NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND ETHNOGRAPHY

The Gagauz National Museum of History and Ethnography was founded in the village of Beşalma on September 16, 1966 by Dmitri Kara-Ciobanu, whose name it received in 1988. The museum closed in 1982 for renovation work. In a periodic bulletin of 1993, UNESCO mentioned the museum as a unique centre of Gagauz culture. In 1995 the local authorities raised it to the status of a national museum. Dmitri Kara-Ciobanu dedicated his life to research on Gagauz culture, traditions and history. His children also worked at the museum as guides. The collection comprises nearly 6,000 pieces and the objects presented here bear witness to the culture of the Gagauz people. The works of Gagauz writers and poets can be seen. The most valuable documents are a collection of original films, produced during the Gagauz colonization of the Boudjak steppe (a multi-ethnic region which was the southern part of Bessarabia, situated along the Black Sea between Danube and Dniestr before 1940). You can watch these films in the small cinemas provided for this purpose. Works by Moldavian and Gagauz artists are on display, traditional costumes, carpets and embroidery, tools and everyday objects from the 19th century for the most part (spinning wheels, looms, presses...). Numerous photos illustrate the daily life and historical events through which this village passes.

The other historical attraction of the village is its old wooden mill.