22nd & 23rd Feb
2016
A slaughterhouse, human bones, a Roman
Aqueduct, and 7000 year old stones !
And if that isn’t enough to keep you going
for half an hour or so, I don’t know what is !!
A cool but sunny day in Evora for us to
spend the day wandering. We tried to do
wifi again but it was S-O S-L-O-W we gave up, and instead got a few chores done
(like laundry, and even cleaning part of the car !), and decided to walk into
town – About 2 kms. There was a bus, but
it didn’t seem to be there when we wanted it, so we walked. Evora, (apart from being the model of a Lotus
!) has quite a history and is known as one of the most impressive and enjoyable
cities in Portugal, with Roman ruins from the 2nd C AD, and Moorish
influence soon after.
After the 2 km walk through the old City
Walls, and up a step climb up into the old city, we arrived in the delightful
main square, the Praco do Giraldo, and as it was “that time of day”, we sat at
a table in the sunshine and enjoyed a cool cerveza, watching the rest of the
world go by. Not particularly touristy
at this time of year, it seemed to be mostly local people having a coffee or
going about their business. Feeling
better, we then headed on up the hill on the eastern side, to our first port of
call – Some Roman Ruins.
Narrow alleyways and streets, some with
restaurants, some with local shops, and some just with residences, we arrived
in the square and there in front of us were the Roman Ruins, the Convent dos
Loios (now a Pousada, or hotel), and Palace of the Dukes de Cadaval. What a sight ! The Roman Temple is attributed to Diana,
but is more likely to be to Jupiter.
Being 2nd C, it is the best preserved temple in Portugal,
despite its use as an execution ground during the Inquisition, and a
slaughterhouse until 1870 ! There is a
small garden behind it, overlooking the city, and many people enjoy the
sunshine to take a coffee there.
The 15th C Convent is now a posh
Hotel, and entrance is limited by the staff, although it is apparently gorgeous
inside. Next door is a church that is
still the private property of the Duques de Cadaval. A fascinating area to enjoy in the sunshine
for a while. From there we wandered over to the Sé, or Cathedral, whose
incredible tower dominates the city skyline.
It was begun in 1186, about 20 years after
the reconquest of Evora from the Moors.
As usual with many of these older churches, it is a mish mash of periods
and styles, with
Romanesque solidity of its original battlemented towers and
roofline contrasting sharply with the pointed Gothic arches of subsequent less
militaristic additions. The interior is
more straightforwardly Gothic, although the choir and high altar were remodeled
in the 18th C by a German. Some paintings from 1612 – 1620 appeared
original, and we in varying degrees of need of some protection or renovation if
they are to last much longer. The 14th
C Cloisters were also well worth the visit, with beautiful stonework and the 14th
C tomb of the founder of the Church, Bishop Don Pedro.
When we left the Sé, we headed back on down
through the Praco Do Giraldo, this time stopping to sit in the warm sunshine
for some lunch (Out of the sun, it is really quite cool). Janet tried a local delicacy of a kind of cod
soup, while, as usual, I stuck with the more tried and tested fare of Parma Ham
in a fresh bread roll, all washed down with a little local white wine. Mine was delicious………….. !!!
Then on down, looking for the Church of San
Francisco where they supposedly had a Capela dos Ossos – A Chapel of Bones,
which we eventually found, after stumbling on another weird façade to a Church,
the details of which we can’t find anywhere !
The story goes that during the 14th and 15th C’s,
there were 42 monastic cemeteries in town which took up much needed space. The
Franciscan’s neat solution was to move all the remains to one compact, and
consecrated site, so the walls and pillars of this chapel were entirely
constructed from the bones of more than 5000 monks. There’s a grim humour in
the ordered, artfully planned arrangement of skulls, tibia, and vertebrae
around the vaults, and in the rhyming inscribtion over the doorway which reads
“Nos ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos” (Our bones are here waiting
for your bones !!). All a bit gruesome, if you ask me……..
We then set off on our last explore of the
day. Having come from the eastern side
of town, and been up to the Roman ruins on the
hill on the western side, and then down to the Chapel of Bones on the
southern side, we now set off north to
find the still existing medieval Silver Water Aqueduct. Once we got there (quite a hike up hill on
rough cobbled streets), and realized we had found it, the stonework starts off
low at the top of the hill, looking more like a wall than an aqueduct, with
arches maybe 1 or 2 feet high. But then
as the city drops away down the hill, the arches grow higher, first with houses
and restaurants built into the arches, and eventually nothing in the arches as
they soar high above the old city walls and out over the road. The aqueduct stretches some 7 kilometres
through the countryside, away from the city.
Very impressive.
After that, it was 5 pm and we had been
walking since about 10.30 am, so we set off on the 2-3 km walk back to the camp
site, this time walking round the outside of the extensive city walls. A very pleasant day in delightful historic
town, but we felt that while enjoyable, Evora lacks the WOW factor of some of
the places we have visited over the past few weeks. Some interesting things to
see, but none of them really had our
jaws dropping – Or maybe we are just becoming blasé after seeing so many sights
? !
So the next morning we woke up to a grey
and quite chilly morning – We had definitely had the best weather yesterday for
wandering in Evora. We chatted to a few
people around the camp, including some Aussies from WA who have dropped
everything and come over to Europe for 2-3 years, bought a big motorhome, and
are planning to see all of Europe – And are having a great time doing it. They have had to take out temporary Spanish
residence though in order to get around the European Shengen laws that mean Aussies (and other non EU
residents) can only stay in the EU for 3 months. There are ways to arrange anything ………!!
Then it was on the road and we headed 13
kms west to a little town called Guadelupe, Then it was off down a dirt road –
Where Janet suddenly spotted some boars – And when we went back, there was a
whole family of them rooting around in the grass and the mud, tusks and all
! Interesting sight ! We then followed the dirt road for several
kilometres until we reached the Cromeleque dos Almendres, where after a short
walk we found no less than 92 stones alingned in concentric enclosures for over
70 metres down a hillside. They were placed here between 6-7000 years ago, and
are
thought to be some kind of astronomical observatory and site of fertility
rituals, though no one really knows for sure. But it is the largest megalithic
structure on the Iberian Peninsula, and one of the most ancient monuments of
humankind. We looked for the markings on
the rocks, and think we found some, but I think one needs special lighting or
tools to see them in any certainty.
On the way back to the main road, we also
visited the Menhor of Alamendres – A single 3 metre high rock standing on its
own, surrounded only by the inevitable cork trees. It is seemingly linked in some way to the
Comeleque that we had visited just up the road.
Fascinating – If only stones could tell their story………
After that, it was on towards Lisbon. We watched some nesting storks for a while,
and then, while passing a little town called Montemor-o-Novo, we spotted a big
castle up on a hill. As it was lunch
time, we decided that would be a good spot for a picnic, so we drove up the
narrow cobbled streets up to the castle walls – And had a parking lot all to
ourselves with a view out over the little town – Perfect. Having munched on our sandwiches (fresh bread
delivered warm in the camp site just before we left this morning), we decided
that as the castle looked so extensive and interesting, we should go and have a
look. So we did – And found the most
amazing ruins, as well as just about the best toilets in the past 3 weeks
!!! (When you are on the road, toilets
are SO important !!)
The main tower is interesting in itself,
and the walls then stretch for miles around the hillside above the town. Then
there was a Chapel of St James from 1302, and a 16th C convent built
into the walls. Wandering further we
found more recent ruins of an old jailhouse or City Hall, and then above them
the 14th C chapel of St John the Baptist, and the ruins of the Mayor’s
or a Royal Palace. And in the middle of
all that were some concrete venting towers dated 1928, and apparently there was
also a giant water storage system built into the hill at the beginning of the
20th Century. And looking
around the surrounding hills, there was evidence of additional ruins in several
places. A great hour or so spent
exploring this castle that most people never even stop at, because the
Autroroute that most people drive on is some distance away from the little
town. The unexpected things are often
the best…..
When we drove down through the town from
the castle en route back to our road to Lisbon, we passed their little Praca de
Toros that we had noticed when we looked out from the Castle walls. A lot smaller than Seville’s but I bet they
get a great crowd in there at corrida time !!
Then it was basically a fairly flat drive across the increasingly
coastal plains to Lisbon, and as soon as we hit Alverca it was traffic all the
way. We decided to go out to Estoril in
the west a) to try to camp near some of the beaches and b) to look for Estoril
motor racing circuit, an circuit where Grand Prix were held for many
years. Just a name that I grew up with.
The coast was all pretty built up, and we
were driving directly into the setting sun, so it was a difficult hour or town
in the busy end of day traffic. We
eventually found a campsite just west of Estoril, and will explore a little
tomorrow before heading back towards Lisbon.
There is a camp site near the city, but after several days of nice sunny
(if cool) weather. the forecast for the next few days s for rain, so we will
decide whether to hotel it or camp once we see the weather !
Romanesque solidity of its original battlemented towers and
roofline contrasting sharply with the pointed Gothic arches of subsequent less
militaristic additions. The interior is
more straightforwardly Gothic, although the choir and high altar were remodeled
in the 18th C by a German. Some paintings from 1612 – 1620 appeared
original, and we in varying degrees of need of some protection or renovation if
they are to last much longer. The 14th
C Cloisters were also well worth the visit, with beautiful stonework and the 14th
C tomb of the founder of the Church, Bishop Don Pedro.
Then on down, looking for the Church of San
Francisco where they supposedly had a Capela dos Ossos – A Chapel of Bones,
which we eventually found, after stumbling on another weird façade to a Church,
the details of which we can’t find anywhere !
The story goes that during the 14th and 15th C’s,
there were 42 monastic cemeteries in town which took up much needed space. The
Franciscan’s neat solution was to move all the remains to one compact, and
consecrated site, so the walls and pillars of this chapel were entirely
constructed from the bones of more than 5000 monks. There’s a grim humour in
the ordered, artfully planned arrangement of skulls, tibia, and vertebrae
around the vaults, and in the rhyming inscribtion over the doorway which reads
“Nos ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos” (Our bones are here waiting
for your bones !!). All a bit gruesome, if you ask me……..
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