Eger Basilica Dome
Eger, Hungary
September 13, 2008
Eger, Hungary
September 13, 2008
I came to Eger for it’s wine and to see a bit of Hungarian countryside up close. I was enjoying the old world feel of “Central” Europe but I had no idea that I was inching so much closer to “East” rather than “West”. For a place well-known for it’s wine and ecclesiastical importance I found it ironic to learn that it also boasts the northern most surviving minaret in Europe. Apparently I’d arrived at the furthest reaches of the former Ottoman Empire. One of the great battles of Hungarian history ocurred here when 2000 Eger townspeople successfully defended the castle against a siege by 80,000 Turkish invaders in 1552.
Unfortunately the victory was relatively shortlived and the Turks returned in force 50 years later, took the castle and settled in for a 100 year rule during which they built the famous minaret. They also installed several Turkish baths (some remain), updated the castle to Ottoman standards and converted all the churches to mosques. This was to be a pattern I was to see again and again on my travels Eastward until the sight of the Virgin Mary painted on a mosque wall or a mihrab next to an altar no longer seemed worth noting.
