| Murfatlar | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| Location of Murfatlar | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Romania |
| County | Constanţa County |
| Status | Town |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gheorghe Cojocaru (Democratic Liberal Party) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 69.25 km2 (26.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 10,857 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Website | http://www.primaria-murfatlar.ro/ |
Murfatlar (Romanian pronunciation: [murfatˈlar]) is a town in Constanţa County, Romania.
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The name of the town originates from the Turkish word murvet (meaning "generous man").[1]
Between 1921 and 1965, and from 1975 to 2007, the locality was known as Basarabi. On June 26, 2007 the lower house of Romania's Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, approved a proposal to have the name changed back to Murfatlar,[2] which was also ratified by the Senate and promulgated by the president of Romania on December 20, 2007.[3]
Murfatlar is a port on the Danube-Black Sea Canal and has a population of 11,070. A complex of caves was found carved in the hills nearby, see the Basarabi Cave Complex.
The village of Siminoc (historical name: Turc-Murfat) is administered by the town of Murfatlar. The name of the village comes from the flower Helichrysum arenarium (siminoc in Romanian), which can be found abundantly in the area.[4]
The famous Murfatlar Vineyard and Basarabi Cave Complex are located nearby.
Murfatlar is the birth place of the current Romanian president, Traian Băsescu.