With summer almost at an end, I figured that I should actually start exploring the country that I've been living in for the past 7 months, instead of always leaving the country. So I decided that I would go to Pecs for the weekend. Pecs is a rather modern and cosmopolitan city 3 hours train ride south of Budapest. While it was founded as early during the Roman ages, it was the Ottoman empire, the Turks, who have left the greatest marks on the city. The Turks ruled the Southern part of Hungary under the Ottoman empire for many years and it is one of the few Hungarian cities which counts a mosque as one of its central highlights of the city. After having been to Turkey, naturally I was interested in viewing this town for myself. The southern region is also famous for its red wine production, so it was also part of the draw there.
I think one of the reasons why I have always been so reluctant to explore Hungary is because I was consciously aware of the gigantic language barrier that I faced. Hungary is not like its neighbour Austria where most people (even middle aged adults) speak a certain level of english that makes it possible to communicate with foreigners. From my experience, it is my belief that it is the minority (and mainly the young) who dare to speak a little english. So I was reading up vigorously on Pecs before I went and trying to find out easy ways to get to my hotel. Ok... so when I got to Pecs, I was able to buy a bus ticket. But the buses recommended in the guidebooks to the city centre did not reflect correctly when I checked the street guide for the buses. So I was half contemplating walking when Bus 32 pulls up in front of me and I see on the board that it stops at Szechenyi ter (city centre) so I got up and ask nervously in Hungarian if the driver speaks English. He says no, and that phrase is the extent of my Hungarian. So I ask, "Szechenyi ter?" He says yes and something more.... and I'm like huh... And then a passenger on the bus tells me that yes it goes to Szechenyi ter and tells me to hop on. Hoping for the best, I do so. So I sit down with my guidebook open to the mini map printed there and suddenly realize that the bus is going on a circular route AROUND the city centre and it's driven itself off my map. So I sit there hoping to see some street names that I can recognize and then suddenly, this old lady sitting behind me taps me gently on the shoulder. She speaks no english, I speak no hungarian, but somehow she manages to communicate to me which street the bus is travelling on and I realize that I can get off at the following stop to get to my hotel. So this is my first hour in Pecs... but somehow I feel comforted by the fact that despite the language barrier, this old lady has gone out of her way to help me. The funniest thing is that when she was trying to tell me that that stop was onroute to the city centre Szechenyi ter, she kept saying, "Jami, Jami!" And I was like huh, then SUDDENLY it hit me, Jami = Mosque in TURKISH. Thank god for knowing that little bit of Turkish and that's how I managed to piece everything together.
Anyhow, made it to my hotel. Pretty good location, right in middle of the town. Got a single room for 6550 forints/night including breakfast. First time I was able to afford a hotel room on my own haha... I certainly made use of the private bathroom.
When I was in my room I kept hearing alot of noise so when I peeked out it was a couple getting married in the courtyard! I think that this was a popular spot for getting married because in the 3 days that I was there, there was a wedding there everyday! So naturally I never had much quiet in my room in the afternoon...
Once I arrived, I just quickly dumped my bag and went out exploring...
Jewish Synagogue. Before the war, 5000 Jews lived in Pecs. During the war, they were all sent by the govenment to Auschwitz and less than 500 survived. A memorial inside commemorates those who were killed.
Zsolnay Fountain (Secessionist design)
Town hall...
Hungarian Modern Art gallery (I think)
Janos Hunyadi monument.
Post office
So while walking around, I figured why the buses routes had changed, because the enter Szechenyi ter was under construction so it was basically closed to traffic. But now I was able to see it, the famous Gazi Kasim Mosque. Today, it is correctly known as the INNER CITY PARISH of St Mary, having been coverted from a mosque into a church. But for 2 centuries, this was the city's primary mosque. You have to buy a souvenir as a ticket, so I just bought a postcard. Compared to the mosques in Turkey, this was definitely less lavish, and perhaps not as well preserved, but I liked the contrast on how this had previously been a mosque but had been converted into a church. You find the opposite done in St Sophia in Instanbul.
Interior of the Mosque/church. The prayer niche and the calligraphy at the entrance are dead giveaways that this used to be a Mosque.
Original picture of the Mosque...
Later that night, I went out for a walk on Kiraly street, the pedestrian area where all the main eating areas are. Interestingly enough the most crowded place (or it seemed to me the first night) was macdonalds. I had a glimpse at some of the restaurant's prices, and they seemed pretty touristy...
I think one of the reasons why I have always been so reluctant to explore Hungary is because I was consciously aware of the gigantic language barrier that I faced. Hungary is not like its neighbour Austria where most people (even middle aged adults) speak a certain level of english that makes it possible to communicate with foreigners. From my experience, it is my belief that it is the minority (and mainly the young) who dare to speak a little english. So I was reading up vigorously on Pecs before I went and trying to find out easy ways to get to my hotel. Ok... so when I got to Pecs, I was able to buy a bus ticket. But the buses recommended in the guidebooks to the city centre did not reflect correctly when I checked the street guide for the buses. So I was half contemplating walking when Bus 32 pulls up in front of me and I see on the board that it stops at Szechenyi ter (city centre) so I got up and ask nervously in Hungarian if the driver speaks English. He says no, and that phrase is the extent of my Hungarian. So I ask, "Szechenyi ter?" He says yes and something more.... and I'm like huh... And then a passenger on the bus tells me that yes it goes to Szechenyi ter and tells me to hop on. Hoping for the best, I do so. So I sit down with my guidebook open to the mini map printed there and suddenly realize that the bus is going on a circular route AROUND the city centre and it's driven itself off my map. So I sit there hoping to see some street names that I can recognize and then suddenly, this old lady sitting behind me taps me gently on the shoulder. She speaks no english, I speak no hungarian, but somehow she manages to communicate to me which street the bus is travelling on and I realize that I can get off at the following stop to get to my hotel. So this is my first hour in Pecs... but somehow I feel comforted by the fact that despite the language barrier, this old lady has gone out of her way to help me. The funniest thing is that when she was trying to tell me that that stop was onroute to the city centre Szechenyi ter, she kept saying, "Jami, Jami!" And I was like huh, then SUDDENLY it hit me, Jami = Mosque in TURKISH. Thank god for knowing that little bit of Turkish and that's how I managed to piece everything together.
Anyhow, made it to my hotel. Pretty good location, right in middle of the town. Got a single room for 6550 forints/night including breakfast. First time I was able to afford a hotel room on my own haha... I certainly made use of the private bathroom.
When I was in my room I kept hearing alot of noise so when I peeked out it was a couple getting married in the courtyard! I think that this was a popular spot for getting married because in the 3 days that I was there, there was a wedding there everyday! So naturally I never had much quiet in my room in the afternoon...
Once I arrived, I just quickly dumped my bag and went out exploring...
Jewish Synagogue. Before the war, 5000 Jews lived in Pecs. During the war, they were all sent by the govenment to Auschwitz and less than 500 survived. A memorial inside commemorates those who were killed.
Zsolnay Fountain (Secessionist design)
Town hall...
Hungarian Modern Art gallery (I think)
Janos Hunyadi monument.
Post office
So while walking around, I figured why the buses routes had changed, because the enter Szechenyi ter was under construction so it was basically closed to traffic. But now I was able to see it, the famous Gazi Kasim Mosque. Today, it is correctly known as the INNER CITY PARISH of St Mary, having been coverted from a mosque into a church. But for 2 centuries, this was the city's primary mosque. You have to buy a souvenir as a ticket, so I just bought a postcard. Compared to the mosques in Turkey, this was definitely less lavish, and perhaps not as well preserved, but I liked the contrast on how this had previously been a mosque but had been converted into a church. You find the opposite done in St Sophia in Instanbul.
Interior of the Mosque/church. The prayer niche and the calligraphy at the entrance are dead giveaways that this used to be a Mosque.
Original picture of the Mosque...
Later that night, I went out for a walk on Kiraly street, the pedestrian area where all the main eating areas are. Interestingly enough the most crowded place (or it seemed to me the first night) was macdonalds. I had a glimpse at some of the restaurant's prices, and they seemed pretty touristy...
