A number 19 tram to North Coburg takes you through Brunswick's Sydney Road. This is just one more of the colossally long straight roads to Melbourne town. Where Sydney Road differs from Chapel, Brunswick or Smith Street is that it is more of an obvious cultural gumbo with the most fragrant flavour belonging to North Africa and the Middle East.
Here the shops glisten with gold, Muslim icons, Persian rugs, functional art, treasures brought to us from the Arab world. One shop stands out as Aladdin's Cave filled with elegant brass coffee pots, trays of gold filigree encrusted glasses, mysterious enticing hookahs that would have had Alice's caterpillar smoking from the other side of the mushroom. It is a truly alluring shop and if I had had all the wealth in Dubai on me, I would have spent it here.
Every window I pass in Sydney Road shows me mannequins in Arab garb, intricate gold jewellery, bolts of vivid cloth, pastries soaking in dates and honey. I feel like I have stepped onto the Nile.
Pantheon International Cakes sells sweet treats from all over Europe. I asked the man at the counter to take me on a tour of his cabinets. He smiled and with good-nature, humoured me. Koulouria make many koulouri and many koulouri are on display in the window. These are piles of miniature crispy Greek cookies some twisted plain, some covered in sesame seeds. Above them are many style variations of shortbread and buttery Viennese fingers. The counter cabinet is filled with imitation cream yummies from the rest of Europe. Call me a freak but I like mock cream far better than fresh so these are causing my tastebuds to salivate. Slices of gateau Black Forest, cappuccino, chocolate, vanilla...fruit topped cheesecakes...Chantilly cream filled profiteroles and cannoli and tray loads of baklava swimming in nuts and sticky honey.
The owning family is from Greece but the young man serving me tells me that he was born in Australia. He speaks fluent Greek to his regular customers though because he was sent to Greek classes in the evenings after school. That is a difference to Auckland that I like about Melbourne. Immigrants from Europe came to both countries round about the same time, after WWII. They were looking for a fresh start. New Zealand required new immigrants to assimilate fully into the community so the Dutch, the Dalmations etc learned to speak English and forgot about speaking their own language. Their children were brought up New Zealanders and in some cases never learned to speak the second language of their inheritance. This I find sad. If you have the opportunity to own more than one culture then you should embrace and make the most of it. As a woman with pasty British white blood coursing through her veins I would love to have inherited something more exotic.
The immigrants of Melbourne have gone to lengths to not forget who they are by keeping their heritage strong in their children through living language and culture. I believe that you understand yourself more completely knowing where you come from and by appreciating the efforts of all those before who allowed you the start in life you have. Melbourne has successfully embraced its cultural diversity so much so that it is a colourful feature of the city and communities. For the visitor like myself it allows me to discover a fresh beauty in every suburb I cover and I am very grateful to share the exotic I don't myself own.
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