"Bradford, England" a Bradford Travel Page by leafmcgowan

Long considered to be the curry capital of Britain, Bradford is also well known as an industrial city known for its textiles and especially it's wool trade. Now surpassed by the curry market, just about every street around the city center has at least one curry house. In Britain, the use of "curry" is a common term for most Asian foods that contain "curry" but is often just used for reference to "Indian food" whilst in other parts of the world, a curry is a dish that contains curry and could refer to specific dishes that are part of Indian food, Thai food, etc. Bradford is estimated to have about 200+ Asian restaurants with more per head of population than anywhere else in Britain. The first curry house appeared in Bradford in the 1950's when the city saw an influx of Asian workers for the textile mills. Bradford is 9 miles west of Leeds but with suburbs so close the two cities actually merge into one another - and industrial Bradford is Leed's closest neighbour and distinctly it's poorer cousin as they will tell you in Leeds. According to JB Priestley (1894-1984) Bradford has a 'kind of ugliness that could not only be tolerated but often enjoyed'. Bradford is most well known in the tourist circles for its annual Bradford festival that is held at the end of June which is a colorful celebration of Asian music and dance called Mela.