This walk begins with a very diverse area, where Modernism, Neo-Romanian and Neoclassical buildings, even the odd Italianate villa, stand next to car wash garages, different craftsmen’ workshops, colourful shops, where poverty and richness stand next to each other, complementing each other instead of providing a bothering contrast. Towards the end of the walk, the Northern tip of the Popa Nan and its adjacent streets to the West are more compact architecturally and structurally speaking, with the rich detail house density growing as one walks on. And then, talking of the Popa Nan, there aren’t many streets there are songs about...
What to see: a highly diverse area with colourful contrasts, unexpected small parks in the middle of quiet street crossings, many period, single family properties; to put it that way, a fairly well preserved sample of the early 20th century residential Bucharest.
What to listen to: a local band made of folk singers Florian Pittiș (d. 2007), Mircea Baniciu, Mircea Vintilă and Vlady Cnejevici, the Pasărea Colibri, has a song about Popa Nan Street, called just like that: Strada Popa Nan. An adapted variation of the Beatles’ Penny Lane, the song features different imaginary (but not at all out-of-place) characters living or passing along this street. Find the lyrics at the end of this article.
Having a bite: Right in Iancului Square (where the walk starts) there is the convenient, reasonable Inter Macedonia (Romanian and generally Balkan cuisine) hosted by a large concrete structure on the NE side of the square; small places selling covrigi, pastry and snacks also line the square or the adjacent avenues. Otherwise, shortly after starting along the Popa Nan there is the Trattoria Verdi (140 Popa Nan), with a small, quiet and relaxed terrace or indoors venue. Towards the end of the walk you have a chance to taste some really nice fish dishes at the Taverna La Zavat (16 Popa Nan). For a local bite, there are two simple venues in Piața Foișorului de Foc (the square where the Fire Tower lies), on the Northern side.
Duration: 2-3 hours; it could take longer if you wander along the many side streets. As a personal recommendation: if doing the walk during a day with warm, good weather, grab a book and stop in one of the small parks on the way to enjoy a fine read in a part of town which does not remind one much of the hustle and bustle a mere kilometer away.
Note: the walk can be combined with the Popa Soare-Mântuleasa one.
A ‘catagrafie’ (census) put together by the Bucharest Police Station in 1798 mentioned the mahala of Delea divided in two: the old one (Ro. Delea Veche) and the new one (Ro. Delea Nouă); at that time, the two mahalas gathered 160 houses and nearby Popa Nan had 90 more. The mahala of Delea Veche was set on a small hill in the first part of the 18th century; the Delea Nouă was to join it around 1750. At first they were not part of the town, but rather independent hamlets inhabited by plowmen, drapers and lacers. These people set their houses on the land owned by Radu Vodă and Pantelimon monasteries. Together with the orchard-filled mahala of Popa Nan, these small districts radiated around a church bearing their name.
The oldest settlement in the district this walk is about, Popa Nan Church, was built by a certain Priest Nanu (which was to provide its name) in 1719; it slowly decayed and collapsed in 1910 so that the actual church was raised between 1910 and 1918. Delea Veche Church was built of masonry in 1743 on the site of a 17th century wooden structure. Delea Nouă Church was initially built of masonry in 1798 also on the site of a former wooden one dating from before 1761.
The walk: Start by taking the subway or surface transport to Piața Iancului. Follow the Pache Protopopescu to the West (towards the centre), looking to the North (right as you go) for a fine Neo-Romanian house with a rich frieze. Continue along the Pache Protopopescu until you reach the 1774-1775 Iancu Vechi-Mătăsari Church. Turn left around the church, following Mătăsari Street, bordered to the right by the former headquarters of Cugetarea Publishing House, a fine Neo-Romanian style building. Continue until the street meets the Matei Voievod, turning to the right (West) along it just in front of a house with a beautiful terrace sheltered by a fine wooden attic supported by carved wood columns. At the following crossing take the Mecet to the left and then, when the latter pops into a small, serene park bordered by different style properties worth exploring, turn left (South) along Costaforu Street. Do not miss the dead end Intrarea Costaforu, on your left: it ends with an interesting, Modernist style building bearing a blue mosaic including its foundation year, 1931. Continue along the Costaforu that goes on with the Budila and then Delea Veche, bordered by a few fine samples of Neo-Romanian style houses.
You will eventually reach Delea Veche Church with its appealing carved wood door and mosaic figures of Peter and Paul; apart from the church, do not miss the structure to the right as you look, the parish house, set in Neo-Romanian style with a fine entrance guarded by a carved stone column. Across the street from the church there is a house with an intricate balcony including rich floral and animal patterns. Past a couple of contemporary office buildings, continue along the Delea Veche Southwards, cross the grey Calea Călărașilor and you will notice Delea Nouă Church to your left, standing alone between apartment buildings set in the 1980s. Continue in the same direction, this time along the Delea Nouă, and take the second street to the right (West), the Învingătorilor; half the way along this street, to your left, there is a fine Italianate house with beautiful plaster decorations around the window frames. The Învingătorilor pops into Dem Teodorescu Street you then follow to the left (South) until this one ends upon meeting the Theodor Speranția. As you turn right (SW) along the latter, notice the fine merchant house to your right. Follow the strangely looking Speranția, with its period houses to the North and grey, Communist masterplan apartment buildings to the South, until meeting the Popa Nan.
Follow the Popa Nan to the North (to the right as you go).
Single family (and single storey) properties alternate with multistorey apartment buildings set between the two World Wars; they all line the street with their different styles and different colour scheme; note the bright colour house at number 190 for instance (on your left). At number 177 there is a small, single storey, ruined house: it used to belong to Dorin Liviu Zaharia, autodidact character that would produce the lyrics for the song about the street (find more details on him below). Right after crossing the Matei Basarab, on your right there will be an interesting Modernist style block with shops on the ground floor and living quarters above; note how the architect respected the Rule of Three. Continue along the Popa Nan and, right after crossing the Calea Călărașilor, opposite a contemporary office building, there is a single storey house with fine Neo-Classical details. A few more will follow, also on the right side as you go. Then, at the crossing of the Popa Nan and Țepeș Vodă, you will pass by a small park; on your side of the park, just past the fence, there is a carved stone cross; the story has it the cross was planted here in the 1940s, in the place of a former brothel burnt down as part of a gang dispute; it’s up to you to believe it or not. Moving on along our street, soon afterwards you will notice the Popa Nan Church on your right (East). Note the mosaic on the facade above the entrance, with saints Constantine and Helen and the ‘In hoc signo vinces’ phrase. On along the Popa Nan, you will pass by a massive Italianate apartment building to the left (at number 32); after changing many other houses, Singer
Maria Tănase lived here before she died in 1963. Then, at 16 Popa Nan, you will pass by the Taverna La Zavat, should you need a lunch break (with a recommended fish sour soup and a carp saramură before a de rigueur kadaif).
Before meeting the main thoroughfare, take a left (West) along the Plantelor, immediately noticing a beautiful building with old style window blinds on your right. Take the first to your left (South), the Austrului, a street bordered by fine period properties. The Neo-Romanian style prevails, but there are also a few single storey Neo-Classical style structures with interesting gates and rich detail entrance shelters; there is a beautiful such sample between the crossings with the Plantelor and the Timpului. At the street end, take a right (SW) along the Țepeș Vodă and immediately another right (West) along the Vișinilor. Soon you will have a dead end street to your right (the Intrarea Vișinilor); follow it to its end to see a great, large period aristocratic house; note the generous glass-covered facade. Return to the Vișinilor and continue, turning right (North) along the Calea Traian. Before doing so, take a look at the nicely (but not thoroughly, note the cracked plaster work) restored a bit South along the Calea Traian, on the opposite side; do not miss the MM blazon on the fence and on the metal decoration hooked on the walls.
More single storey properties follow as you go along the Calea Traian to the North. Of these, the old, small traditional clay house with an open verandah supported by wooden pillars, stands out. It lies at number 176. Continue and, upon reaching the crossing with the Plantelor, on your left, there will be a fine two storey property which stretches along the Plantelor. Note the fine balcony including the year of construction in its metal work (1900), the decorative gate in the middle of the building along the Plantelor, as well as the window and the apparent column top plaster patterns. Continue along the Calea Traian, cross the Pache Protopopescu and go on, noticing the Neo-Romanian block to your right. The street soon pops into the wide, trolleybus wire-topped Foișorul de Foc Square. Which is centered by what else, but the Foișorul de Foc.
Foișorul de Foc (En. The Fire Tower). This building was raised (accomplished in 1892) after the plans drawn by Architect Gheorghe Mandrea. It was meant as a water reservoir which would help regulate the water flow in the city network. It has on the upper part a 750 c.m. water tank. However it was never used for this purpose, as only after the works were accomplished, they realized the water pumps in Grozăvești Quarter did not have enough power to lift the water all the way to the high tank. After the City Plant (Uzinele Comunale București) was inaugurated in 1924, there was enough power to do that, but it was no longer needed, as the water network in the city had already been developed and was self-sufficient. Therefore, the structure was used from its completion in 1892 to 1936 by the fire brigade of the city, as it was taller than any other building in the city at the time (1892), with its 42 m. belfry. In 1963 it was turned into the Fire Brigade Museum, mostly interesting for fire brigade buffs. However the view from the top is interesting. From here, trolleybus #86 can take you Westwards to the central Piața Universității in 10-15 minutes, according to traffic; otherwise, it’s an interesting 20-25 minute walk.
GPS - N44 26.418 E26 07.247
Click here for an album of pictures shot along this walk, with their respective GPS coordinates; I have arranged them in the sequence mentioned in the walk description above.
Dorin Liviu Zaharia. Autodidact and of the ‘on doit tout essayer’ kind, Zaharia (1944-1987) studied music and a few other university matters without graduating any of them. In 1964 he founded his own band, Olympic ’64, with which he debuted with rock suites (Decameronul Focului Alb, Karma-Kalyoga). In 1970 he produced Olympic ‘64’s and his only official record: ‘
Cîntic de haiduc /
Ziua bradului de noapte’ (En. Outlaw Song / The Night Fir Day), considered to be among Romania’s best rock productions at the time. With his outstanding, innovative blending traditional, countryside and mystic elements with the rock beat, he was a step ahead of bands that would get famous on the same trail, such as the Phoenix. Zaharia also wrote essays and poetry, cumulating what he mentioned as ‘two cubic meters of writing’; almost everything was lost. He worked on movie and theatre music (with remarkable results in ‘Nunta de piatră’ and ‘Duhul aurului’), also having a few acting episodes. An album called
Încercări în Studiourile Buftea (see the playlist to your right) was recorded in 1974 gathering Olympic ’64 tunes and Zaharia’s movie music. He was one of the harbingers of folk music in Romania, calling it ‘city dwelling peasant’s nostalgia’. Noting the way he used to imitate Chubby Checker, his friends and the folks in the neighbourhood used to call him ‘Chubby’. As Religion Historian Andrei Oișteanu described Zaharia upon meeting him in 1970:
‘I met him at a rock festival back in 1970. He was singing one of his own poems - a kind of pagan chant - called ‘A coborât din cer o cerșetoare’ (En. ‘The Heavens-Torn Beggar’), with his unmistakable, sharp voice; his voice frequency would have challenged bats’ flight. He looked strangely, like a heavens-torn creature; of a frail, meagre nature, bare-foot, wearing a long, peasant gown reaching his ankles, with long hair and a fluffy beard. A hippy monk that seemed to have come from another world, on that Securitate agents - guarded stage at the Sala Palatului (n. a central Bucharest entertainment venue).’
While a somewhat mysterious, always surprising figure (musician, actor, poet, philosopher, rocker, flower power activist, Indian mythology researcher, composer), Zaharia got his name in the late 20th century history of Bucharest with one of the most famous folk tunes in Romania, the Strada Popa Nan. However, few people know he is the author of the lyrics, or that the lyrics are actually a translation with local inserts of a Beatles tune. His house however still stands (even though half ruined), at number 177, with a sign reading ‘Atelier foto’. Of his own lyrics, that would be the ‘old bearded photographer’s house’.
Strada Popa Nan (the song). Find here the lyrics for Pasărea Colibri’s above-mentioned song about the Popa Nan. The rough translation, as well as the original lyrics of the Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’ follow.
Strada Popa Nan (Romanian lyrics)
În Popa Nan stă un bărbos bătrân și fotograf
Puștii de pe stradă spun ca e un zeu.
Știe chiar de ești om bun sau rău
După chipul, după chipul tău.
Sub o streașină-i statuia unei fete gri
Sprijinind un coș cu struguri de ciment,
Jos în casă stau trei fete vii
Cu comportamentul indecent.
Popa Nan i-o stradă-nspre Hala Traian
De la Foișor până-n Piața Vitan.
La un colț i-o florareasă ce ne vinde flori
Mereu plânge din nimic și-are păr creț.
Când râde rar, numai la sărbători
Toate florile ei nu mai au preț.
În Popa Nan i-o frizerie fără mușterii
Pensionarii stau în pragu-i la taifas,
Iar frizerul gras și chel dă glas
Unor melodii de cheflii.
Zilnic trece un poștaș, cu ochii de cafea
Toate fetele-l citesc și-i scriu vederi,
Numai fata lui ce stă în cartier
Nu e nicaieri, nicăieri.
---
Strada Popa Nan (plain English translation, no rhymes)
An old, bearded photographer lives here
Kids around claim he’s some sort of all mighty god.
For he knows if you’re a good man or else
By just looking at you, at your face.
The grey statue of a young girl stands under a roof
Holding a basket of grey cement grapes
Three young girls live in the house underneath
And they behave indecently.
Popa Nan, that’s a street near Traian Market
From the Fire Tower all the way to Vitan Market
On the corner is a florist
Always cryin’ out of nothing, playin’ with her curly hair.
Holidays rarely bring a smile on her face
And then her flowers get priceless.
A barber with no customers lives in Popa Nan
Pensioners chat for hours on its threshold
While the owner, fat and bald
Slowly hums drinking tunes
A postman passes along the street with his coffee-colour eyes
All the girls around write him postcards,
Only his daughter, living nearby
Is nowhere to be found, nowhere to be found.
---
Penny Lane
Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of every head he's had the pleasure to have known
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say hello
On the corner is a banker with a motorcar
The little children laugh at him behind his back
And the banker never wears a mac
In the pouring rain...
Very strange
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back
In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass
And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.
He likes to keep his fire engine clean
It's a clean machine
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
Four of fish and finger pies
In summer, meanwhile back
Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout
A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And though she feels as if she's in a play
She is anyway
Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim
Then the fireman rushes in
From the pouring rain...
Very strange
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies...
Penny Lane.
