On the road between Tilişca and Rod, on a farther away peak on the left-hand side you will see a cross… This is Ţancul Turcului (The Turk’s Crag) where legend has it that a long, long time ago after a Turkish invasion the locals found a wounded Turk soldier. They did not punish him, but took him to the village and made him a part of their community.
As soon as you get to Rod you will see beautiful traditional houses, big homesteads, river stone cobbled courtyards and high wooden or masonry gates. The local tradition in Rod is for the youngest child of a family to stay in the same house with his/her parents; thus, there are homesteads with as many as three generations living together.
The population dropped significantly at the beginning of the 20th century when some of the locals took their flocks to Russia, others emigrated to the United States of America and others left for the West Plains - all in pursuit of a better life.
The village is placed at an altitude of 815 m and it offers various possibilities to hike on the surrounding peaks. Regardless of the chosen path, your hike will take you along hay meadows, past huts, orchards and scattered flocks.
Did you know...?
The name of the village comes from a Saxon named Roth who is said to have left his family and birth village - Apoldul de Sus to accompany the Romanians who were banished from there and help them set up a new village.