The Mureș flows west across Transylvania towards Hungary, and near the village of Vețel, just west of Deva, the Romans built one of the most important forts in their province of Dacia. Micia guarded the river and the road along the valley, the main route between Transylvania and the Pannonian plain, and around the fort grew a large civil settlement with baths, temples and an amphitheatre. Excavations have revealed much of it, though part of the site lies under a power station built in the twentieth century.
Micia was a garrison for auxiliary troops from across the empire, including units from Syria and North Africa, and inscriptions found here show the diversity of the people who lived in this frontier town. The amphitheatre, one of the few in Roman Dacia, has been partly excavated. The Mureș valley was also important for transporting gold and salt from the mines of the Apuseni mountains to the north. Deva, eight kilometres east, is dominated by a medieval citadel on a volcanic hill, reached by a funicular.
The riding around Vețel is mostly along the Mureș valley, where the main road is busy with trucks between Deva and Arad, and a motorway now runs parallel. The minor roads into the hills on either side are quieter and more interesting. To the south, the Poiana Ruscă mountains have winding roads through forests and villages. To the north, the Apuseni mountains offer some of the best riding in Romania. The Orăștie mountains, to the south-east, contain the Dacian fortresses, including Sarmizegetusa Regia, the capital of the Dacian kings before the Roman conquest.
Vețel is a village with basic services, and Deva, eight kilometres away, is a city of sixty-seven thousand with fuel, shops and restaurants. Hunedoara, south of Deva, has the spectacular Corvin Castle, one of the largest Gothic castles in Europe. The local food is hearty Romanian cuisine. The Roman site at Micia is not developed for visitors, but the location, with the river and the hills, helps you imagine the bustling frontier town that once stood here.