Ciceu-Poieni is a tiny village in the hills north of the Someș, the kind of place that rarely appears on a map, and near it, at a spot called Podul Milcoaiei, the Romans placed a watchtower on the northern border of Dacia. It is part of the Dacian frontier on the World Heritage list, and today it is just a slight hump in the ground among fields and woods, but its position on the high ground gives a wide view over the valleys, which is exactly why it was chosen. The towers were placed so that each could see its neighbours and pass signals along the frontier with fire and smoke.
The area around was later known as the land of Ciceu, after a medieval fortress on a rocky hill near the village of Ciceu-Corabia, south of here. In the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the fortress and its estates were held by the princes of Moldavia, starting with Stephen the Great, who received them from the Hungarian king, so this little corner of Transylvania was for a time an outpost of a neighbouring state. The castle was destroyed in the sixteenth century, and only a few traces remain on the hill, but the story says a lot about how fluid borders were in this region.
The hills here are covered with meadows, orchards and oak woods, and the villages are spread out along the valleys with wooden houses and small Orthodox churches. In early summer the meadows are full of wild flowers, and the scythe is still used for hay on the steeper slopes. The roads are narrow and winding, mostly asphalted but with potholes, gravel and the occasional stretch of dirt, and you will share them with horse carts, cows and the occasional tractor. Take it slowly and enjoy the rhythm of village life.
There are no services at the site and very few in the villages around, so plan ahead. Beclean and Dej, on the main road along the Someș, have fuel, shops and restaurants, and Dej also has one of the old salt mines of Transylvania, now used for treatment and tourism. Village shops sell bread, cheese and drinks, and you will often be greeted with curiosity and friendliness. Ask for directions if you get lost; people will usually go out of their way to help.