Human establishments are concentrated in depressions, on hills, on river valleys, some of them having a military strategic role – Macin and Luncavita.

Most of Dobrudjan localities have an irregular form, households being specific to the other establishments in Lower Dobrudja, with closed yard, and clear elements for the “household with double yard”, namely the animal yard and the house yard. Peasants used to take great care of animals, which is why the house and the other annexes were oriented towards the cardinal points. Stables are oriented in most cases towards East, while the house is oriented towards the other cardinal points except for the North which is the predominant direction from which the icy north wind blows.  

The traditional household includes the following: “polata” (summer or winter kitchen, “dam” (with separated stables for cows, oxen, spaces for husk and winter fodder), „saiaua” (sheep stable), “cocina” (pigsty) „hambarul cu pivniţă” (store room and cellar) , „curnic” (chicken coop), WC,  „portita” (little gate for people access in the yard), „poarta de intrare cu caruta” (gate for carriage access), „sura cu paie ” (penthouse) in the garden.

Traditional Dobrudjan specific elements: the house built in wagon style with rooms disposed in line, two stream roofs made of reed, gables embellished with jigsawed wood, woodwork painted in blue and green and walls painted in white.

The Romanian folk costume fits into the following pattern: costume with straight shirt (Balkan), with inset and flowered apron. The inset is ornamental, the ornaments being sewn by the needle on the inset and on the inferior part of the sleeve. The apron is rectangular and narrow. It is woven in two threads with different motifs: mirror, peak, chicken, grass, star, etc. The balance between dark and light colours renders the motifs very special. The shades used - green, move, yellow, orange – sketch the motifs on the apron black and red background. The pleated skirt or the dresses are sober and worn over the shirt’s lap; they are fastened with a fixed belt. The favourite jewellery is made of coins. The “coin necklace” is made of “lei” which are slightly overlapped; it is tied under the chin and stretched up to the head under the kerchief. It used to be a very important element, worn by women. Young girl used to have some kind of necklaces worn on the head and earrings made of one coin each. Traditional footwear used to be a special sandal (“opinca”) worn over the foot wrapped in bedsocks and tied with laces (“vanari”) made of horse hair. Later on, women started to wear slippers made of tweed. On special occasions they would wear socks made of wool and special peasant shoes: “iminei” or “conduri”.   Coats worn over the clothes: a quilted homespun coat, sewn with simetrical ornaments, of brown, black or dark colour and a long fur trimmed jacket, worn only on special occasion, made of woven wool, lined with sheep skin and fox collar.  The trousers worn by men (“dulvari”) were cut in 4 parts of tweed, with a big seat and equal front and back sizes. The shirt was straight, with inset, the collar also straight; the sleeve had cuffs (“bratarii”). Coats worn by men are named “aba”, “abalusa” or “manta”. They were made of tweed, which is a peasant fabric woven in 4 threads. Skin coats are made of white ship skin, they can be long or short, with or without sleeves and in such case they are named “pieptar”, “cheptarica”, “boanda”, “bonda”.

The granite extracted from Macin Maountains was used for Cernavoda bridge piers, for pavements in France, Turkey and Germany. Many stone cutters were brought here, from Italy and Greece and the proof stands in their descendants’ families which are still living in Greci village.

Most families living in the surrounding communities rely on farming activities as their main income source. There are schools, medical centers and kindergartens in all localities surrounding the park and in some of them there are also vocational schools, high schools, cultural centers, little restaurants.

People’s activities and life style have been strongly connected for hundreds of years with the steppe meadows, forest, clearings, mountains, and wet zones that surround the park zone. Ever since the oldest times, inhabitants have turned the use of natural resources (wood, reed, animal fodder, medicinal plants, forest fruit, mushrooms, etc) into a real tradition. 

The traditional occupations are: agriculture (cereal crops, fruit trees), fishing, vine cultivation, animal breeding (cabalines, sheep, pigs), apiculture, horticulture, trade with animal/vegetal products, crafts (once very well developed, now in decline) such as stone work, reed work, wood work, clothes making. Representative domains of industry:  light industry, food industry, wood industry, mining industry.

Many traditional life and work styles have been preserved. Horses and donkeys are still used with the traditional means of transport; however animal breeds in this zone are not very performant which is why they have a low productivity. Another part of the community inhabitants works in different domains and carries on activities outside the communities. The unemployment rate is high; people have low chances to find a work place. That is why we are witnessing a massive exode of young population to the big towns in the zone.

Houses, tools and many of the objects used in the every day life are simple and made even today in some households, from local materials and with a traditional technique. Traditional architecture represents a special feature; the houses are made of clay, with roofs made of reed. They are surrounded by simple wood fences. Annexes in which animals are kept are surrounded by reed fences.

Another specific feature of the zone is represented by the different customs practised on different occasions and events (holidays, weddings, christenings, burials, rustic holidays, festivals, fairs) which are real folk costume parades.