Uuuuuuu, I love this question! Is Romania part of the Balkans? Look at the image below and tell me where this is from! If you don’t know, let me give you some context.
But there are multiple iterations in the Balkan area (in Bucharest, people eat mici/mititei with fries, but the rest of the country eats with bread):
You can see how similar this area is in terms of food. Most likely, the mici came from the Turkish kebab, but we do love not giving credit to the Ottoman Empire.
According to dictionary.com Balkans means:
“the countries in the Balkan Peninsula: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, and the European part of Turkey.”
Legends and myths of the Balkan area
Other than similar foods in this area, there is a myth that circulates around this neck of the woods.
In “The Legend of Master Manole,” Prince Radu the Black hires Master Manole and his nine workers to build the most beautiful monastery in the country. The wall of the building would crumble every night, but Manole had a divine dream instructing him to incorporate someone very dear to someone in the group into the monastery’s walls in order for the project to succeed.
Manole, bound by his promise, has to place in the wall the first person who shows up to bring food, and that person is his pregnant wife Ana. Despite attempts to prevent her arrival, Ana reaches the construction site, and the builders encase her in the walls, fulfilling the dream’s guidance.
Upon completing the monastery, Prince Radu questions if they can replicate such splendor. In fear that they might build a greater structure for someone else, the Prince traps Manole and his workers on the roof to perish. Attempting to escape, they craft wooden wings, but one by one, they fall to the ground. A well named after Manole is believed to mark the spot where he fell.
There are a bunch of similar stories: Hungary (Kelemen, the Bricklayer) – funny thing is that Deva fortress is in modern-day Romania, Albania (Rozofa), Serbia (Building of Skadar) and plenty of other places according to Wikipedia not just in the Balkans, but here is where this myth is really popular.
Another legend: Iele (Romania) and Samodiva (Bulgaria)
The Ottoman Empire
As you can see, the Ottomans were the ones controlling this area for quite some time. Some territories were tributary states, vassals, or actually part of the Empire. This meant that some elements of the culture seeped into the Balkans and even some vocabulary (in Romanian, we have words like bacșiș and cișmea which are Ottoman in origin).
I am not going to mention food, as we get very touchy on this subject. Don’t believe me? Say that your country invented the sarma, and you can immediately start a Balkan war.
Rachiu / Rakia / Palinca / (insert another name)
It might have different names, but homemade brandy that is usually made out of plums is really popular in this area. It is a strong drink that burns any problems away.
Balkan memes are a thing
Summary: Is Romanian Balkan?
Yes, it is! The food has a lot of similarities. We were occupied by the Ottomans, we have similar myths and legends, and we all love Rakia especially mixed with memes.
Where did we get the name Mititiei?
Other questions?
Dracula's Guide to Romania 
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