Silistra (Bulgarian: Силистра,) is a port city in the far northeast of Bulgaria on the southern bank of the lower Danube at the country's border with Romania. Silistra is the administrative centre of the Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of Southern Dobrudzha. Many historical landmarks including a Roman tomb, remains of the Medieval fortress, and an Ottoman fort. The Romans built a fortress in AD 29 on the site of an earlier Thracian settlement and kept its name, Durostorum (or Dorostorum).
Wikipedia [Sep 2014]
YouTube video of city. [Sep 2014]
The first Jewish community dates from the 16th century. Jewish population:14 people in 2000.
CEMETERY:
Located near the Romanian border and an old Christian cemetery. Despite heavy overgrowth and its close proximity to an oil refinery and several apartment buildings, this site remains a pilgrimage site for the tomb of Rabbi Eliezer Papo (1785-1827?), an influential expert on Jewish law and ethics, who was born in Sarajevo but died in Silistra during a cholera epidemic. The 1,200 acre site [sic] is unprotected, the tomb itself is fenced off. A new monument was erected in 1998. The mostly 20th century marble and granite gravestonesthat are visible are inscribed in Bulgarian, Hebrew and Romanian are visible. The Jewish community owns the site.
The Jewish cemetery now contains an oil factory and several residential buildings. No fence or gate mark the boundaries of the 1,200 sq m site. Most of the site is obscured by thick vegetation. A mikveh (ritual bath) was also recently built there for the use of pilgrims. The site is owned by the national Jewish community. photos [Sep 2014]
Pictures of the cemetery and Papo's tomb
photos [Sep 2014]