The old Bucharest in some old Roamanian masters imagination...

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In 1968, Azerbaijani paleontologist, Mammadali Huseinov, (1922-1994) discovered a lower jawbone of Early Man which turned out to be one of the Neanderthal type. It has since been analyzed independently in the West and confirmed to be between 350,000-400,000 years old. The jawbone, with one molar totally intact and another partially broken, is believed to have belonged to a female about 18 years old.

(In those days, she would have been considered "old" as the average life span is believed to have been about 20-22 years). In the cave where the jawbone was found-Azikh Cave-tools chipped and carved out of stone were found dating back to the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods which would make them between 1-1.5 million years old. According to the French paleontologist, Lumlee, the Azikh jawbone is the fourth oldest human relic ever to be found in history. The first was discovered by Richard Leakey (his wife, Mary, and son) in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. The second, in Kenya; and the third, in France. Huseinov's discovery is the oldest ever identified in the entire former Soviet Union. "Azikh Man"-one of the earliest inhabitants on earth once populated the region now known as Azerbaijan. It's one of Azerbaijan's best-kept secrets. Not many people outside of Azerbaijan or the former Soviet Union know about it.
Huseinov named these prehistoric people, "Azikh Anthropos", because they inhabited the cave known as Azikh Cave near the Azikh River on the southeastern slope of the Little Caucasus mountain range in southwestern Azerbaijan. The cave is close to the Iranian border near the town of Fuzuli. Currently, the region is under military occupation by Armenians.

All Azerbaijanis have fled the area since 1993 (See Side Bar: "Want to Visit Azikh Cave?"). Mammadali Huseinov, archeologist, in front of Azikh Cave considered to be the earliest cave ever inhabited in the region of the former Soviet Union. Stone tools date back to 1.5 million years to 730,000 years ago. One of the reasons the international community doesn't know much about "Azikh Man," is that Huseinov didn't get a chance to travel abroad much. He was not a member of the Communist Party; furthermore, he had been captured by the Germans during World War II and, incredible as it may seem, prisoners of war were treated with suspicion after they were released. Many of them, in fact, were exiled to Siberia. Foreigners rarely got the chance to visit or collaborate with him about his work. He did manage, however, to develop a fairly close relationship with the French scientist, Lumlee. Huseinov relied on information he read in Russian journals and magazines to stay informed about developments in the field. Huseinov was the first archeologist ever to discover Paleolithic relics in Azerbaijan.

Before him, no one imagined that Paleolithic man (also known as Stone Age Man) had lived in the Transcaucasus two million years earlier. Huseinov's work as an archeologist was successful from the beginning. In 1953, as a university graduate, he organized an expedition into the Kazakh region in the northwestern tip of Azerbaijan near Armenia and Georgia. He found many artifacts spanning the Aeneolithic (5,000-4,000 BC) to the Bronze Age (3,000-2,000 BC) in the region. But it was Azikh Cave that Huseinov called his "masterpiece". His discovery came in 1960. People of the Karabakh region nearby knew about the cave. Many legends were told about how it was a dangerous place-inhabited by dragons. Those who entered were not expected to come out alive. One tale that was widespread described how a flock of sheep had wandered inside the cave and been eaten alive by dragons. Azikh is quite sizable. It is the largest limestone cave ever found in the Caucasus and extends through maze-like passageways for nearly 600 meters. The cave comprises a total area of about 8,000 square meters and includes eight large hallways or grottos, some with very high domed ceilings reaching up to 20-25 meters. Stalactite and stalagmite columns can be found throughout the cavern. Huseinov concluded that Azikh Cave had been inhabited over a period of, perhaps, tens of thousands of years, as there were fourteen meters of cultural deposits (archaeological debris) that comprised ten distinct archeological layers relating to different periods of mid-Paleolithic period in the cave. One of Huseinov's unique findings was the primitive work stones, which in archeological terms, represent a river stone culture. He called that period the Kuruchai Culture as the Azikh Cave is located in the Kuruchai River basin. The only other known civilization equivalent to Kuruchai Culture dates back 1.5 million years to the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. Huseinov believed the Kuruchai Culture dated from between 1.5 million years to 730,000 years ago. As is true of many cave settlements, bones of various animals were found; 45 distinct species have been identified, some of which are now extinct. After fire was introduced, it seems that most animal bones were burned. From all indications cave bears and various species of deer were the pride of the hunt. The cave bear seemed to have religious significance for the Azikh people. A hiding place was discovered in the Acheulian layer near the hearths where skulls of the bears were laid out. One of the most important findings in the 4th stratum dealt with the history of making fire. Under the influence of hunting, people began to make artificial hearths by digging pits in the ground and encircling them with masonry or semicircular bars. Azikh cave is located in southwestern Azerbaijan close to the Iranian border near the town, Fuzuli, in the Kuruchai Valley on the southeastern slope of the Little Caucasus mountains. It's in a region which was captured in 1993 by Armenians and which is being held militarily. Currently, 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory in the western part of the country has been captured by Armenian forces. The occupied territory includes Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave inside Azerbaijan which Armenians are trying to develop as an independent Republic, as well as much of the surrounding territory.

This map was found in the Library of Congress, Washington DC in 1960 by Charles Hapgood. It was drawn by Oronteus Finaeus in 1531. As with the Piri Reis map, Antarctica is shown to be ice free with flowing rivers, drainage patterns and clean coastline. Some of the mountain ranges shown were only discovered recently. The deep interior didn't show any rivers or mountains which some believe means it was already covered in ice at the time. Another tidbit of proof is the Ross sea. Today huge glaciers feed into it, making it a floating ice shelf hundreds of feet thick. Yet this map and the Reis map show estuaries and rivers at the site.

In 1949 coring was done to take samples of the ice and sediment at the bottom of the Ross Sea. They clearly showed several layers of statification, meaning the area went through several environmental changes. Some of the sediments were of the type usually brought down to the sea by rivers. Tests done at the Carnegie Institute in Washington DC, which date radioactive elements found in sea water, dated the
sediments at about 4000 BC, which would mean the area was ice free with flowing rivers up until that time - exactly what is recorded on the Reis and Finaeus maps.

Le plus connu ecrivain roumain reste le classique I. L. Caragiale. Ses pièces de thêatre et ses petites proses sur le Bucarest de XIX-e siècle font une vraie monde, avec ses personnages, ses traditions, sa vie... Voilà quelques images de ce monde...

Tard dans la nuit.............Mais à la ganguette on continue

....................La nuit vers la ganguette Gambrinus

L'enfent qui fait le personnage Goe ........I. L. Caragiale (dans sa propre ganguette)

L'actrice Cella Dima ........................Le train de plaisir vers Sinaia

La gare du Nord à Bucarest ........................Attendre la visite

Aller en visite ..............................Elle a reussi!

Flaner sur le Grand Boulevard ...................Une pression...

Le turc en fumant sa "narghilea! ......................Avec maman

La ganguette de Caragiale ....................I. L. Caragiale