Participation in a conference in Queen’s University in Belfast provided me an opportunity to visit the capital of Northern Ireland, the city famous for its scenic beauty, nationalist struggle and republican and royalist division.
I reached Belfast International by Easyjet flight, the cheapest way to travel to Belfast from London. The flight was from Standsted airport, a long way from Heathrow, but thanks to London underground train service which shrink distances in short time. Changing the train at Liverpool Street it took me not more than one-and-a-half hours to reach the other end of London. It might have taken hours by bus. There is another way to travel to Belfast and that is by ferry. But for this purpose one has to go all the way to Stranraer, Scotland. It is time consuming and expensive, but luxurious to cruise over Irish sea.
Belfast is a nice and small city of UK. The area around the airport gave a look of a countryside. Loading and boarding on planes was manually served. I took 20 minutes to reach the downtown bus station from where Queen’s University is at 20 minutes walk distance.
The Queen’s University is one of the IVY in UK and distinguished in Northern Ireland. At present the university has around 18,000 students with annual income of 230 million pounds. The university's vision for the future is summed up in three words, leading, inspiring and delivering. It is a broad-based, research-driven university with a dynamic world class research and education portfolio and strong international connections with a Pulitzer and two Nobel Prizes to its repute -- for peace and literature. The origin of the university goes back to 1845 as Queen’s College Belfast.
The area near the Queen’s University is also known as Holy Land as more or less each road is named after a holy city like Palestine Road, Jerusalem Road etc. The area largely inhabited by students population was during the long years of conflict comparatively peaceful. In the city there is a road named after the Indian city, Canpore.
The city is divided into four zones. The division is on religious and political grounds. Either the area is Protestant, Catholic, Royalist/Unionist, Republican or Separatists. The city was in turmoil in the 1960s until peace was restored in 1980s. “The enemy of enemy is my friend or friend of my enemy is my enemy formula well fits there," said the guide. During the Big Bus Trip the tourist guide pointed to a flag of Israel on mast for years. The story behind its is that one group showed its solidarity with Palestinians and put their flag in the area. The next day the rival group put the Israeli flag in their area. The Belfast Peace Accord in 1990s restored to the city but made it more divided. There is a place which is known as Killer Mile. It was the place where many people were killed in ambushes or assaults. Around the city one can see a large number of portraits on the walls as homage to heroes who lost their lives; one indicated the ones killed in Bloody Friday in 1972.
Belfast was known for a variety of industries including of linen, rope-making, tobacco, heavy engineering and shipbuilding during the 19th century which in 20th century due to conflict were shutdown. The Harland and Wolff shipyards was one of the largest shipbuilders in the world which provided employment to more than 35,000 workers. The Big Bus trip includes a 20-minute visit to the harbour.
There are a couple of Indian restaurants in the town, one of them closer to the university area on Botanic Garden Road is called Mughal, serving Indian food at inexpensive rates. There are a number of Pakistanis in the town working in restaurants and general stores.
People in Belfast like traditional Irish people are hospitable, nice and conservative. Like a traditional Islamic city with mosques around one can see churches all over. There is a mosque, Islamic Centre, but not regularly attended. It is at 15 minutes walking distance from the main gate of Queen’s University. Compared to other cities of the UK, the Pakistani population in Belfast is very minute.
We visited the Northern Irish parliament established in 1932 and remained functional until 1972 as bicameral legislature after which it was abandoned under the direct rule.
The revival of the parliament which resulted out of Belfast Agreement is now unicameral with 108 elected members. The abandoned upper chamber called Senate is used as a committee room and is open to visitors upon approval. During the Second World War, the chamber building was used as the base camp of Royal Air Force. During the war Belfast lost over 1,000 citizens. In one of city squares there is a dedication to those killed in Belfast Blitz. Visits to Parliament are not allowed but upon requests, visits are arranged for foreign delegates or conference participants. Photography is only allowed in main entrance hall itself with a history. The important sites in the town are Belfast Waterfront Hall, Belfast City Hall, Ormeau Baths Gallery, Crown Liquor Saloon, Grand Opera House, Linen Hall Library and Ulster Hall. Ulster refers to Northern Ireland or even to Protestants. Ulster Hall was built in 1862 as ballroom hall on the busy Belford Street. Linen Hall holds oldest collection of Irish literature and history founded in 1788. Grand Opera Hall is a worth seeing site and is a regular part of Big Bus visit around the town. The hall is just opposite to City Hall. Belfast’s Ulster Museum is an important site to visit. Entry is free, but due to major development underway, the museum is closed until 2008. The museum has valuable collection of Ulster’s paintings.
The City Hall, BelfastMain building of the Queen’s University Botanic Street, Downtown
