this country.

Education

Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Romanian educational system has been in a continuous process of reform that has received mixed criticism. The results of the Pisa assesment study in schools for the year 200 placed Romania on the 34th rank out of 42 participant

countries. Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, University of Bucharest and West University of Timisoara have been included in the

QS World University Rankings' top 800.

TraditionsThere are 12 non-working public holidays, including the Great Union Day, celebrated on 1 December in commemoration of the 1918 union of Trasylvania with Romania. Winter holidays include the Christmas festivities and the New Year during which, various unique folklore dances and games are common: plugusorul, sorcova, ursul and capra. The traditional Romanian dress that otherwise has largely fell out of use during the 20th century, is a popular ceremonial vestment worn on these festivities, especially in the rural areas. During Easter, painted eggs are very common. Romanian cuisine shares some similarities with other Balkan cuisines such as Greek, Bulgarian and Turkish Cuisine.

FootballFootball is the most popular sport in Romania with over a million players. The Romania national football team has taken part several times in the FIFA World Cup games and had its most succes period during the 1990s. The Romania national football team played its first match in 1922 and is one of only four national teams to have taken part in the first three World Cups , the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium. Overall, they have played in seven World Cups, most recently in 1998. They have also competed in four European Championship , most recently in 2008. The team's most successful period was in the 1990s when, led by Gheorghe Hagi, they reached the quarterfinals of the 1994 World Cup. They also reached the last 16 of the 1998 World Cup, and the quarter-finals of Euro 2000.

Tennis Tennis is the second most popular sport, with over 15,000 registered players. Simona Halep is a Romanian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 3. Halep first broke into the world's top 50 at the end of 2012, then into the top 20 in August 2013, and then top 10 in January 2014 (after reaching the Australian Open quarterfinal). She won her first 6 WTA titles in the same calendar year in 2013 (a feat that was last achieved by Steffi Graf in 1986 when she won her first 7), being named the WTA's Most Improved Player at its end, as well as being named ESPN Center Court's 2013 Most Improved Player. Halep reached the 2014 French Open final, her first Grand Slam final, where she played against Maria Sharapova.

Gymnastics

Nadia Elena Comaneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the first female gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She also won two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. She is one of the best-known gymnasts in the world.

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