The Jewish Quarter

As always, my text is below. Enjoy the photos, then read more if you like.

Inside the Museum of Ethnography there were many lovely textiles and exhibits of what life was like for ordinary, rural citizens before WWI.

Wedding outfits for a young couple.
Ceramics with whimsy.
The bed shows what a dowry might have involved.

This costume reminds me of a Norwegian Bunad. What do you think, Joanne?
The House of Parliament. We didn't get to go inside. The place was closed.
The Tree of Life Memorial near the Great Synagogue. Each of the leaves honors some one who save Jews during the Holocaust. They are called Righteous Gentiles.
Inside the Great Synagogue






The main entry to the synagogue.

If we didn't know what we were looking for, it would have been hard to spot the Jewish quarter in Budapest. There weren't the falafel stands, etc. that we saw in the Paris Jewish quarter. As you might have expected, Jews in Budapest were deported to concentration camps or imprisoned in the ghetto and the population went way down. You might expect not much to be left. However, even before that the Great Synagogue in Budapest looked more Christian than Jewish. It was designed by a couple of Christians and built in 1859. The design is supposedly based on the descriptions of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. It has two towers which are not typical of synagogues. They even threw in a rose window. One cynic said it was the most beautiful Catholic synagogue in the world. It even has a pipe organ on the inside. That keeps Orthodox Jews from attending. There are other synagogues in the neighborhood that the Orthodox attend. At any rate, this synagogue is an amazing site to visit. It wasn't destroyed during WWII, although it was damaged some. The Gestapo used it for head quarters knowing that the Allies wouldn't bomb it. Catholic priests hid the important scrolls from the Nazis, then returned them to the Great Synagogue so the important original scrolls are still there. The Jews in Hungary were actually treated comparatively well and didn't get in to serious trouble until 1944. About 25% of the population of Budapest was Jewish before the war. Of course, only a small percentage of them made it through--about 70,000 people I think. Back to the Great Synagogue, Tony Curtis (of Hungarian Jewish decent) played a big part in fund raising for the restoration. His daughter, Jamie Lee, is continuing the work.

After our tour of the Great Synagogue, we went by the cemetery next to it. Ordinarily Jewish cemeteries are not next to synagogues, but in this case there were so many Jews slaughtered during the confinement to the ghetto during 1944 that they needed to be buried there. We went on to the Tree of Life monument which honored gentiles who saved Jews. As an added treat, we also were shown where a street festival was. Local artists and bakers had booths. We tried a pastry that reminded me of a rolled up elephant ear, kürtős kalács. I want to try to make them when I get home. Google that name if you'd like to find out more. If you open a franchise in Seattle, I promise to patronize it!

Our stay in the Jewish Quarter concluded with a visit to the Jewish Museum of History. We had a great tour guide who explained the significance of some ceremonial pieces and taught us the name hanukiah for the Hanukkah menorah. The tour concluded with a grim reminder of what Jews endured during WWII and even into Communist rule. Larry has had enough of the Holocaust memorials. It depresses him too much.

We had energy enough for one last tourist site. We chose the Museum of Ethnography, which is right across the street from the magnificent Parliament Building. The Museum itself is in a really impressive building that originally house the Supreme Court. It only takes up a fraction of the building and feels off the tourist beat. It has a nice collection of of costumes, tools, wagons, furniture, and ceramics of many ordinary people who lived in pre WWI Hungary. It had a special exhibit of rugs made in the area.

We went back to our apartment to rest up--sight seeing can be exhausting especially when it's hot out! We feel like we have been taking in most of the important sights around town, though, so have a sense of accomplishment. We had dinner at Cyrano again and enjoyed it. They had something for both of us. We each had potato pancakes and peppers in tomato sauce. Larry added a steak.