On
Assignment PHOTOGRAPHY SHOOTOUT ISSUE JULIUS MANZANO
The MANILA
ON ASSIGNMENT 2014 TRAVEL WRITING WINNER Yoshke Dimen
You Don’t Know
The House of Ope The Manila You Don’t Know
By Yoshke Dimen PHOTOGRAPHS BY julius manzano
en Doors D
escribe your bedroom.
How our conversation ends up Manila always pulls a shocker. in the nitty-gritty of my personal space is a long story, but it startThis time, I am not sure what is more surprising: that the cab still ed with a frustrated comment about Manila’s chronic traffic has not inched forward or that the driver, who’s asking me to de- problems. Confused? Welcome to scribe my bedroom, speaks fault- the club. But he has apoint, trust me. less English. And with an accent, Rush-hour Manila, where evtoo. Australian, if I’m not mistaken.
ery commute seems like an act of penance. I step out of the vehicle to join the procession of young professionals, all straight-faced as if silently praying they make it on time. Before the driver takes off, he does something familiar: he touches the crucifix of the rosary dangling from the rear-view mirror and makes the sign of the cross. You already know Manila as a city that is predominantly Christian or a land of impressive centuries-old churches. But Manila does not turn her back to those whose beliefs differ from most of her children’s. Throughout her long, rich history, she hascradled, sheltered, and nurtured many other cultures and faiths. The Manila you don’t know is a sanctuary, a melting pot, and --- even when the non-stop honking of buses and jeepneys proves otherwise --- a champion of peace.
J
ewish Connection
How is the Philippines connected to the Holocaust? I find the answer at the heart of Makati’s Central Business Distict. Who would have known? I turn onto H.V. Dela Costa Street, your typical city lane at first glance. But in between corporate towers and embassy buildings are inconspicuous pockets of transcendence. Reminiscent of Singapore’s Telok Ayer and Malacca’s Harmony Street, Dela Costa is flanked by several places of worship including the Church of Latter Day Saints, International Baptist Church of Manila, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel. The most curious, however, lies behind a silver metal gate that bears an image of a menorah. Here, standing before me, is the only synagogue in the Philippines. The center of the tiny Jewish population in Metro Manila, the Beit Yaacov Synagogue is a complex that also houses a Mikveh (ritual baths), a kosher kitchen, and the largest Jewish library in Southeast Asia. Manila’s Jewish presence can be traced back to the early 16th century. The first documented Jews in the country were brothers Jorge and Domingo Rodriguez who, after fleeing the Inquisition in Spain, were tried and convicted in Manila for practicing their religion. When the Spaniards left, Manila became more welcoming. When Jews in Europe faced the threat of extinction, refuge was not easy to find. But President Manuel Quezon’s policy opened the gates of the city and saved more than 1300 Jews from Nazi Germany. “At the request of the Jewish community in Manila, the government issued visas and permitted more than a thousand European Jews to enter the Philippines,” Rabbi Eliyahu Azaria shares in a letter posted on the Jewish Association of the Philippines portal. It lasted not very long. The claws of war got hold of their second home, too.
I
ndian Imprints
tricately sculpted, vibrantly painted gopuras peaking on its skyline It is easy to forget how much and with fewer establishments influence Indian culture has on our own. But all it takes is a simple lining its streets, it is much more subtle than those in Singapore conversation, and you’ll see that or Kuala Lumpur. If anything, the it is there. Tagalog carries many street’s main temple wears a minwords of Sanskrit origin: asawa, imalist architecture. Founded in diwata, budhi, mukha. Still, Ma1929, Khalsa Diwan Gurudwara is nila’s Indian community is barely the oldest Sikh Temple in the Philknown to its inhabitants. Ask any ippines. guy on the street where ChinaThe two-story gurudwara featown is and he will point you to tures a Darbar Sahib, the main Binondo. Ask where Little India is prayer hall, and a langar, a free and he’ll probably point you to, kitchen. The temple welcomes well, India. United Nations Avenue in Paco and invites people of all faiths to is Manila’s Little India. With no in- sit down and dine on the floor together.
Above Muslim Mosque Interior View Right Quiapo
I
slamic Roots
that gives it its name (the Golden Mosque). I continue my It combines Islamic journey by jeepney architecture with Filito Quiapo to get acpino art in the details. quainted with anothIts walls showcase er settlement whose the okir, the Maranao roots run so deep yet folk design that uses so overlooked that geometrical and floral Not too far from it barely gets a dot here, on Globo de Oro motifs, among others. on the tourist map. I The largest mosque alight right after Que- Street, rises Masjid in the capital, it can Al-Dahab, crowned zon Bridge and turn by a gold-painted accommodate up to onto a narrow alley. 3000 worshippers. Finally, I find the wel- onion-shaped dome come I have been looking for: “Ahlan Wassahlan,� affixed on one face of the arch that ushers visitors to what many refer to as Muslim Town.
Right Islam Okir
The mosque did not take shape until 1976, but Islam is one of the oldest religions in the Philippines dating back to the 14th century. When the Spaniards, led by Martin de Goiti, came to the city, they were greeted by a Muslim ruler, Ra jah Sulayman. Manila then was an Islamic city-state with strong diplomatic ties with
the sultanates of Sulu and Brunei. However, centuries of colonization and oppression changed the cultural and religious landscape. Today, Manila’s Muslim population is now concentrated in Quiapo. As I make my way back to the main road, I take a good look at the magnificent Minor Basilica of
the Black Nazarene, a Catholic church on the other side of the street. As I stand in between two houses of worship that have co-existed peacefully, it all dawns on me. Sure, Manila lives in a home with an altar, a Bible, and perhaps framed images of San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod on one wall. But that’s just the part of the house we immediately see. In the next room is a Quran, next to a prayer mat, neatly rolled up in a corner. In another room, candles wait for the next Shabbat. In the past, some rooms may have been closed shut with metal locks from the West, but Manila keeps them open when she can, when her hands are not tied.
Above Islam Golden Mosque Right Islam