>Do the Romanians view Turkey negatively? Or was the
>Ottoman Empire so far in the past nobody cares anymore?
>
Now. I have no idea.
Thirty years ago....it's a mixed bag.
Remember that Romania was not directly run by the Ottomans; it was run by Romanians on behalf of the Ottomans. So there was no actual occupation. Just a lot of tribute paying.
There was a lot of cultural interpenetration: musical, folkloric. A lot of fairy tales have Turkish figures in them. Often the Turks are portrayed as oppressors, but sometimes they are more neutral figures.
They are not seen as people to be imitated -- say the way some Anglicized Indians saw England. For "civilizing" influence, Romania always turns to the west. Perhaps a vestige of the language.
Joanna