27th april
2007
Orange Romania customer base reaches 8.2 million
The customer base of the mobile telephone operator Orange
Romania rose by 16.4 per cent in the first quarter, to 8.26 million from
7 million customers in the year-earlier period, the company’s owner, France
Telecom, announced Thursday.
On December 31, 2006, Orange Romania had over 8.04 million customers.
During Q1 of this year, the telephone operator posted a fast pace of growth in
the number of its customers in Senegal – 97.4 per cent; Jordan – 79.6
per cent and Egypt – 53.2 per cent, according to France Telecom.
The French company regards Romania as a market with an important development potential
of wireless operations, along with Poland, Botswana, Cameroon, The Ivory Coast,
the Dominican republic, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Jordan, Madagascar, Mauritius,
Mexico, Moldova, Senegal, Slovakia and Vietnam.
In this year’s Q1, revenues of Orange Romania’s went up 29.1 per cent
to EUR 283.3 M.
“We are very satisfied with the picking up of the growth pace in subscriber
numbers and with the significant increase in network traffic against previous
quarters,” declared Richard Moat, CEO Orange Romania.
The company has set as this year’s goals to carry on with the expansion
of the broadband network, embracing EDGE and 3G technologies, and will soon introduce
HDSPA-based technologies, also known as 3.5 G, Moat pointed out.
The Orange brand had 106 million customers at the end of this quarter, 63 per
cent above the level recorded at the end of March 2006.
France Telecom announced in a press release on Wednesday that Sanjiv Ahuja, current
Executive Vice-President, would relinquish his position, and is to be replaced
by Olaf Swantee.
The position of executive vice-president in charge of Personal Communication Services
oversees, among others, the operations of France Telecom (Orange’s majority
shareholder) in Romania.
At present, Olaf Swantee - Dutch citizen, aged 41 - is Hewlett-Packard’s
Vice-President in charge of sales and has 17 years of experience behind him in
the informatics industry. As far as Sanjiv Ahuja is concerned, he will continue
to occupy an important position inside the company: he will become President of
Orange Great Britain and advisor to Didier Lombard - France Telecom’s Chairman.
Source: Nine O'Clock
Targoviste, former capital hosting Dracula Tower
Better known as the site of the trial and execution of the Ceausescus in December
1989, the town of Targoviste
is one of Romania’s foremost historic locations. The capital of Wallachia
for approx. three centuries, Tagoviste also hosted the residence of 33 rulers,
from Mircea cel Batran to Constantin Brancoveanu. Probably one of the reasons
for its selection as Wallachia’s administrative centre was its strategic
location, on the main trade route connecting Wallachia to Transylvania
and the Balkan Peninsula. Initially, it operated as a secondary capital (with
Curtea de Arges as the main one), to become the only capital city most likely
under Alexandru Aldea (1431-1436), historians believe. At present some 90,000
people live in the town.
The town of Targoviste is approx. two hours’ drive from Bucharest. The road
passes the Racari locality, where tourists can visit the Ghica
Estate, founded in mid-19th Century, and the Mausoleum Chapel, a masterpiece
of religious architecture, with marble sculpture works. Once in Targoviste, tourists
can check in and then dedicate their time to a rich tourism programme, in a city
imbued with history. Rooms are easy to find in hotels, villas and boarding houses.
Visitors can start with a trip to the Royal Court Museum Complex, one of the major
tourism sites in the town.
The three-century long capital city status entailed a quite dynamic social and
economic development for the town and the region. The progress concentrated around
the Royal Court, an architectural complex erected in the 15th to 17th Centuries.
Ruler Mircea cel Batran is the founder of the royal residence, with construction
works launched around 1400 and finalized in 1476. He is also the founder of the
first royal residence and ordered the construction of the first towers.
The oldest reference to the Targoviste settlement was found in a document by a
Bavarian Crusade fighter, Hans Schiltberger, who took part in the Battle
of Nicopolis in 1396, and noted that Wallachia had two capital cities, Agrich
and Turkoich. Important details on what the Royal Court looked like in the 16th
Century are provided by Francesco della Valle of Padua, who visited the city in
1532, and by Pierre Lescalopier, who passed through Targoviste in 1574.
The museum includes the Royal Residence, the Great Royal Church, the Small Royal
Church and the Chindia Tower. Only the ruins can now be seen of the Royal Residence,
its gardens and fountains. The Great Royal Church still boasts its frescoes with
portraits of Wallachian rulers, and a cannonball stuck in its walls, in testimony
of past wars. In the Small Royal Church, visitors can see interesting pottery
work and the oldest church porch in the country, built concurrently with the church
in the 16th Century.
Standing out in the museum complex, the Chindia Tower was built during the rule
of Vlad the Impaler, better known today as the inspiration for the fictional character
Dracula. The tower was erected during his second rule (1456-1462) and had multiple
functions: a fort element, a watchtower, a repository for the State treasury,
an access gate to the city. The main role of the construction was the military,
defence role, although it served concurrently as a watchtower, a prison and a
repository. The tower is built of red brick, shaped as a cylinder and having a
pyramid-shaped stone basis. It is over 27-metre high, with a nine-metre diameter.
The tower overlooks the church porch dating back to Mircea cel Batran’s
times. The upper platform is accessed through a flight of 122 stairs. The building
has a door opening directly to the royal residence, via a mobile skyway.
Ruler Matei Basarab (1632-1654)
renovates the entire complex, particularly the tower, doubles the inner walls
and builds a Turkish bath. In 1660, ruler Gheorghe Ghica orders the demolition
of the Targoviste residence, on orders from the Ottoman Sublime Port. Constantin
Brancoveanu is the ruler who has the royal residence reconstructed (between 1692
and 1696). After his death, the capital of Wallachia will be moved. The most important
restoration works on the Chindia Tower are carried out in mid-19th Century. The
operation is particularly important, as not only was the complex overhauled, but
also the initial architecture was substantially modified. The latest restoration
works in the complex were reported in 1961, further to an initiative by the Directorate
for Historic Sites, with only superficial repairs carried out since.
At present, the Chindia Tower is a museum, hosting an exhibition dedicated to
the two reigns of Vlad the Impaler. This is a fortunate case; other sites of this
type have not been adequately preserved to be able to host museums. Thus, history
fans have an opportunity to come in touch with their forefathers’ heritage
and to experience unique feelings. Unfortunately, the museum is ever more seldom
visited by Romanian tourists; many of those who still come here are foreigners.
Which would not be a problem, if visitors were at all familiar with the history
of Vlad the Impaler. But more often than not, they are only attracted here by
the Dracula legend. Equally serious is that the locals take advantage of it and
manufacture and sell kitsch items tying the ruler to the vampire. Apart from the
Royal Court, Targoviste hosts a Museum of old Romanian print work and manuscripts,
presenting printings which date back to rulers Serban Cantacuzino, Constantin
Brancoveanu, Matei Basarab and Vasile Lupu.
Stelea Monastery (the Reconciliation Monastery) and the Metropolitan Church are
other sites to visit in the town of Targoviste, highly praised as historic and
religious architecture masterworks. Near Targoviste is the Dealu Monastery, seen
as one of the best architectural works in Romania. Ruler Michael the Brave’s
head was buried in a vault here, under white marble blocks, after he was murdered
in Campia Turzii.Viforata Monastery is only three km away. The monastery, built
in the mid-15th Century, presents a beautiful medieval art collection, whose masterpiece
is a gilded silver icon of St. George.
The town may be a starting point for trips to other tourism sites. In the south,
visitors may drive five km on DN72, to Caianu locality. Take a left there and,
after six km on the communal road, you reach Vacaresti. In the locality you can
visit the Vacaresti Lake and the vestiges of the Vacaresti boyar estate. From
Caianu, visitors may choose to continue on DN72 to Gaesti, and from there on DN61
to Petresti. Between Petresti and Visina there is a natural daffodil reserve,
where rare and highly valuable varieties can be seen. Once in Petresti, visitors
may drive approx. 18 km on DN61, to Corbii Mari locality, where there is another
natural reserve – Izvoarele de la Corbii Ciungi. The reserve is regarded
as one of the richest in the Romanian Plains, with flora and fauna species rather
common to northern regions, and with many protected and endangered species.
East of Targoviste, on DN72, tourists will find the Bucsani locality with its
wisent reserve. If they don’t want to visit the reserve, they can always
go farther on DN72 to I.L. Caragiale, which hosts the playwright’s Memorial
House.
Mountaineers may set out on DN71 from Targoviste northwards. Within kilometers,
there are the Vulcana-Bai and Pucioasa spas, where accommodation facilities (primarily
villas – Carpati, Poienita, Liliac, Miorita) can be found. Pucioasa is just
20 km from Moroeni, on DN71. This locality is the boundary of the Bucegi National
Park. In the Bucegi Park in Dambovita County, there are as many as nine natural
reserves: Orzea-Zanoaga, Zanoaga-Lucacila, Cheile Tatarului, Laptici, Cocora,
Poiana Horoaba, Poiana Crucii, Pestera Ratei, Plaiul Hotilor. Apart from their
scientific and environmental value, these reserves are priceless tourism sites,
and they may offer more than a weekend route. Accommodation facilities, mostly
cottages, are within reach from Moroeni (Scropoasa, Bolboci, Padina) all the way
north to Babele.
Source: Nine O'Clock
Information & Links
romania news
romania news
romania news rss feed
romania news
romania news rss feed
romania news
romania news rss feed
romania news
romania news rss feed
romania news
romania news rss feed
romania news
romania news rss feed
Romania property news
Romania property news
Romania property news
Romania property investment
Romania property investment news property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property romania
property for sale bucharest
property for sale bucharest
property for sale bucharest
property for sale bucharest
romania property investment
romania property investment
romania property investment
romania property investment
romania property investment
Property Romania
Property Romania
Property Romania
Property
Romania
Property
Romania
Property Romania
Property Romania
Property Romania
Property
Investment Romania
Property
Investment Romania
Property
investment Romania
Bucharest property
Off plan property
Romania
Off plan property
Romania
Property for sale Romania
Rss feed romania news.