Trafika Europe 8 - Romanian Holiday

The Phanariot Manuscript

with buttons and elaborate embroidery which few could appreciate. And besides this, he also cherished hair oils that made his black curls look heavy and supple like Bursa silk. Nevertheless, all these were balderdash. The only worthy action for a fisherman’s son from Săruna would have been to go straight out to sea and enroll in Lambros Katsonis’ fleet. For 20 years, his ships had relentlessly attacked the army of the great Gazi Hasan, weakening the Empire and giving hope to the Greeks and all the other people, the Wallachians of Săruna city included. Two things would have been solved if he had behaved like a decent son: the jizya would have decreased by

one head and the day of liberation from under the Turks would be closer. Ioanis loved freedom and hated the Turks like any normal man in Săruna, but life under somebody’s command on a ship threatened by cannons made him lose all interest in patriotism. He wanted all Greeks to be free but he loved his freedom more, which at that time meant perfumes and beautiful clothes. 4. Around Easter, things in the Bradu Milikopu family got really bad. After the mother put the vegetable soup on the table, Bradu gave her the news she feared most; his time had

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