Yassy (Jasi, or Yashi), which became the capital of Moldavia when Suchova was annexed by Austria, occupies a position far less central than does Bucharest, but the fertility of the surrounding country, the proximity of the navigable {169} Pruth and of Russia, with which it maintains a brisk commerce, and its position on the high-road joining the Baltic to the Black Sea, have caused it to increase rapidly in population. It is a flourishing town now, though no longer the seat of an independent government. Built upon the foot-hills of the Carpathians, the city presents itself magnificently from afar, and its exterior is not belied by its finer quarters. Jews, Armenians, Russians, Tsigani, Tartars, and Magyars are numerously represented amongst its population, which is semi-Oriental in type. We may almost fancy ourselves standing upon the threshold of Asia. The church of the Three Saints is distinguished for its originality, and is a masterpiece of ornamentation in the Moorish style. [Illustration: Fig. 47.—VIEW OF BUCHAREST.] All the other towns of Rumania are indebted for their importance to their position on commercial high-roads. Botosani, in Northern Moldavia, lies on the road to Galicia and Poland, and the same may be said of Falticeni, whose international fairs are always well attended. Commerce causes the towns on the Danube to flourish. Vilkof is a great mart for fish and caviare; Kilia, the ancient Achillea, or city of Achilles; Ismail, where the Russian Lipovani are numerous; Reni; Galatz, said to be an ancient colony of the Galatians, now the {170} most important commercial emporium on the Lower Danube, and seat of the European commissioners for its regulation; Braila, a poor village as long as the Turks held it, but now important on account of its grain trade, and the literary centre of the Bulgarians. All these towns, though situated on the banks of the Danube, may be looked upon almost as ports of the Black Sea, through which the produce of the country, and especially its grain, finds an outlet to foreign markets. Giurgiu (Jurjevo) is the port of Bucharest on the Danube; Turnu-Severinu is the gateway of Wallachia, below the great narrows of the river; Craiova, Pitesci, Ploiesti, Buzeu, and Focsani form the terminal points of the roads descending from the high valleys of Transylvania. Alecsandria, a town recently built in the centre of the plain which extends from Bucharest to the Olto, has become a depôt for agricultural produce.