Some our views of Sintra old town.
This old royal summer palace was built on the site of an old Moorish fort, starting in 1281 and continued until about 16th century. Various heights of buildings reflect the hilly nature of the site. The layout of the open air internal patios, arched windows and richly decorated geometric tiled surfaces show the Moorish influence of the craftsmen who built it. It is famous for the two large cone shaped chimneys formed by the large kitchen tapering up to each 33 m high chimney. Also for the Swan room with 27 panels of swans in different poses, the Magpie room with 136 magpies painted on the ceiling, one for each woman in court, and the Palatine room with frescoes of doves. Its tiled floor and carved wooden latticework ceiling are some of the oldest examples of Mudejear work in Portugal. The Heraldry room walls are covered in blue and white tiles depicting mostly hunting scenes, all in such fine detail you can see shoe bows, and ceilings depicting the royal family's and noble's coats of arms are a blaze of colour. One of the later rooms is the Manueline room with all the usual amazing detailed formwork. Built in 1560, it is known as the "Cork Convent"because of its cork doors and cell like rooms, cut from rock and lined with cork. This natural insulation gave the Franciscan monks some comfort in an otherwise spartan conditions. There are multiple chapels and places for quiet reflection as well as a kitchen, refectory, washroom, library and a meeting room. It was finally abandoned in 1834 by the 7 remaining monks.
We have seen paths from pre-Medieval towns to current day. These are made by individual stones being placed - frequently on end - into concrete. Even today in some places they are taking the time to do this! Cork is an environmentally friendly product, and about half of the worldwide production is in Portugal. The trees are not harvested until they are about 25 years old , and after then only about every 9 years from May to August. The harvesters or "extractors" use a very sharp axe and make one horizontal cut at a height about 2-3 times the circumference of the tree and several vertical cuts. The handle of the axe is inserted into these cuts and they then lever the bark off. These sections are called planks. These are stacked in piles in the forests or factory yards and left to dry. Cork forests are mostly grassy paddocks with livestock with scattered trees. we only saw one place with trees in regular rows. We entered the city via the Vasco da Gama bridge,is a cable stayed bridge and is the longest bridge in Europe with a total length including viaducts of 17.2 km and opened in 1998. Lisbon is a handsome city, strung out over a series of hills facing the broad estuary of the Tejo River. Alot of the city was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake and was rebuilt later, especially the Baixa district which was redesigned in grid pattern starting with the Arco da Rue Augusta by the water and stretching up to Rossio square. Alot of the city is pedestrianised but otherwise there are cars, trams, buses and even strange microcars to get around in. To the east of this district is the Alfama, the old Jewish quarter with narrow steep winding streets which end up at excellent viewing points. Casa do Alentjo This a restaurant in Rua das Portas de Santo Antoa, just north of the Rossio, which doubles as a cultural centre for the people of Alentjo. It is unremarkable outside but spectacular on the inside with evidence of strong Moorish influence and lots of marble from Estramoz, one of Atlentjos main towns. The central courtyard was lovely but the upstairs rooms were truely splendid. Elevador da Santa Justa This elaborate metal decorative street elevator was built in 1902 by a disciple of Gustav Eifel and takes you up to a platform and then you climb a narrow spiral staircase to another metal platform high above the city centre and the Rossio. Ajuda A suburb just north of Belem with the massive 19th century National Palace of Ajuda, initially ordered by the monarchs in 1802 but delayed by war with Napoleon until they were able to move in in 1807. Modifications continued until 1821. We found it a more intimate palace than most, despite its large size. The monarchy was deposed in 1910 after Dom Carlos and his son were assassinated in 1908. We saw many pictures and sculptures of him as a young child so all very sad. Belem This suburb is in the western part of Lisbon on the river. It was from Belem that Vasco da Gama set off for India in 1497 and the vast Mosteiro dos Jeronimos and its church were built here in the early 1500s to honour his safe return. Vasco da Gamas tomb is inside the church in prime position. The Church's interior displays typical Manueline architecture -very ornate and elaborate. The monastery is equally impressive with vaulted cloisters around a central courtyard and lots of gargoyles. Caceres is another Spanish town with traces of Neolothic, Roman, Moorish and Catholic cultures. We started at Plaza Major and admired the lovely buildings around it and then went up the steps through the wall to the Museum de Caceres. This has an underground Moorish cistern from the original Alcazar. The ground floor has a central open courtyard surrounded by porticoes on 4 sides with terracotta roofs. the grate near one side of the tiled floor drains to the cistern below. You can walk into this via some narrow steps to a ledge near the bottom. There are 12 columns with horseshoe arches holding up the roof and we could see the water dripping into the cistern. Yes, it was raining.
We left here to go back into Portugal. As we drove past Estramoz we noted the mountains of marble ready to be processed. Roman Ampitheatre This was designed at the same time as its neighbour, the Theatre, but opened later in 8 BC. It was used for staging gladiatorial combats (there were 8 different types) and fights involving animals, as well as circus performances. The seating was also in 3 tiers but little remains of the upper cheap seats and there were 16 open doorways. The elliptical shaped arena had a large cross shaped ditch which was boarded over, presumably containing the wild animals. The arena was walled in marble with paintings on the side and there were 2 entrances for the gladiators. All in all, just like a footy arena. Roman Theatre was inaugerated between 15-16BC and is still in use today. It originally had tiered seating for 6000 with the lower seats for VIPs. The semicircular area in front was for the orchestre and the stage was probably wooden. the stage facade is the highlight with 2 tiers of marble Corinthian columns and a huge marble clad wall closes off the back of the stage. Between the columns are a series of statues of gods and emperors, but especially Augustus. The acoustics are good. Forum with its Portico and temple of Diana The forum was the main centre of a Roman town and here are the remains of the Forum Portico and Temple of Diana, both built in 1 AD. The Temple has survived reasonably well as it was incorporated into a Renaissance Palace in the 16th century. It had a granite rectangular base and surrounded by Corinthian columns with 6 across the front. It also had canals, ponds and a porched covered balcony. Roman Bridge over the Guadiana River This was probably built in 25 BC at the start of the colony. It is 792 ms long with 60 arches. It has a core of Roman concrete clad with stone. The middle 5 were added in the 17th C when then middle landmass was washed away. The original pillars have rounded cut edges on the upstream side ti alleviate water pressures. Alcazaba The Moorish Citadel was built next to the bridge in abt 835 by the same Emir that extended the Cordoba mosque. It is surrounded by walls 2.7 m thick and 10 ms high, but they were still defeated by the Christians in 1228 and it became a military building. The only surviving Moslem building is the Cistern, underground next to the river with a double stairway leading down to the tank and reused pilasters with columns. There were also old roman houses and roadways inside the citiadel The National Museum of Roman Art This building was designed specifically to showcase the Roman pieces found in the area and is a delight. The original statues are all here as well as enormous mosasics and other household good and trinkets. |