If we don't go to the fish then the fish come to us! That's what my fellow citizens in Bucharest might say. I had a great surprise to discover a fish market right in the city center, near University Square.
Following the walk I reported here, The Center Is Everywhere (Traveler to the city where I live), which ended in front of the Ministry of Agriculture, I discovered something I never thought I would see there. A fish products fair!
The Ministry of Agriculture building is one of the most beautiful in Bucharest. It was built in 1985 according to the plans of Swiss architect Louis Pierre Blanc. I didn't know much about this building, I just always wondered why the Ministry of Agriculture has such a splendid building. I thought this building was confiscated by the communists from who knows what aristocrats or industrialists. For this post, I looked to find out more about the building and I was very surprised to learn that this building was designed and built specifically to be the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture! Moreover, in all the time since its construction and until now, it has only housed the Ministry of Agriculture, under various forms of government of the country, from kingdom to communism and now to democracy.
Well, now in the beautiful courtyard of the ministry those involved in fishing, fish farming, and turning fish into food have gathered for a fair that has been held in the past, but not in this place. Usually, such fairs were located in city parks.
Romanians are fish eaters. Romania is a gifted country with many places where fish feel very good. First of all the Danube river and its delta, located at the Danube's outlet into the Black Sea. Then a multitude of lakes and ponds, as well as mountain rivers. That meant an abundance of fish, which meant cheap fish.
Fish was considered the food of the poor!
That was true in the last century. Now fish is much less and much more expensive!
Under these conditions, such a fair is crowded by people eager not only to eat fish but also to see fish, to show children how fish was caught and cooked in the past.
Some aspects of the fishermen's lives have been reconstructed, but not much, rather simplistically. This is not where the big interest lay.
The interest was the fish itself. The interest was the possibility to taste really wild fish, as now the fish that can be bought in markets and shops is only farmed fish. I like to eat fish and I can say that the difference in taste between wild fish and farmed fish is significant.
This interest and for some, even a curiosity has made the rather small courtyard of the ministry uninhabitable for visitors. Long queues formed at the stalls where fried fish could be bought.
The most watched show was how to cook different fish dishes. This was because the cooks were from the Danube Delta themselves and cooked in the traditional way, quite rough and rudimentary, but very tasty.
Fish soup, a recipe that only delta people do well. It's called "storceag" and it's only made from rare and expensive fish, even protected, like sturgeon and add the sour cream. Cost $8 a serving.
A highly prized fish from the Black Sea, turbot. Pan-fried, it costs $17 for 400g.
A soup and less than a pound of turbot cost $25. A pensioner in Romania has to search his wallet carefully to find this money.
Those who don't have enough money must be content to watch the chef fry these fish.
This way of cooking is not very pleasing to the eye but even to the nose, fish fried on the griddle makes a cloud of smoke and a strong smell that is not liked by everyone. The fish breaks into small pieces, and the pots and pans are not that appealing...
The look is a country canteen, it's obvious that no one cares about the look of the food. That's because the taste is extraordinarily good and special.
With fish, I think it's like perfume. Some people love to eat fish and others hate it. Well, those who love food made from fish don't give a damn about its appearance. They just want to enjoy the great taste that they so rarely get.
Visitors who are not really fish fans have the opportunity to buy other products, from sweets to fruit and even flowers.
Flower prices are not high, as you can see from the photo. In order to calculate it you need to know that $1 = 5 lei (Romanian currency), so the flowers cost from $1 to $4.
Although I used to be a fisherman and loved to eat fish, this time it wasn't the fish that attracted me to this fair. I was drawn more to the crowd of people and the way they look and perform in these public places. I took a few cuts and enlargements of a few photos that captured the expressions and movement of the people in this Ministry of Agriculture courtyard.
How interesting it is to see people when they are so preoccupied with other issues and interests that they don't see that they are being noticed. In fairs and markets, you can see the most interesting attitudes when people are looking for food.
The people were the most interesting. We left everyone with their own problem and said goodbye to this gathering called the fair.
If there was water nearby I probably would have gone boating...
...but like that, I went for a walk to University Square, taking a look at the most interesting building built during the communist years, the National Theatre, opposite the Ministry of Agriculture.
We ended up right at the monument at the intersection of the University dedicated to the Bratianu family, an important family of Romanian politicians from the beginning of the last century.
University Square is an important square in Bucharest. It is located in the center of the capital; its shape is influenced by the Haussmannian model of "La Grande Croisee", delimiting the north-south and east-west axes, so as to encourage urban modernization through Parisian influence.
The buildings of the University of Bucharest, the National Theatre "I. L. Caragiale" and the Intercontinental Hotel.
University Square is a very famous place in Bucharest, it is both the zero-kilometer and the most famous meeting place in the city. It is the very center! There is a lot more to show and tell about this area and I will definitely tell more soon.
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