Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Communist bloc apartment buildings built in the late 1980s in the area of south central Bucharest that was once part of the historic center, known as 'Little Paris' between the World Wars, because of its beautiful villas and architecture. Ceausescu leveled 1/5th of the center area to make way for the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world. Wide boulevards modeled after North Korea replaced narrow streets and Communist Blocs were erected in place of beautiful old buildings.

Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Communist bloc apartment buildings built in the late 1980s in the area of south central Bucharest that was once part of the historic center, known as 'Little Paris' between the World Wars, because of its beautiful villas and architecture. Ceausescu leveled 1/5th of the center area to make way for the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world. Wide boulevards modeled after North Korea replaced narrow streets and Communist Blocs were erected in place of beautiful old buildings. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090626_0329.jpg 76cad0cecc3e230c4944f16c573aa9a6 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20100623_4443.jpg 67936e7df6f5c310252a4010544e69e8 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090120_5041.jpg 5b979bf5e5b783db2bbe54ec28be7893 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090925_1001660.jpg a993c19ffe01bd2ee0b16449b0215fb1 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The city is plagued by poor infrastructure even three years after Romania's accession to the European Union. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090901_1000844.jpg 0b5e43fdc458c6f96c0cfefdf982d17e Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A woman entering an expensive clothing store on Calea Victoriei, the historic main street in Bucharest. In the last 5 years a frenzied consumer culture has developed in Bucharest and luxury stores have opened along the street leading to the rise of the nouveaux riche or 'fitze' crowd as they are known locally. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090902_1000912.jpg 257dc400dc682521639aa8895135c6bf Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Piata Unirii in central Bucharest on a rainy summer night which was once part of historic Bucharest, known as 'Little Paris' between the World Wars. Its beautiful villas and architecture were leveled by Ceausescu in the mid 1980s to make way for the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world. Wide boulevards modeled after North Korea replaced narrow streets and Communist Blocs were erected in place of beautiful old buildings. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090622_0145.jpg 61d1d058630a85499d285f1cc10d6bc0 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A young woman at an underground music event in a dilapidated building in central Bucharest. In recent years both a commercial club scene as well as an underground music circuit has rapidly developed in Bucharest. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090913_3177.jpg beef61735e82a3c58823ab344476efea Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A woman at Studio Martin, a trendy Bucharest club, late on a Saturday night. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091004_4919.jpg 13c3e109ad3e5c56a1aaacdd786c042f /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090120_5177.jpg 45c94363e0064fc41e22db9a600c9dfb Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A Communist-era kiosk at night along a side street in central Bucharest. Although foreign investment has flooded into the capital in the past 5 years and Western style consumerism has developed, remnants of Communism can still be glimpsed everywhere. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090909_2961.jpg 7fe62c8f391f8a9d9c0ee30731a5ec15 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Maria_hand_haystack.jpg 59f7f8f4f6b8fe9c493d0c1d43286c4d /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060903_MG_1700.jpg bc402fd0ab11b7a3fbb3bf34f3a4e519 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060904_1889.jpg 550980c4a2714cc9ddb284a97699ff67 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060916_017.jpg 335bfd6a8cdbf8d2e001e8febf671081 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Fetching a haystack. /html/../gallery/large/Bruegel_winter_scene.jpg 39cb0b509e5b70234f255b5e0324a553 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Winter_Hay_Rack_Panoramic.jpg ee23431ffd6fd5dedf4fc2d8de736317 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Christmas morning outside the village church. /html/../gallery/large/Christmas_Embrace.jpg 40c36ab56e7c58e240b355dddba08501 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Funeral_Meal_.jpg e746a206a3ef0fcff796cc803619eb14 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. The village priest consecrates the house where a husband and wife have died with holy water. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Priest_Interior.jpg 1975144f1df945bdb104b31ab8f6f38f /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2008_Luca_family.jpg cf33ae1006dbc88efc71c581765698ac /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Market_Day.jpg 2181d38fd23732d6ea5307d5d30f7003 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2002_Ocna_Winter_Testing_Horse_Panoramic.jpg 95c0d145b0054b34f4fac6142f44f237 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Children_Sarbi_Casa_de_Lemn.jpg 113d19a6dd283279219383600837b20d /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Spring_Celebration.jpg 0d0608bb6c47980209c34e3ef3334d1a Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Teenage girls on Easter Sunday. /html/../gallery/large/Easter_Girls.jpg 83780b964481cd6d3e78dd89776c583c /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Barsana_Wedding_Dancers.jpg ca71bbcd1c9a8753b4da94f031f238a9 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Spring_Folk_Festival.jpg 24318afe29adbbd04bad1d76751e4c90 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2008_Ilie_and_Ileana.jpg 690bfeff440dd323ccdfd6cdf4e5a9ff /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Valeni_Autumn_Fields_Panoramic.jpg 872f5667a4e2b0af6d1636a5d14f5ea2 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Spring_Plowing_Clop.jpg 21d9346efab39c43cdc576533d582d61 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Woman_Rain_Secatora.jpg 0ee0fac440acb3b71e1fe1daa053ec11 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Summer haymaking. /html/../gallery/large/Summer_Haymaking.jpg 361ea38f297eb9440a388aaec877e723 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Husband_Wife_Embrace.jpg 716c8613e1a7c5d1616ea330cc899e77 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. A woman rests during the autumn harvest. /html/../gallery/large/Harvest_Woman.jpg b114848f812a77177870c4b017dfe2a4 Bucharest, Romania, 28 July 2010. A street scene in the Drumul Taberei neighborhood which is full of Communist blocs. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20100728_5935.jpg 660cddb0cfd3fd385c73f9f2de29f6c5 Bucharest, Romania, 28 July 2010. A street scene in the Drumul Taberei neighborhood which is full of Communist blocs. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20100728_5924.jpg 43ee8f53bc6595b27fb935a00c2578e6 Bucharest, Romania, 28 July 2010. A street scene in the Drumul Taberei neighborhood which is full of Communist blocs. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20100728_5944.jpg 57e85641dae687bb6c3a8a62f718faa3 /html/../gallery/large/20-Years_Later_text_2.jpg 0e9e4ee7b058a73993e5fb87fbdf995a Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Communist bloc apartment buildings built in the late 1980s in the area of south central Bucharest that was once part of the historic center, known as 'Little Paris' between the World Wars, because of its beautiful villas and architecture. Ceausescu leveled 1/5th of the center area to make way for the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world. Wide boulevards modeled after North Korea replaced narrow streets and Communist Blocs were erected in place of beautiful old buildings. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090626_0329.jpg 76cad0cecc3e230c4944f16c573aa9a6 Bucharest, Romania, 2010. A model at a fashion show at the Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel with top Romanian designers honoring Alexander Queen. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20100623_4449_02.jpg e6154046155024495907d0dc10c8c41a A view of the Dambovita river with one of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's unfinished building projects on the left which was meant to become one of a number of large eating halls serving Bucharest's citizens; stores with food were to be abolished. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090120_5041.jpg 5b979bf5e5b783db2bbe54ec28be7893 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A couple in Piata Revolutiei where Ceausescu was booed at his last speech on 21 December 1989 and Communism fell. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090902_1000914.jpg 5425594ec8d0fd8c4ad93c6246d81089 Bucharest, Romania, 2010. The Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world. Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu leveled historic Bucharest, once known as 'Little Paris' between the World Wars, in the mid 1980s to make way for the palace. Wide boulevards modeled after North Korea replaced narrow streets and Communist Blocs were erected in place of beautiful old buildings. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20100519_3144.jpg 26f5b561fb382097ea2c3af6656d1e9e Bucharest, Romania, 2009. People on their way to work in the city's growing financial district around piata Victoriei. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090917_1001141.jpg bb019e5b52d7c5f1f80d887f914bafb0 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The House of Radio, one of numerous grandiose unfinished buildings which are a legacy of the Ceausescu era. Work on scores of projects was immediately stopped following his execution but some are finally being rebuilt including this one which is being transformed into a mall. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090930_4774.jpg b119b8269bf0d7261770bbdf2576cc7a Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The city is plagued by poor infrastructure even three years after Romania's accession to the European Union. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090901_1000844.jpg 0b5e43fdc458c6f96c0cfefdf982d17e Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A street scene. Bucharest is undergoing massive renovations since Romania's accession to the European Union in 2007. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090719_1322.jpg bcf7bfadb4712cb7538dc81a1794a5ab Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The facade of a pre-Communist apartment bloc in the center of the city along Calea Victoriei. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090704_0599.jpg f97e2fdc403410a5ad5759d58c5d5bae Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Nouveaux riche women drink tea at The English Bar inside the Athenee Hilton Hotel once full of intrigue during Communism. The Securitate were known to bug all of the rooms and high priced prostitutes roamed the halls. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091116_8877.jpg c8f9590d5a92cf3e9987076a32447be4 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Nouveaux riche women at Balthazar, a trendy restaurant in a villa in the historic center of the city. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091114_8468.jpg 5934358afbea2e35b62863692e3ea1c7 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The scene at a charity event inside Nicolae Ceausescu's Palace, the second largest building in the world. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091031_6926.jpg 5147f303d12e264df4d8b86bb923a0c7 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A couple at the NGO Ovidiu Rom's annual charity event on Halloween in Ceausescu's Palace, the second largest building in the world. Leslie Hawke, the mother of American actor Ethan Hawke, came to Romania in 2000 as a Peace Corps volunteer and subsequently founded the organization that seeks to put impoverished children in school. The event raised 350,000 Euros. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091031_6972.jpg 46d9a37886371abbfb2ca5d87d08419a Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A woman walks through a doorway in Nicolae Ceausescu's Palace, the second largest building in the world. Its construction involved the destruction of one quarter of the historic center, the relocation of tens of thousands of people to Communist Blocs and the bankruption of the nation in the 1980s. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091031_6977.jpg 1df6389698ca97f3b2d997eccd9338c6 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Piata Unirii in central Bucharest on a rainy summer night which was once part of historic Bucharest, known as 'Little Paris' between the World Wars. Its beautiful villas and architecture were leveled by Ceausescu in the mid 1980s to make way for the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world. Wide boulevards modeled after North Korea replaced narrow streets and Communist Blocs were erected in place of beautiful old buildings. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090622_0145.jpg 61d1d058630a85499d285f1cc10d6bc0 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The scene inside an expensive restuarant in central Bucharest. Bars and restaurants catering to business men and the growing nouveaux riche class have appeared all over the city in the past few years. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091111_7521.jpg a449df9ca86519fa3721d929e7b379e7 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A couple at an underground bar called OTA which attracts Bucharest's trendy young art crowd and is open only on Wednesday and Thrusday nights and only serves soup along with drinks. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091112_7543.jpg 74582eff51bbee8c5f209cbe3467a199 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The lighting in a bar in a villa. Many hip cafes and bars have recently appeared in pre-Communist 'Little Paris' style villas that dot the historic center of Bucharest that escaped Ceausescu's bulldozers in the 1980s. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090920_3751.jpg 2f0c79e970b27aa9337493d2241fb745 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The scene at an underground music event in a dilapidated building in central Bucharest. In recent years both a commercial club scene as well as an underground music circuit has rapidly developed in Bucharest. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090913_3373.jpg 8258bce15256e149f4e0b35c5362c6e0 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Apartments in the center. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090120_5177.jpg 45c94363e0064fc41e22db9a600c9dfb Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The view to the street below from the top floor terrace at an exhibition opening at Point Contemporary, a prominent new art gallery in Bucharest. The city is just now leaving it's Communist past behind and a vibrant art and cultural scene is emerging with many exhibition openings and screenings appearing each week. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090909_2889.jpg b9488ea13ac47166c477c51a52ad8db0 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Communist-era apartments in the area that Ceausescu leveled in the 1980s to make way for The Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world. The dictator destroyed a fifth of historic Bucharest and bulldozed churches and thousands of 'Little Paris' style villas to do so. Wide boulevards modeled after North Korea replaced narrow streets and Communist Blocs were erected in place of beautiful old buildings. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090915_3525.jpg 617d6309a4809795982d05257dd8e9c7 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A Communist-era kiosk at night along a side street in central Bucharest. Although foreign investment has flooded into the capital in the past 5 years and Western style consumerism has developed, remnants of Communism can still be glimpsed everywhere. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090909_2961.jpg 7fe62c8f391f8a9d9c0ee30731a5ec15 /html/../gallery/large/Bucharest_Women.jpg a9643c1743cdebeb86dbb31b658f6075 Bucharest, Romania, 2010. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20100623_4443.jpg 67936e7df6f5c310252a4010544e69e8 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090925_1001660.jpg a993c19ffe01bd2ee0b16449b0215fb1 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A woman entering an expensive clothing store on Calea Victoriei, the historic main street in Bucharest. In the last 5 years a frenzied consumer culture has developed in Bucharest and luxury stores have opened along the street leading to the rise of the nouveaux riche or 'fitze' crowd as they are known locally. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090902_1000912.jpg 257dc400dc682521639aa8895135c6bf Bucharest, Romania, 2009. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090902_1000892.jpg 3e4c6bed772069b98439b33d44b2e462 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Twins, Irina and Iulia, who are 20 and from the northern city of Suceava but studying in Bucharest. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091006_5058.jpg d28909341626c7645edcb47d83584edc Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Teenagers on their way to, the best high school in Bucharest. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090917_1001101.jpg e49201ccd7a3ca8ff668bd442bb8c3a6 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090819_1000718.jpg c0d8b44f326172e1d0925e45ffec0c94 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090921_1001542.jpg 8adf657119953b47af3551694f944098 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A woman in the Piata Unirii area of central Bucharest which was once part of historic Bucharest, known as 'Little Paris' between the World Wars, because of its beautiful villas and architecture. Ceausescu leveled the area in the mid 1980s to make way for the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world. Wide boulevards modeled after North Korea replaced narrow streets and Communist Blocs were erected in place of beautiful old buildings. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090925_1001681.jpg 555146b759a2bcca805ef0b7b2509066 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A street scene in the piata Unirii area that Ceausescu leveled in the 1980s to make way for the Palace of Parliament. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091006_1002104.jpg 164f806e58e1a0a550e0ae80e119bfd5 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090807_1000629.jpg 2e11e7929be0985ffc09d629a185414d Bucharest, Romania, 2009. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091112_7719.jpg beec1fb6e1ca6e9352e7145f4dd5ad1a Bucharest, Romania, 2009 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091125_1003059.jpg a8bbc7184cfc3ba38763a6ba52ec9bd8 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Young women on the top floor terrace at an exhibition opening at Point Contemporary, a prominent new art gallery in Bucharest. The city is just now leaving it's Communist past behind and a vibrant art and cultural scene is emerging with many exhibition openings and screenings appearing each week. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090909_2856.jpg d050237556b23501f0ad71f5c044a5b4 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Bucharest's underground art scene. Revelers at an all night party organised by Bucharest artist and entrepreneur Stefan Cosma. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090904_2536.jpg 4340bc0cae167beac08a9cb97d94ff6e Bucharest, Romania, 2009. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090920_3625.jpg 02c340977deb8239092071af680d611e Bucharest, Romania, 2009. The scene following a late night vintage fashion show in a bar in a villa. Many hip cafes and bars have recently appeared in pre-Communist 'Little Paris' style villas that dot the historic center of Bucharest that escaped Ceausescu's bulldozers in the 1980s. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090920_3748.jpg 4eee0729d3fac8a80901386c05258fda /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090913_3192.jpg 03658ae27cd45ee7112f749970495f90 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A young woman at an underground music event in a dilapidated building in central Bucharest. In recent years both a commercial club scene as well as an underground music circuit has rapidly developed in Bucharest. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090913_3350.jpg 64c7177d0de8014d31fab2d1963ba6b3 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Saturday night at The Opium Stage Club below a passageway in the Old Town of Bucharest known as Lipscani. The area experienced a revival in summer 2009 when scores of cafes, bars and clubs suddenly opened. Complex ownership agreements related to the buildings left over from the Communist era and poor city oversight had hampered rennovation and still do to some degree. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091121_0134.jpg 7e0ff2b7678a16a6efdeac382a88fcc6 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A young woman at an underground music event in a dilapidated building in central Bucharest. In recent years both a commercial club scene as well as an underground music circuit has rapidly developed in Bucharest. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090913_3177.jpg beef61735e82a3c58823ab344476efea Bucharest, Romania, 2009. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091031_7008.jpg 779bb4cf63905726123fb2f1f0a9bf99 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. Women at the after party at the NGO Ovidiu Rom's annual charity event on Halloween in Ceausescu's Palace, the second largest building in the world. Leslie Hawke, the mother of American actor Ethan Hawke, came to Romania in 2000 as a Peace Corps volunteer and subsequently founded the organization that seeks to put impoverished children in school. The event raised 350,000 Euros. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091101_7072.jpg fa952bed86fbfb877a708a1650f66bc1 Bucharest, Romania, 2009. A woman at Studio Martin, a trendy Bucharest club, late on a Saturday night. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091004_4919.jpg 13c3e109ad3e5c56a1aaacdd786c042f Near Buzau, Romania, 2009. Leslie Hawke, left, mother of actor Ethan Hawke, on the grounds of an American friend's summer home northeast of Bucharest over the July 4th weekend. Hawke came to Romania in 2000 as a Peace Corps volunteer and has stayed ever since, starting her own NGO to help put impoverished Romanian children in school. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090705_0666.jpg 7ff2ae566cc493b83920bda7ba1ea08b Near Buzau, Romania, 2009. Bryan Jardine, an American lawyer (center on raft), in his pool with friends at his summer house over the July 4th weekend. Jardine came to Romania in 1998 and runs an office out of Bucharest. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20090705_0692_02.jpg 2c14a05dbf98d230d796d8d4daef5087 Sintesti, Romania, 2010. Gypsies in front of their home and BMW. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20100718_5584_02.jpg acc9c6e3da233d554f64e104747530ba /html/../gallery/large/Maramures_text.jpg c2357eb38d11b72fdcb559b06af5945e /html/../gallery/large/Bruegel_winter_scene.jpg 39cb0b509e5b70234f255b5e0324a553 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Hay drying racks. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Winter_Hay_Rack_Panoramic.jpg ee23431ffd6fd5dedf4fc2d8de736317 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Village men transfer a haystack to a horse drawn sleigh. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Winter_Haystack_Panoramic.jpg aead6d19ea1d0c6920294737469ebd55 Ocna Sugatag, Maramures, Romania. Livestock market. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Ocna_Winter_Snow_Panoramic.jpg 7e591e1d65b6449536c81c2f69d5c22a Ocna Sugatag, Maramures, Romania. A winter scene. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2002_Ocna_Man_Dog_Panoramic.jpg 1adcda0478e607ad98b878ffbfdceb84 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Back from the weekly market in a neighboring village. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Winter_Back_From_Ocna.jpg 55d08c231c49b5280d7b68655e7c8682 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Christmas morning outside the village church. /html/../gallery/large/Christmas_Embrace.jpg 40c36ab56e7c58e240b355dddba08501 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Villagers gather for a funeral meal. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Funeral_Meal_.jpg e746a206a3ef0fcff796cc803619eb14 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. An old woman outside her traditional wooden home. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Old_Woman_Casa_Lemn.jpg f88ca8aabeb702dba3d60e8d169e73f9 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Teenage girls on Easter Sunday. /html/../gallery/large/Easter_Girls.jpg 83780b964481cd6d3e78dd89776c583c Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Ilie and Ileana in their kitchen. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2008_Ilie_and_Ileana.jpg 690bfeff440dd323ccdfd6cdf4e5a9ff Alexa, 60, wrestles with an unruly horse. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_Alexa_horse_2008.jpg b34c65ce114052584ee6ccdcc47f2cc5 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. The Luca family planting beans in springtime. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2008_Luca_family.jpg cf33ae1006dbc88efc71c581765698ac Calinesti, Maramures, Romania. Villagers enroute to a weekly livestock market. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Market_Day.jpg 2181d38fd23732d6ea5307d5d30f7003 Ocna Sugatag, Maramures, Romania. Gypsies test the strength of a horse at a livestock market. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2002_Ocna_Winter_Testing_Horse_Panoramic.jpg 95c0d145b0054b34f4fac6142f44f237 Hoteni, Maramures, Romania. A couple at a spring folk festival. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Spring_Folk_Festival.jpg 24318afe29adbbd04bad1d76751e4c90 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Maria, 19, in the doorway of her home. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2002_Maria_Breakfast.jpg 28323f88607b594254ceecf624f97735 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Resting during spring plowing. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Spring_Plowing_Resting.jpg d5e2bf837317da91485278a58f155760 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Spring plowing. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Spring_Plowing_Clop.jpg 21d9346efab39c43cdc576533d582d61 Glod, Maramures, Romania. A couple at an annual Measurement of the Milk Festival where a priest blesses the village's sheep and the shepherds milk them and take them into higher pastures for the summer. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Measurement_of_Milk_Portrait.jpg c51c378a5718024307aa5135b355a77c Budesti, Maramures, Romania. Cafe. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Budesti_Cafe.jpg ea11ba8b82a007ebadca9a37440f3e5a Calinesti, Maramures, Romania. A family gathering. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Spring_Celebration.jpg 0d0608bb6c47980209c34e3ef3334d1a Sarbi, Maramures, Romania. Children walk home from school in one of the most traditional villages left in Europe. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Children_Sarbi_Casa_de_Lemn.jpg 113d19a6dd283279219383600837b20d Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Girls walking to church on a sunday morning. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Autumn_Promenading.jpg e19043078bf2d31b0187bb321b6d546c Barsana, Maramures, Romania. Folk dancing at an all night wedding. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Barsana_Wedding_Dancers.jpg ca71bbcd1c9a8753b4da94f031f238a9 Moisei, Marmamures, Romania. Provession of the virgins on St. Mary's Day. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Moisei_Virgins_Procession.jpg b9b74a45f8a9419d3aedb543e8b7fcaa Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Fields in autumn. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Valeni_Autumn_Fields_Panoramic.jpg 872f5667a4e2b0af6d1636a5d14f5ea2 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Caught in the rain after a day making haystacks. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Woman_Rain_Secatora.jpg 0ee0fac440acb3b71e1fe1daa053ec11 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. A husband and wife embrace amongst sheep. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Husband_Wife_Embrace.jpg 716c8613e1a7c5d1616ea330cc899e77 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Summer haymaking. /html/../gallery/large/Summer_Haymaking.jpg 361ea38f297eb9440a388aaec877e723 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. A woman rests during the autumn harvest. /html/../gallery/large/Harvest_Woman.jpg b114848f812a77177870c4b017dfe2a4 /html/../gallery/large/Maramures_In_Transition.jpg dfa2dcade1b8ad7d8674217e0abcb3df Breb, Maramures, Romania. Ancuta, 17, in her room. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060903_MG_1700.jpg bc402fd0ab11b7a3fbb3bf34f3a4e519 Budesti, Maramures, Romania. Ion, 16, smokes in the village bar. Most youth have left to work in Western Europe. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20061021_3680.jpg ced3b8ef960dda937834fee32eb73857 Budesti, Maramures, Romania. A wedding in the village's lower 18th century wooden church. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20061007_2918.jpg 6fd9f086c34933d3e841ca89d7bb80d3 Breb, Maramurs, Romania. Ancuta and Liviu. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20061014_3217.jpg 263d354f663bdf31300923701a316238 Breb, Maramures, Romania. Liviu and Ancuta. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060904_1836.jpg ef2a9f6311c083115ba709e264a9613c Valeni, Maramures, Romania, 2003. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Maria_hand_haystack.jpg 59f7f8f4f6b8fe9c493d0c1d43286c4d Breb, Maramures, Romania. Haymaking. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2006_Breb_Haymaking.jpg f367744fa21d80d2ec64b48686fa2a71 Ocna Sugatag, Maramures, Romania. A cafe. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2006_Ocna_cafe.jpg a1472b4d1563a365b5ac6b547ca8da81 Ocna Sugatag, Maramures, Romania. Teenage girls. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2006_Roller_Blading_Maramures.jpg 49aa9283f8fbbe75426226cd0fdee4c2 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Teenage girls outside the village bar. Romania's accession to the European Union has brought about rapid changes as youth return from working in Western Europe with cars, Western style clothing and the money to build new villa type homes. In the space of a few years a centuries-old way of life is changing. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20080504_2134.jpg a3723a8f67e542d29f5cb529a2200d02 Maria, 19, who has already worked abroad in Spain. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20080507_2274.jpg 2c0532eb8295cdf6d6b703dfff59ac7b Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Ileana on her 19th birthday with friends. The Maramures region of northern Romania has some of the most traditional rural life left in Europe but many youth now work much of the year in Western Europe as agricultural laborers or in construction. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20080429_1981.jpg eb32d507749b0b6d9e303f8b71114569 Budesti, Maramures, Romania. Anuta, 16, with her father watching newly installed satellite television. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2006_Annuta.jpg 3cf83c27bb6ac15e278b458f2969dd25 Sarbi, Maramures, Romania. A ceiling inside a home. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060928_2554.jpg bc3af28fa8c30fa68f7576d4eeb728e3 Sarbi, Maramures, Romania. Visiting Annuta. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060904_1889.jpg 550980c4a2714cc9ddb284a97699ff67 Sarbi, Maramures, Romania. Anuta's room. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060904_1872.jpg 2293f7140536662e658a50f1c9504940 Cornesti, Maramures, Romania. Ion, 16, who wants to join his uncle working in Sweden. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20061002_2763B.jpg c9bd229fa17c85108839057c11a826f9 Budesti, Maramures, Romania. The kitchen in a traditional wooden home. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2006_Budesti_Kitchen.jpg 1812356c62c659fdcd541ba466918228 Glod, Maramures, Romania. Inside a new restaurant in one of the most traditional and isolated villages in Europe. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20080428_1924.jpg 802e1541dae10855b423856f9966d707 Sarbi, Maramures, Romania. Anuta and Liviu. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060928_2645.jpg 8d75131ce38da8b4f53e6ad9ac3f56e9 Budesti, Maramures, Romania. Folk dancing at a summer wedding. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060903_1475.jpg 36be07a9ff1d41448fd44bd4ab736842 Budesti, Maramures, Romania. After church. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2006_Budesti_Church_Panoramic.jpg 367fac0e3d70df3693802b6caf08de03 Budesti, Maramures, Romania. A birthday party in a traditional wooden home. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20060916_017.jpg 335bfd6a8cdbf8d2e001e8febf671081 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. A family's framed collage of pictures of relatives and friends in folk costume. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091229_2375.jpg 9c2888a8c9753f49759415f6f0221426 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. Village women attend Orthodox services on the second day of Christmas festivities. During holidays the entire village still dresses up in traditional folk costume. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091226_1730.jpg a7af9de447478e4363168dd3b7facf19 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. A brand new brightly colored villa sits decorated for Christmas on a muddy side path. Both children from the family have spent the last four years working in Ireland and have sent back thousands of euros to their mother who was living in an old wooden home. In a matter of a few months a modern european style villa has replaced the folk architecture. The visual look of Maramures villages is suddenly changing. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_20091230_2696.jpg 5b87675316e66aad92fe08efdc610a38 Valeni, Maramures, Romania in winter. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Winter_Valeni.jpg 8ed1ff891d8f1044f4f6c32f1e10d325 Valeni, Maramures, Romania. A woman laughs inside her home. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2003_Laughing_Woman_Panoramic.jpg a44b3ea3b643e8509926c63b561f3506 Transylvania, Romania. A village along the Sighisoara-Cluj train route deep in Transylvania. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2000_Train_panoramic.jpg 45e5e605251a48a2fe73e63c2f08ec50 Transylvania, Romania. A view of a factory from the train along the Sighisoara-Cluj route deep in Transylvania. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2000_Train_panoramic_02.jpg 6da30098529bb48b2f9faae505856c7e Transylvania, Romania. A view of a peasant in a field along the train route between Cluj and Baia Mare in northern Romania. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2000_Train_Panoramic_03.jpg b13235006f6357a7adfa08f502c055fe Bucharest, Romania. The street. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2000_Bucharest_street_panoramic.jpg 03853c84c27c8481716aea369abf21aa Sighetu Maramatiei, Maramures, Romania. Gypsies in the market area of this town at the Ukraine border. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2002_Sighet_Gypsies.jpg 45ab0613a26e1f3f8b09a9a3bcdc78e2 Moisei, Maramures, Romania. Youth hanging out at a sculpture remembering villagers massacred in World War II by Hungarian soldiers. /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_2000_Moisei_Boys.jpg 84b47acd969d3a7cd91e54681ab0455a /html/../gallery/large/EAST_page_01.jpg 05c21b98338878a87d87c85e58401546 /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_Vision_02.jpg d3c1a246dd77832f7548ab9a2bb51794 The New York Times. 24 February 2009. "A Crisis is Separating Eastern Europe's Strong From its Weak". /html/../gallery/large/Ellicson_New_York_Times_Publication.jpg afc03f62b86d2d436c71fdec9c43bf2e