St. George and the Dragon

Szia,

Yesterday Jimmy and I did a little religious pilgrimage around Budapest, starting in the Jewish quarter, viewing the old Orthodox Jewish synagogue which is no longer in use, viewing the main Budapest synagogue which is the largest synagogue in Europe, and then making the trek to see the very old Serbian Orthodox Church on Szerb utca in the oldest part of Pest.

View of Old Orthodox Synagogue

The Synagogue sits on a very narrow street, and is very tall and long. It's difficult to get good photographs. I'm sure if I was a professional with wide angle lenses and all that it would be different, but, alas, I just have my little Cannon Power Shot Elph, which does the trick pretty nicely for someone who isn't a pro.

One of the Towers on the Old Synagogue 

A Side Door on the Old Synagogue

Looking Up

This Was Our Attempt to Look Through the Gates into the Interior

The new Synagogue is not far away and so we strolled over there. We have not toured it yet---waiting for a cold and rainy day. It's a gorgeous building, built in the Moorish style with rounded tours, filigree work everywhere, and beautiful ornamentation everywhere.

Budapest Synagogue with it Moorish Towers 

Window Ornamentation

Arcade Near the Entrance

You can see Jimmy bending over to look at God knows what!

Entrance to the Courtyard 

Plaque Commemorating the Building

Main Entrance and Rose Window 

Back Corner of the Building

We then had to trek through the Jewish quarter to the oldest part of Pest. Interestingly enough, the city walls of Pest do not survive, however there are one or two small slabs where portions of the surviving walls have been incorporated into the wall of a building. I was fortunate enough to find one of these slabs of marble and I was excited to be able to to photograph it.

Portion of the Old Wall of Pest 

Closeup of Old Pest Wall

Plaque Commemorating this Old Potion of the Wall

 

And now on to Szerb utca to find the Servian Orthodox Church. For those of you not familiar with this branch of the Catholic Faith, the Serbian church is part of the faith of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Here is Szerb utca.

Szerb Utca 

Plaque of St. George Slaying the Dragon Outside the Church Gate

Closeup of the Plaque

The church sits inside a courtyard. It's a beautiful little courtyard, full of evergreens. There are tombs built into the walls all around the courtyard wall.

Gate Into Szerb Church Courtyard 

Evergreens in he Courtyard

Courtyard Wall

Church Tower

The walls of the courtyard were covered in graves and so I took pictures of many of them.

Chlid's Ball

I thought it was funny because in this ancient Orthodox church there were children playing in the edge of the courtyard. When we paid to go inside the church we realized their mother is the caretaker, so they all pretty much hang out in the courtyard, playing, her gossiping with her friends and doing some yard work, until some tourists like us come to pay to see the church. I thought it was quite an interesting mix of old and new.

Swingset

Tombstone with Skull 

Tombstone with Skull and Crossbones

The inside of the church itself was beautiful and ornate although I didn't think it was appropriate to take pictures. The pews were mahaogany, and were more like thrones with tiny little seats than pews, having arm chairs separating one from the other.  There were some simple frescoes on the ceiling, mostly in shades of blue. There were beautiful sensors and chandeliers. Most interestingly were the icons. There were only about two of them but they were very ornate, depicting the Virgin and Child.

It was definitely a day worth remembering, and I'm glad we got to see some sights that are some of the lesser known sights in Pest.

The Father of the Roses

Today Jimmy and I mad a pilgrimage across the Danube to the hilly neighborhoods of Buda to see the tomb of Gul Baba, also lovingly known as the Father of the Roses.

Here is a picture of this beloved Turk.

Gul Baba, Father of the Roses

Gul Baba was a Turkish dervish, who are of the Sufi branch of the Muslim faith. When the Ottoman's occupied Turkey in 1541, Gul Baba was a friend to the Hungarians as well as a great teacher and leader. He was so loved that when he died a beautiful tomb was built, and he was giving he loving name of Father of the Roses.

He is commonly called the Father of the Roses, legend being that he introduced roses to Hungary, but thsi is not historically accurate. More likely he received that name because of his love of roses and his beautiful garden.

Jimmy and I strolled off the beaten path, up a winding hill and up rickety stairs, wondering if we were in the right place, when I saw the domed structure with the Muslin half moon on top of the building. The tomb was surrounded by Middle Eastern cedars and was a quiet beautiful place of contemplation in the midst of a bustling city.

Entrance Down Into the Tomb Garden 

Cedars 

More Cedars

I'm sure the building is very beautiful in the summer time. At this time of year, the flowers were dead. There is a gravel courtyard with fountains lined with Turkish tiles that surround the round building that is his tomb. Cedars flank the outside of the area. I understand that in the summer the tomb is open, but it was closed due to the weather. You could peer inside and see his sarcafagaus, covered with prayer rugs. It was quite a touching sight to behold.

Here are some photographs of the tomb itself.

Gul Baba's Resting Place 

Another View of the Tomb

Rooftop Decoration

This is a Portico Surrounding the Tomb Garden

Here is one of the beautiful fountains paved with painted Turkish tiles.

Fountain Lined with Blue Painted Tiles

And finally we leave you with some pictures of the man himself.

Gul Baba on His Hilltop 

Friend of the Hungarians and Father of the Roses