Somova

Somova is a commune situated in the north of the Tulcea County, in the historical Dobrudja region. The three constituent villages of the Commune are the Somova Village – seat of the Commune, the Mineri and Parches Villages.

The Somova Commune is 12 km far from the Tulcea Municipality. The Somova Commune can be reached travelling on DN22 national road, which crosses the administrative territory of the commune.

According to some opinions, the name of the Somova Commune comes from the name of the sheatfish (‘somn’ in Romanian) that exists in the nearby lakes. Archaeologists have discovered traces of an important Dacian centre on the territory of the Commune.

The specific activities carried out in the commune are fishing and agriculture. Animal breeding, bakery, tourist accommodation and selling are other activities carried out by the inhabitants of the Commune.

The tourist attractions of the Commune are the Somova-Parches series of lakes and the Saon and Cocos Monasteries.

The Somova –Parches series of lakes is considered a mini-delta of Romania. The area has a biodiversity similar to that of its ‘elder’ sister, the Danube Delta, and is part of the Biosphere Nature Reserve of the Danube Delta. The landscape is exceptional – a series of lakes connected among them with channels, with water pools bordered by reed, where flocks of birds hide from the viewers. The series of lakes includes the Gorgonel Lake, the Rotundu Lake, the Somova backwater, the Parches Lake, the Morun Marsh, the Ciorciovata Lake, the Babele Lake, the Petica Lake, the Somova Lake, the Casla Lake and the Gâsca Lake (a protected area for fresh water fish species). Of these, the Rotundu Lake is of particular interest.

The Saon Monastery is an orthodox monastery established in 1846 under the Ottoman domination. It is located 11 km far from the Tulcea Municipality on the road to the Niculitel Commune, on the left bank of the Saon Lake. The road, crossing a hilly area covered with vineyards, ends on a beautiful esplanade in front of the Saon Monastery. It is a place where you feel close to God, but also a place with an astonishing delta landscape, where the beautiful scenery of the hills with vineyards combines with that of the Saon Lake.

The Cocos Monastery is located in a secluded place, at the foot of a hill surrounded by the sweet scent of the lime-tree flowers. The legend says that long time ago, the quietness of one night was interrupted by a wild cock’s song accompanied by the sound of a wooden semantron. Monks say that tune can still be heard sometimes. The first written documents mentioning the existence of a religious establishment on that site dates back from 1679. The monastery has a museum displaying old icons and religious art objects collected from the parishes of the Tulcea Municipality. The museum also holds a collection of old, mainly Romanian, religious books.

In the Danube Delta, on the esplanade of the Samova-Parches Lakes, at the border with the Biosphere Nature Reserve of the Danube Delta (to avoid environmental impact), there are a number of villas offering spacious accommodation and five-star services. Such a place must be traditional, but also modern to make the visitors feel close to nature.

Tourists can either visit the Danube Delta and make leisure travels by boat or ship on the channels and lakes and admire the wonderful landscape and the wild fauna, or try to catch fish in the lakes.

The accommodation offers in the Somova Commune are varied ranging from guest houses, villas, full-board tourist accommodation, four-, three- or two-star or daisy floating hotels.                 

Source: http://www.paginadestart.com/primaria/c_a_rosetti/site/ , http://www.info-delta.ro/, http://www.fotodelta.ro,