Brick Lane: The Tower of Babel inside the market

Sunday morning on Brick Lane. A crowd struggle to walk in the narrow street full of curry flavour and Hindu music. People place second-hand clothes, jewels and some weird old objects on blankets on the ground and try to sell it. Several of them are not licensed and most of them are even not from UK. But their heterogeneous origins are not surprising. We are in the most famous neighborhood of East London, where British and foreigners have learned a peaceful living after 500 years of immigration.

It is easy to guess that the most recent migration wave is the Bengali. In the middle of the 20th Century, the street started to be named Banglatown. Nowadays, their influence is still the main character of the area, offering hundreds of restaurants specialised in its food. Sweets, meat and rice are the stars of the meal menus which you can get for 10 pounds if you know the main rule: bargaining.

However, Brick Lane is more than Banglatown. The market is the best-known attraction for visitors. But it is not only made up of the street stands on the road going from Whitechapel High Street (Aldgate East Station) to Bethnal Green.

Sunday Up Market and Spitalfields are two indoor places, a great choice to avoid the wet British weather. There you can find vintage clothes and handbags, international meals or even jewels. If you are looking for ´green issues`, the best part is the Flower Market on Columbian Road.

The Old Truman Brewery is also a place where you can find a vintage market. This building represents the importance of the Jewish in the area. The Brewery, referred to by Charles Dickens in David Copperfield, started as a brewery named Black Eagle Brewery by Joseph Truman in 17th Century. That was the moment when the area started to change from unskilled jobs for immigrants such as tailoring to Jewish business like producing beer. Nowadays it is an empty space up to be rented by the different proposals of new business or artists.

The taste of the traditional Jewish culture is still available for the curious who want to try it. The well-known Beigel Bakery, where you can eat cheesecake, salmon or ham bagels 24 hours a day for less than 2 pounds. Another choice is Rinkoff Bakery. Hiden in Vallance Road, it is the last place where you can have a traditional cooked Jewish breakfast.

Curiously, the two main cultures have a common history, woven into the neighborhood streets. The Greater London Mosque is the best evidence of their harmonic coexistence. This religious building has evolved to keep pace with the changing area. From a Jews´ Chapel first, Methodist later on and also Synagogue at the end of 19th Century. In the seventies it became the biggest mosque in the city and the representation of the current importance of Hindu immigration. It has been a long time since the mosque was built and more than five centuries since the street received its actual name. The mixture of identities based on historical roots has become synonymous with trendy, stylish and open-minded.

The art has a important role on this change. Galleries such as Whitechapel Gallery with the ´Where three dreams cross` exhibition or Brick Lane Gallery with `Art in mind´ get across the importance of art and new trends.

Moreover, some places join paintings with coffee. This is the case with 1001 Café. You can not go to Brick Lane and without trying its hamburgers or cappuccinos while you enjoy its cultural activities. The amateur theatre of Up Stage runs every Wednesday for free and also Showcase Gallery offer exhibitions for everybody who wants to go in. Furthermore, this quiet cafe turns off the lights in the evening for becoming one of the most famous pubs on the street.

Vibe night bar is another nice and calm place where to forget the racy speed of the market. Located in the Truman Brewery building, it offers live music in one of its four rooms. You will find more music in 93 Feet East. The pub, divided into a DJ´s area and two more spaces, is one of the most crowded places in East London on a Friday night. Don´t worry if you need fresh air in the middle of the party because here you have an outside courtyard area with seating.

Food, clothes, religion, art and music joined by History. Brick Lane condenses the flavour of five centuries in a hip, open-minded environment which offers the positive side of globalisation.

Photos by Ana Veiga and Zuzanna Chmielewska