Noah in Budapest: Budapest Jewish Quarter, part 1

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I was absolutely swamped at work last week--I didn't even have enough free time to check webcomics. If you know me, that's a pretty impressive statement

Anyways, back on track, I thought I'd post some pictures from when my mother and I visited the Budapest Jewish quarter. This was actually a very nice Sunday outing--everything else in the entire city is closed on Sundays, but the Jewish quarter sights are still open (cuz they're closed on Saturdays, obviously)

First stop was the Great Synagogue, which is the second largest temple in the world (after whatsitcalled in NYC). Though maybe not quite as grand as some of the churches I've seen, it was still impressive without a doubt (sorry the pictures are dark, we weren't allowed to use flash)

Here's the main hall. You can hopefully make out the upper galleries to the sides--traditionally synagogues have separate areas for men and women, so the upstairs is for the ladies

A closeup of the side galleries. Pretty cool

Presumably the eternal light (although theirs appears to be electronic, which seems like cheating)

I like spiral staircases, ok? I think they are cool. This was a particularly cool one, so I took a picture

In addition to the synagogue, the complex also has a memorial and cemetery. Not quite as impressively depressing as the one in Prague, still very solemn

The memorial itself is a weeping willow. Each leaf is inscribed with the name of a Hungarian Jew killed during the Holocaust

A very poignant reminder

Finally, there is a museum of relics and other memorabilia. There was some absolutely gorgeous stuff here. And, unlike the similar museum in Prague, they allowed photos here :)

A torah. For those that don't know, the silver thing is a pointer that is traditionally included with a torah to help reading--you're not allowed to touch the scroll with your bare fingers