This is our third visit to Recife but the first time we were able to walk from the spiffy modern cruise terminal to the old town. In the past we were given dire warnings about the dangers of the street near the port and told to take a tour or the shuttle bus to the arts market. I remember being in the old town, seeing the ship but being warned not to walk back. “Get on the bus.”
This time, in the port lecture we were invited to walk to the old town, so we did. There were several blocks of transition between the port and the old town, and it might have looked dodgy but there is police presence everywhere.
Once in the old town that presence continued. We were sitting in a café and in the time it took us to finish our cokes police cars went by six times. There were police on the streets, and everywhere there were police call boxes with blue lights on top. Not call boxes in the Tardis sense but poles with surveillance cameras that use AI to detect problems and alert police. They a called “Lideye” and branded “Videovigilancie AI.” They are a high-tech version of the police boxes we had in Jersey City when I was a kid, and many people did not have phones. Only this device calls the cops for you. It’s effective than saying, “Excuse me, can I make a call first?” when someone is holding a knife to you. Last time I was here my blog post was titled “Stay Safe in Recife.” It outlined purse snatchings, knock downs and a broken wrist among my cruise mates in Recife. I did not hear of any incidents this visit.
The old town is in transition. Many buildings have fresh paint, many are covered with scaffolding and netting. The pavement is still in rough shape, and you need to watch your step. There are modern buildings going up in contrast to the older ones. There are still colorful reminders of Carnival.
The main street is Bom Jesus, named because it was the site of the first synagogue in the Western Hemisphere established when this was a Dutch colonial outpost. The Jewish Community petitioned the Dutch to come here to escape the inquisition. The Dutch charter for the colony specifically mentioned the Jewish community.
“…let them not be molested or subject to indignities in their consciousness or their homes.”
The Inquisition followed them. When the Portuguese took over the town, they renamed the street for Jesus to taunt the Jews and started a campaign of forced conversion. The Jewish community prayed for deliverance which came in the form of two ships that carried many of them to other Dutch colonies, most notably New Amsterdam starting New York’s Jewish community. To read about our visit there and see pictures inside the Synagogue (it is closed on Mondays so we could not visit this time) please click here.
The day before Recife we took a “ship day.” We were in the port of Maceio. We’ve been there before. It was beastly hot. I had a cold. So, I decided to take it easy and take a long midday nap.
