We were especially intrigued to see the shuttered
Red Light District, in the oldest neighborhood in Amsterdam.
Normally there are girls in the windows on both sides of these narrow alleys...
…and photos aren’t allowed. Not only would taking photos be disrespectful, but some of the ladies have traditional part-time jobs and they’d prefer their colleagues not find out about their night jobs.
The
Oude Kerk, built in 1460, is the oldest building in Amsterdam. It is surrounded by 290 window brothels as well as bars, cafés, sex shops and houses for 3,090 households.
Behind the church is
Belle, a bronze statue from 2007 honoring sex workers. The plaque says:
Respect sex workers all over the world.
Across from
Belle, I spotted this reminder that people actually live in this neighborhood and to stay quiet.
Window brothel prostitution dates back to the 1930s. Each room typically consists of a bed, restroom and washing table. While they were allowed to open back up in July after closing March 15, they were shuttered once again on November 4 due to coronavirus.
Casa Rosso, which opened in 1969 during the sexual revolution, offers live sex shows. Like the windows, it was reopened for over four months, but is closed once again.
Apparently this was a new effort to remind tourists to be respectful. We couldn’t help but wonder what that sentence originally said as it was obvious that it wasn’t “safe” or “happy.”
Note: Don’t be afraid to hit on any of the links on this post as they safely go to a website with loads of historical information about the area.
No comments:
Post a Comment