Budapest -- JTA Highlights Ovas! and its attempts to save the architectural fabric of the Seventh District old Jewish quarter

 My favorite sign in the 7th district (for a dentist). I hope it doesn't get gentrified away... Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

JTA's intrepid Wandering Jew, Ben Harris, has written a lively story on the continuing battles over the fate of the Seventh District, Budapest's old downtown Jewish Quarter -- and the district in which  have had an apartment for the past 10 years. (It's a good summary -- and I'm glad to see it because I'm due to speak about the development of the Seventh District at a conference in a couple of weeks in Vilnius...)

He highlights the gentrification but also the activities of Ovas!, an organization founded about five years ago, in attempting to save the dilapidated buildings of the District from unscrupulous developers and the wreckers' ball. Ovas! fights the good fight, but to me the group's failure has been to say "no" to tearing down buildings without putting forward strong, positive alternative strategies.

 Poster for Ovas! outside the Siraly cafe on Kiraly street, Dec. 2008. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

I advised Ovas! a little at the start of their activities (they even brought me to brief a city official on my strategic views) and I spoke about the development of Jewish quarters in general at a conference a few years ago organized by Ovas! A number of the people involved (including several of those quoted by Harris in his story) are friends of mine, and I particularly admire the detailed work that Anna Perczel has carried out so passionately over the years. Her book on the buildings of the district is exciting, to read -- but particularly to walk around with.

(See my own JTA story from 2004 about Ovas! by clicking HERE)

Gozsdu Udvar is a controversial restoration/gentrification project in Budapest's Seventh District. In later August/early September, part of the annual Jewish culture festival took place here. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

Harris notes some of the corruption involved in the development of the District (fast becoming one of the city's trendiest neighborhoods for cafes and pubs). Many of the developers involved are Israeli.

Gyorgy Hunvald, the mayor of District 7, which includes the Jewish quarter, was deeply involved in selling off historic properties and allegedly making buckets of cash in the process. Hunvald was arrested in February and is now in jail facing charges of bribery and abuse of office.

Perczel sketched out a mind-bogglingly complex story of how investors, developers and the authorities in District 7 colluded to sell off properties, move people out of their homes, and tear down historic buildings for redevelopment. Some aspects of the corruption she describes border on the comical, as when a document that the district was obliged to take into account in formulating its development plan was declared secret and sealed for 15 years.

         Read full story at JTA web site


I began writing about these battles nearly 10 years ago, around the time that I got my apartment, when the local government in the Seventh District (local administrations in Budapest have more power than the city-wide administration) had drawn up plans to punch a pedestrian walkway, the "Madach Promenade", through the district.

When I wrote a "Letter from Budapest" on the issue for Business Week, gentrification of the area was just beginning, but  issues had already festered for years -- actually, for nearly a century. Planners had dreamed of building a new "Madach Avenue" through the district -- and in the 1930s had gotten close: they tore down the so-called Orczy House, a rambling center of Jewish life in the city, and in its place built a brick apartment complex with a huge archway that was to be the gateway to the new Madach Avenue. World War II put an end to these plans.

The Madach Promenade, in fact, is the latest incarnation of a grandiose dream that city planners have tried to implement at intervals over the past century. The failures left the district in limbo, compounding damage done by war and communist-era neglect. Three years ago, architect Andras Roman singled out the Madach plan as an example of how a bold but misplaced vision contributes to urban blight. In ''The Tragedy of an Avenue,'' which appeared in a Budapest cultural journal, Roman traced the failures to the city's behavior as a living organism. City planners, he wrote, ''didn't realize that a city wants to progress by its own rules. It is an inner process that resists the artificial.''

Today, despite all the plans, this process persists. In fact, many locals doubt that the Madach scheme will ever come to pass. But the state of limbo may turn into a fait accompli. Demolition by neglect is a byproduct of inertia, and vacant lots can be more valuable than those with old buildings on them. The Seventh will change, but perhaps not as anyone now envisages.

         Read full Business Week story
 
        Read my 2004 JTA article about OVAS!

Big Online Jewish Postcard and Photo Resource

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

An article in the online Jewish Magazine has led me to the web site of Stephanie Comfort, who has collected more than 9,000 postcards, most of them pre-war scenes of Jewish life and places, all over the world.  Comfort writes:

When asked what I do I often reply " I collect dead Jews" - their photos, their market places, their shtetls and towns, their Synagogues, their festive occasions, their lives in black and white and their deaths in the Holocaust. I try to recall a particular face whenever I say Kaddish as all members of most of the families were murdered at the same time and ask others who look at my postcards and photos at my Exhibitions to do the same. My Rabbi at one occasion told me that I am "ransoming the captives"….especially when most of my postcards come from Eastern Europe or Nazi family albums. A good many of the cards in my collection are from the late 1880's and what are called Cabinet Cards taken in photography Studios. I was born with the "collecting gene". 

 In addition to the web site she maintains  a flickr stream with thousands of old postcards -- and also photographs, some of which she has taken.

There are numerous old postcards of synagogues (sometimes along with present-day photos of the same site). Some of them are mis-labled. But I found images that I had never seen before. In particular, it was exciting to see so many views of the destroyed neolog synagogue in Bratislava, the Wilhelm Stiassny synagogue in Malacky, Slovakia, and the Lipot Baumhorn synagogue in Lucenec, Slovakia -- all of these views showing the synagogues standing in old Jewish neighborhoods that also were destroyed.

Pre-war Jewish postcards showing synagogues, genre scenes, religious observances, cemeteries, and portraits are a popular collector's item, and several books showcases collections have been published. There are also a number of on-line showcases for these. among them is a web site showing postcards from the collection of Frantisek Banyai, now leader of the Prague Jewish community.

Pangkor Seafood Village at Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Pangkor Seafood Village (N3°06.876' E101°36.762') located at Jalan SS24/8 of Petaling Jaya, which is opposite of Fatty Crab Restaurant.
Our initial plan was Fatty Crab, too bad it was close that day! So we just had our dinner opposite before we left Kuala Lumpur.

Pangkor Seafood Village of Petaling Jaya

Another reason which attracted us was this banner below... :)

Crab promotion - Eat 2 free 1!

We were there about 6pm, it was not crowded yet. The restaurant was quite clean...

Since this was our first time here, we let the waitress to recommend the foods...whatever she mentioned, we just OK.

Our order as below :-
1) Deep Fried Tou-Fu (Signature Dish)
2) Assam Fish Head
3) Honey Chicken
4) Vegetable
5) Kam-Heong Crab (Signature Dish)

Deep Fried Tou-Fu comes with special sauce

Assam Fish Head

Honey Chicken

Vegetable

Kam-Heong Crab (Signature Dish)
Ordered 2KG free 1KG, look at it! Like a small hill!

Overall the foods were great! Especially the Assam Fish Head, we Love it very much! Taste was different from Muar Assam Fish - Merlin Restaurant and Malacca (Melaka) Assam Fish - Bei Zhan Restaurant. Special!
The rest of the foods we rated above average, but...I just felt the crabs taste just ok...average. But the quantity was scary!! Haha! (We ordered 2KG, and 1KG free cos of the promotion)
We spent about an hour to slowly finished all the Crabs.

The total Damage was MYR155.00 included drinks. (For 6 adults and 2 children). Very reasonable! The crabs cost us MYR65.00.

Overall rated : 4/5

We enjoyed the meal here...
Anyway, it's just because of Fatty Crab Restaurant was close, unexpectedly we tasted another Great Assam Fish at Petaling Jaya! I will still come back for Fatty Crab for another comparison. :)

Location map of Pangkor Seafood Village at Petaling Jaya

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Budapest -- Heads Up for Hanukkah Festival

 Lighting menorah at concert, Hanukkah 2008. Budapest. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

The old Jewish quarter in Budapest, in the city's inner Districts 6 and 7, will be hosting a big festival throughout the eight days of Hanukkah -- the evening of Dec. 11 through Dec. 19. The main sponsors are the JDC and Marom (the youth group of the Masorti, or conservative, movement). The web site is only in Hungarian so far, and I have not seen the full schedule of events yet, but there are to be concerts, lectures, guided tours, workshops, etc. I've been asked to take part in some sort of conversation on the first night.

About 30 local businesses --cafes, shops, art galleries, pubs, restaurants,  synagogues, the JCC and the Jewish Museum -- are taking part in one way or another.   This is much much bigger than the Hanukkah festival last year, which mainly took place at the Siraly cafe -- I posted a video on this blog of the klezmer/punk/hip hip/fusion party I went to during those events.



That is:

Bálint Ház (JCC)
Bar Ladino
Boulevard és Brezsnyev galéria
Carmel Étterem (kosher restaurant)
Dohány utca synagogue
Dupla (restaurant)
Ellátó
Fröhlich Cukrászda (kosher pastry shop)
Garzon Cafe
Hanna Étterem (kosher restaurant)
Humusz Bár
Kádár Étkezde (lunchroom)
Klauzál Étterem (restaurant)
Klauzál13 Vince Könyvesbolt és Galéria (bookstore and gallery)
Kőleves (restaurant)
Kuplung (club)
Lámpás
M Étterem (restaurant)
Mozaik Teaház és Kávéház (tea house an cafe)
Mumus (club)
Orthodox synagogue
Rs9 színház (theatre)
Rumbach utcai synagogue
Sasz Chevra (Lubavicsi) (Chabad synagogue)
Sirály (cafe)
Spinoza Ház (cafe/theatre)
Szimpla (cafe)
SzimplaKert (cafe)
Szóda (cafe)
Take5
Tűzraktér
Jewish Múseum

Tugu Negara (National Monument) at Kuala Lumpur

Tugu Negara Malaysia(National Monument)
We visited this park after our late breakfast on Day 2 in Kuala Lumpur. This was my second time visit the National Monument. It's actually nice to walk around the area...

It's also a nice place for photography

The entrance of the National Monument

You will pass by the Lotus Pool before the monument. I like the design of the iron Lotus in the water.


Once you pass by the pool, the Tugu Negara Malaysia (National Monument) is in front of us!




"Tugu Negara, literally the "National Monument" in Malay, is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom, principally against the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Malayan Emergency , which lasted from 1948 until 1960. It is located in the Federal capital, Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian Houses of Parliament is situated near the monument.
The monument depicts a group of soldiers holding the Malaysian national flag, the Jalur Gemilang, aloft. Each of the bronze figures symbolizes leadership, suffering, unity, vigilance, strength, courage and sacrifice.
Every year on July 31, Hari Pahlawan (Heroes Day), the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister and heads of military and the police would pay their respects to the fallen heroes by laying garlands at the monument." For more info, please click here.

Constructed in 1966, the monument is 15 meters ( 49.21 feet) tall, made of bronze and was designed by Austrian sculptor Felix de Weldon, who was also responsible for the famed USMC War Memorial in Virginia, United States.

In 27 August 1975, the monument suffered extensive damage due to an explosion set off by a communist terrorist. It has since been restored to its original state on 11 May 1977. A fence was then erected and the complex was declared a protected area between sunset and dawn. Every day at dusk, a soldier raises the national flag and lowers it at dawn.


My daughter was happily running around the area and I was busy snapping photos at the surrounding...

The path to walked back to the entrance will pass by this small hall which was full of name on the ceiling.

The names of the Heroes...

we spent about an hour here. Relaxing and refreshing.
Before we leave the park, I noticed this cafe which situated on the small hill. It's named Tuguview Cafe. Looks nice decorated.

Decoration on the wall

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Ole Ole Bali Restaurant at Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

The Ole Ole Bali Restaurant (N03°10.511' E101°39.602') is located at Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. This restaurant is recommended by Lau. We reached there almost 8pm, and the underground parking was quite convenience.

I like the Balinese cozy environment but it's a bit dark for dining if you sit outdoor. We placed our order immediately because most of us were starving...:)

Cozy environment of the restaurant

I cannot remember what was in the package, but all of us ordered each with different combination. Myself had a Steak and Lamb Chop...

Steak and lamb chop, mash potato, corn and vege.

Other packages as below...

Extra rice we ordered.

I don't know whether all this foods was authentic Balinese food, but I really enjoyed it! It taste differently from others Indonesian restaurant and delicious! The portion they served was more than a person can handle, so...we share among ourself. But I finished my steak & the lamb chop! Haha!

Carlsberg - MYR38.00 per jug

The good dinner have to go together with beer! Haha! We had a jug of Carlsberg cost MYR38.00. Reasonable price.

The Damage was : MYR260.00 for 6 adults and 2 children included drinks. Thanks Lau's for treat us this wonderful dinner! (Every package cost around MYR35.00)

Rated : 4.5/5

I will visit it again if we are happen to be around here!

Street of Solaris Mont Kiara

Location map of Ole Ole Bali Restaurant


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Art Work on Jewish Heritage Sites

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

In 1993, I took my mother, the artist Shirley Moskowitz, with me on a trip to east-central Europe. I was working on my book Upon the Doorposts of Thy House: Jewish Life in East-Central Europe, Yesterday and Today (Wiley, 1994) and also doing the first updated edition of Jewish Heritage Travel (Wiley 1994).

We went mainly to Slovakia and Poland -- where we met up with my brother, Sam, who was leading a Jewish heritage tour for architecture preservationists.

Mom made many sketches and took many photographs of the Jewish heritage sites that we saw -- mainly ruined synagogues and abandoned cemeteries. She then produced a series of monotype prints from this material. The prints were exhibited several times in Poland -- at the Jewish Culture and Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow, and also in Tarnow.

 Old-New Synagogue, Prague I. Monotype by Shirley Moskowitz. (c) Estate of Shirley Moskowitz

I have now posted images of more than a dozen of these monotypes on the web site that we have set up as an expanding online exhibition to honor Mom and make her work known to a wider public.

Click HERE to access them.