Vlad Dracul by Claudia Sonea

How did Vlad Dracul become famous? Well…the novel Dracula written by the Irish author Bram Stoker attracted worldwide attention, mainly after it has been responsible for many theatrical and film interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. He writes about a Romanian count, but his historical connections were seriously wrong and led many people in error. However for the Romanian tourism it is sensational, every year hundreds of tourists are seduced into visiting the legendary castle. Romania is a relatively small country geographically speaking and even smaller when it comes to the economic expansion. Nevertheless, it is rich in culture and people are very friendly. Foreigners don't know this from the beginning, but they discover it after coming here allured by Dracula story. Having a bad publicity abroad, especially due to the gypsies that go illegally abroad and commit crimes, it is refreshing to know that people know more than Romanian corruption, thieves and gypsies; they know about Dracula too. Analyzing the matter, it should not be disturbing for anyone, because once they are here tourist find out the truth. Only Vlad Tepes is to be pitied. From a folk hero- seen this way by Romanians for driving off the invading Turks, he became a famous bloody vampire and that all thanks to the nickname he got for slaughtering 100,000 Turkish Muslims by impaling them on a sharp pole. Still, it's not that bad, after all he is the most famous Romanian that had ever lived. Despite what everyone thinks, Count Dracula might not be Vald III also called Dracul derived from a secret fraternal order of knights called the Order of the Dragon, founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg (king of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperor) to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turk. First off all because in the novel he says at a certain point that he is a Szekely, when in fact he was a Vlach. On the other hand, when Bram's character talks about his background there are obvious references to Romania, of course without any direct connection to Vlad's reign. The history of Countess Elizabeth Bathory who is believed to have tortured and killed up to 700 servant girls in order to bathe in or drink their blood, might be one of the source of inspiration. For Romanians it doesn't matter anymore how much tourists believe in the story or not. The fact that a Romanian is the source of 250 movies really makes them happy. It is a breaking record and they should not be blamed for taking advantage of it. Should we really feel pity for Vlad Tepes who has succeeded to scribble his name in eternity? Don't go away…post your opinion!

related story: http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/107/dracula

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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