Lisbon

 

Belém Tower

We bussed and walked the major sights of Lisbon as indicated by the vast tourist crowds. We started in the Belam (Bethlehem) neighborhood visiting the Belém Tower built in 1521 on an island to defend the harbor. The 1755 earthquake moved the Tagus River, so it is now on the north side of the river and the tower had to be rebuilt. A tsunami followed the earthquake, together a third of the people died. The old monastery, now housing several museums, was closed off because the President of Brazil was visiting Lisbon. Then we went to the Monument of Discoveries celebrating Portugal’s golden age when their navigators discovered the coast of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, and the routes to India, SE Asia, Macau, and Japan. Henry the Navigator leads this collection of 32 important figures. The only woman is the wife of King Juan I and mother of Henry. In 1500 they discovered Brazil after a storm blew them off course from Africa.

Monument of Discoveries

We headed to the Al Fama neighborhood which was 90% destroyed by the earthquake. Only 16 houses remain with their unique design where the ground floor is narrower than the upper floors so that carriages could pass through the narrow streets. We saw the Elevador de Santa Justa we had visited earlier from street level as well as Rossio Square. Lunch was cod, Portugal is 2^nd next to Japan with their consumption of fish. They have over 300 recipes for cod. Our final stop was Church of St. Domingo, which burned in 1959. The roof and altar have been replaced, but the walls remain fire scarred.

Elevador de Santa Justa