Oradea

 As a grand-grandchild of an Armenian merchandising family who settled down in Arad county in the 18^th century, Seprosi Czaran Kristof Gyula was born on 8/20/1847 in Sepros, county of Arad. Czaran Gergely (1818-1890) was his father and barachazai Capdebo Anna (1827-1864)  his mother.  He went to elementary school in Sepros where he was also able to learn the Romanian Language.  He continued his studies at the Minorita Highshool in Arad until 1866 when he transferred to the 8^th grade at Junior Highscool in Pozsony in order to learn German.  By this time he was able to speak Latin and German, too. Due to his persistence and diligence he graduated with cum laude in 1867.  Because of his father he gave up engineering and registered to the Law School in Budapest.  There in his spare time he learnt French and Italian languages very easily. As it was expected that time but mostly because of his father’s urge he continued his law studies in Vienna. He couldn’t get through his second examination because he got sick and went back to Sepros in 1871.  From his forced farming he most often escaped to the Beli- mountains.There he visited the Meziad Dripstone Cave.  He was the first who opened up and mapped three levels in this cave.  Meantime he travelled all over Italy, Germany, Austria. He was in the French Alps, the High Tatra and Transilvania.  After his father’s death (11^th of January ) he rented the inherited estate in Sepros and  used the income for opening up new areas and building tourist path in the Beli and Bihar mountains. He rented the  Paradeiszer villa for 10 years, furnished it and also built up tourist trails around the spa.  At his own expense he had a road built to  Dezna fortress.  But his attention gradually turned to Biharfured which used to be rustic at that time. During his roaming and notes taking he met Dr. Petho Gyula, who used to be a geologist at the Hungarian Geological Institute. He learnt a lot from him. Due to his intellectual curiosity, at 45 he registered to Forestry and Mining College in Selmecbanya as a special student in 1892.  During the 3 years spent there he decided to sacrifice his whole life to research the Bihar  Mountains. At the end of 1897 he made the “ Test Tour” which included the Retyicelli waterfall. He announced the first trip for the Szamosbazar tour made in 3 month by 17-18-19 of July 1898. In 1901 he finished the tour in the upper basin of Galbina which was inaugurated on 29 of June. He modified and expanded this tour until the end of his life. In 1902 the Csodavar tour got ready, in 1903 he edited a booklet titled “ Guide for trips in Biharfured “ which described the tourist paths in Biharfured. On 1st of May his tour in Rev was inaugurated and in November the Rev  Cave was opened.  As a result of his opening work around Rezbanya on 15-16-7-17 of July 1904 the so called triple lower, middle and upper tours could be inaugurated. Those held together the most beautiful waterfalls, caves and vista points of the branches of Black Koros.  On the 2^nd of October it was announced that the Szent Laszlo tour of Turi hasadek ( mountain gorge ) was ready. In the spring of 1905 together with road workers, carpenters, miners and smith he went to Galbina to accomplish his plans.  In September of that year he walked all over Remec area and opened three waterfalls of Kissebes.  In October he showed his newest tour to a small group.  This was his last trip.  Under the pressure caused by the deforestation of galbina he returned home to Menyhaza and as he said: “It looks like this New Year won’t bring anything good for me.  My long time developing heart disease this summer got even worse.” He passed away on January the 5^th 1906.  According to his request he was buried on 8^th of January in a simple oak coffin on that place where he died. Not only his relatives, friends and tourist mates attended his funeral but those Romanian people from the neighborhood who were afraid of him at the very beginning because of his strange dressing and  constant murmuring. They were afraid of him.  But the rumor had it that Czaran Gyula encouraged the local peasants to begin enterprise.  He gave loans to those who promised him to pay it back. Besides his love to the nature most likely his love to simple people was greater because he concurred  the conclusion:“ there are many who can’t spend their time with entertainment, relaxation, holidays but the meeting ends everyday.We should open new centers of support for these pour people to raise them from their misery.”That’s why it could happen that the Romanian people followed him to his last trip with a glory due to the “ Prince of Onceasa”.

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