BALNEO

The therapeutic use of natural springs, mineral-rich salty lakes and healing muds in Romania can be traced back to the Roman period. During the Belle Époque, some of these places attracted European royalty, aristocrats, and celebrities. Opulent spa facilities were built during this time. Romania's spa towns continued to thrive under communist rule, when they were made accessible to the broader population as part of a healthcare program. There are around 30 official such resorts in my country, and over 100 localities have therapeutic mineral resources. Today, Romania's balneary and health spa infrastructure shows signs of aging and requires substantial modernization. The causes for this decline vary from bad management, corruption and political interests, to bureaucracy, environmental concerns, limited transportation options, and so on. The grand hotels from the Habsburg period are in an advanced state of decay. Most of the buildings and facilities from the communist era are stuck in their grey past. And where there is perishing and spoilage, there's complexity, nuances and good material for art. As a photographer, but also as a fiction writer, I am mostly interested in the natural, undeveloped springs, small salt lakes, mud holes and especially by the distinct breed of travelers that dwell in these strange areas. These intrepid souls, drawn by the whispers of mineral-rich waters and by the nostalgia for their youth, pickle themselves in the rejuvenating waters every summer. Their aching bodies cradled by the embrace of nature's beauty, their floating presence in the tranquil settings that are often neglected and scattered with garbage, make up living museums of the spa culture. The delicate balance between decay and devotion for the earth's healing power is preserved in every local's and tourist's appearance, be it him a child wearing a swimming coil in a mud pool, a seller of nothing in front of his pawn shop or a retired accountant wearing her precious white hat in a warm soup teeming with microorganisms.