During one of our visits to Hungary, Charlie and I had the pleasure to drive to Pécs a three hour drive west of Budapest. One of the oldest cities in Hungary and built on a hillside, Pécs, a university town, has the largest Turkish ruins in Hungary.
I expected to see only old ancient buildings. As we drove into town, many shops, especially the Arkadok shopping centre, were cosmopolitan. There was traffic everywhere and the closer we got to the historical part of the city, the narrower became the streets. Most were one-way and with cars parked on one side we drove with care to avoid hitting them.
In the main square they’d replaced the old cobblestones with new flat ones making it easy to walk on. Surrounding the square were old architectural buildings. We could the City Hall, The country Hall, the Nador hotel, and the Fatebenefratelli Chruch.
The main attraction for us was the Mosque of Pasha Gazi Kasim. Now converted to a Catholic church the crescent moon and cross of Islam were still visible on its cupola. With the only light coming from the arc windows the inside of the church was dark. On some of the plaster were Turkish decorations and inscriptions. I managed to take a few pictures pleased to get away with it.
Through archways twelve streets lead into the courtyard. I could well imagine the old days when knights on horseback rode to this busy part of the town through those archways
Pécs is home to the Zsolnay porcelain factory. Since 1853 it has produced stoneware and other decorative ceramics. In 1893, they started to make porcelain pieces made of eosin. This is a glaze that makes the porcelain appear an iridescent metallic in shades of green, red, blue and purple. Although the Zsolnay Museum was closed that day, the many souvenir shops in the square sold Zsolnay porcelain.
After our pleasant day in Pécs it was a treat to enjoy our beer at one of the many café patios. Pécs was well worth the visit.
When will you visit Pécs?
Louise Szabo 