MAKÓ SPA
Just 30-odd kilometres from the Serbian border town of Horgoš lies the beautiful Hungarian town of Makó, with its famous Hagymatikum, a spa that’s tai- lored to everyone with a tired soul and an even more exhausted body! This genuine little work of art was designed by fa- mous architect Imre Makovecz, who designed domes through which you can observe the sky and which sym- bolically represent the layers of onions! Yes, strangely enough, the entire town is dedicated to this vegetable that it was once world-famous for cultivating. Makó onions used to be exported worldwide and were able to handle any journey, with their tough skin render- ing them resistant to rotting, and they were cultivat- ed in a specific way for three full years before being ex- ported in huge quantities. These onions are no longer grown in the same way, but the memory of that tradi- tion is preserved at every corner, and even in the shape of its famous spa. But let’s get back to the story of the famous spa, which has a whopping 17 outdoor and indoor pools, including some that are medicinal and some that are “just” crazy fun. Firstly, in the part reserved for wa- tery fun, the water of all the pools is warm, at around 30ºC, so once you dive in you really don’t want to get out until you’ve steamed up completely. Air bubbles and water jets are released interchangeably as though you’re in a huge hot tub, while the pools actually con- tain chairs and even tables with chess boards, and then there are those drops that are reminiscent of tropical rains and water jets that bombard the shoulders to re- lieve pain and stress. There is also a fast river that car- ries you away when the current hits hard, leaving you struggling to emerge from the whirlpool, but also out- door slides, a swimming pool, a million mini saunas, plus a bowling alley... There are also food and drinks and every possible joy a person needs for a high-qual- ity weekend break. My personal favourite? Bathing in tea! Well, that’s what we dubbed it because the water has the colour of black tea that’s actually due to the high iodine content in the pool with water at a temperature of 37ºC! And you forget all the worries of this world as soon as you enter the water, because your body relaxes so much that your brain has no other choice but to go to sleep. The water is medicinal and particularly suitable for those suffer- ing from arthritis, neuralgia pains, muscle atrophy or some gynaecological problems. If it is said that you ar- rive in Sokobanja and Sokograd old and depart young, then here it could be said that you arrive heavy and then flutter away! This phrase perhaps doesn’t rhyme, but it’s nonetheless truthful. But Makó is more than just a spa. This small town is rich in history that you can familiarise yourself with at the town museum, which has a collection that in- cludes, among other things, a cult Model T car of Amer-
ican company Ford, which was pro- duced back in 1919 and designed by József Galamb, one of Henry Ford’s closest collaborators and a native of Makó. This is also the hometown of famous American publicist Joseph Pulitzer, whose name adorns the prestigious journalism award that all of us journalists dream of win- ning instead of an Oscar. There’s also one more excellent
U obližnjem malom gradu Čon- gradu, pre tačno 130 godina (bi- će 26. ok - tobra) ro- dio se veliki Miloš Cr- the nearby small town of Cson- grád, 130 years ago, (will be on 26 th Octo- ber) that the great Miloš Crn- janski was born njanski It was in
reason to head to this part of the world. It was in the nearby small town of Csongrád, precisely 130 years ago (on 26 th October), that the great Miloš Crnjanski was born. A plaque was placed on the house of his birth by the Society of Hungarian Writers and his hometown, with this Serbian author considered as being among the world’s greatest writers. The house has long been home to residents who have prevented it from being convert- ed into a museum, but the plaque at number 27 Sze- ntháromság Street testifies to this world and literary trav- eller having embarked on his lifelong journey from this humble abode. He was christened a little further away, in the Greek Orthodox church in the town of Szentes, and this site can also be visited. Writing about his bap- tism in his lyrical novel The Journal of Čarnojević, Crn- janski explains that it was winter, the snow was thick and they went to the church on a sleigh while wolves followed them, and the ice creaked. The respected wom- an that was supposed to baptise him didn’t even turn up. “...they say that I didn’t even shed a tear... Taking an Orthodox man, a churchman... And he, tearful be- cause of the honour suddenly thrust upon him, held me under holy water and cried, because he didn’t have any money to give to the child...”, wrote Crnjanski himself, describing his baptism in the nearby town of Szentes.
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