The largest populations make their homes in former communist countries and nearly all are at the bottom of the economic and educational ladder.ДЄfter so many centuries of struggle, it is perhaps unsurprising that those who achieve a measure of economic success want to flaunt it. Today an estimated 10-12 million Roma live in Europe. Hundreds of thousands of Roma people were murdered during the holocaust. While Roma communities have existed in Europe for a millennium or more, they have often been the target of discrimination and worse. (Regardless, English language speakers should definitely avoid using the word вЂњgyp,вЂќ which is a clear racial slur.) Because the word вЂњgypsyвЂќ is so common, some activists advocate owning and reclaiming it others feel the name carries too many negative connotations. Recent evidence suggests that the group actually made their way to Europe from northern India. The name вЂњgypsyвЂќ is itself controversial, based on a now debunked theory that the Roma people hailed originally from Egypt. In a country with few tourist attractions, Soroca is comparatively overflowing with them, boasting both a medieval fortress dating from the days of Иtefan cel Mare and several new вЂњfortressesвЂќ built by members of the Roma community.

Across the Nistru River from Ukraine sits the Moldovan town of Soroca, known as the countryвЂ™s Gypsy Capital.

Gpsy architecture soroca