Viajando pelo Algarve e Alentejo

A spectacular sight from a spectacular site 

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The splendid site and 360-degree panorama alone would be reason enough to visit the medieval mountaintop village of Marvão, but the town itself (a candidate for the World Heritage list), is one of Portugal's most spectacular fortified villages. 

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The greatest attraction is the unspoiled medieval atmosphere in its steep and narrow lanes with immaculately whitewashed houses, leading to a magnificent 13th century castle rising from the rock. It contains a huge water cistern and nearby is a 13th century church with a small but interesting museum of archeological finds and local artifacts. 

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Most rewarding of all is climbing onto the walls, battlements and towers for the impressive views, and staying for the stunning sunset and evening peace of the village. 

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To stay overnight, there is a charming pousada built among tightly clustered houses, also with magnificent views. 

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Nearby are the mountains of São Mamede, a natural park with Neolithic and Roman remains, wildlife, and Europe's largest colony of bats. 

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Marvão can be reached from Castelo de Vide by infrequent bus service or taxi. 

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(The New York Times published an article about Marvão in its travel section that you may read in GoLisbon's Forum.) 

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A white village with a magical medieval atmosphere 
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Monsaraz is a tiny fairytale walled village that maintains a delightful medieval atmosphere. It was originally fortified by the Knights Templar, and today its 150 or so permanent residents live in ancient white houses with outdoor staircases and wrought-iron balconies. 

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The main street, Rua Direita, lined with 16th and 17th century whitewashed houses, leads to the main square, where the parish church stands along with an unusual 18th century pillory topped by a sphere of the universe. The church interior contains gilded altars and painted pillars.
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It is worth climbing the granite castle's battlements for eagle's-eye views of the houses clustered within the village walls and for the magical landscape of the surrounding countryside. Within the castle is an unusual arena where bullfights are held several times a year. 

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In the region are Iron Age dolmens and menhirs, which were the sites of fertility rites. The Menhir of Outeiro, 3km (2 miles) north of Monsaraz, is one of the tallest ever discovered (5.6m/18ft). 

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Monsaraz is best reached by car, but there's daily bus service from Evora to nearby Reguengos de Monsaraz, from where there's connection to Monsaraz. 

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Where Islam meets Christianity 
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Pretty little Mértola is a riverside town with a long history as a trading port, and strolling around its sleepy cobbled lanes is like entering a time warp. 
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Its white parish church, topped with conical decorations, was converted from a mosque in the 12th century, and still retains a strong Islamic feel in its horseshoe arches and mihrab (prayer niche) facing east to Mecca. 

Above the church looms the town's ruined 13th century castle, with bird's-eye views of the entire town and river, and maybe even of the rare black stork or the lesser kestrel, a splendid falcon that is near extinction. 
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There are several small musems scattered around town with Roman and Islamic finds, including the country's best collection of Portuguese Islamic art made up of ceramics, coins, and jewelry. 
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The "Islamic Festival" that takes place every two years in May recreates the Islamic period of the town with music, exhibitions, and a street market. Those who wish to experience it may reach Mértola by bus from Beja. 
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Another cruise goes up the Arade River, taking visitors to historic SILVES, the former capital of Moorish Algarve that rivaled Granada in splendor and influence. Not much remains from those times, and today it's a sleepy little place with an imposing castle standing above the surrounding orange and almond groves.
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Just outside the castle is a 13th-century cathedral, largely Gothic and containing the tombs of the crusaders who helped conquer the town, and an archeological museum, with a large Arab cistern.
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Evora

The World Heritage city's prehistoric monuments and Roman temple

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Evora is one of Portugal's finest and most delightful towns. It is a true open-air museum with a large number of wonderfully preserved monuments and buildings of public interest that led UNESCO to protect it as a World Heritage Site.

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Each age has left its trace on Evora. It was the Celts who named it Ebora and the Romans gave it its most famous landmark, the Temple of Diana. Dating from the 2nd century, it is one of the Iberian Peninsula's best preserved Roman monuments, raised on a 3m(10ft)-high stone platform, with 14 of the original 18 granite Corinthian columns still standing. The whitewashed houses, arches, and twisting alleyways that characterize the town reflect the Moorish presence. 

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The main square, Praça do Giraldo, is the best place to start a visit. It was an execution ground during the Inquisition, but is now filled with shops and cafes, and surrounded by attractive townhouses with wrought-iron balconies. A fountain erected in 1571 in front of the Renaissance Santo Antão Church dominates one end of this spacious square. 

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From there, the pedestrian Rua 5 de Outubro (lined with souvenir shops) leads to the Roman temple and Loios Convent. The convent is now a splendid pousada but anyone can visit its Gothic church founded in 1485.

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The towers of the Sé (cathedral), built in 1186 (and where the flags of Vasco da Gama's ships were blessed before his voyage to India), are seen from here. It is a blend of Romanesque and Gothic, and on the portal are 14th century sculpted Apostles. The Gothic interior has one of the longest naves found in any cathedral in the country, measuring 70m(230ft), and has a large Renaissance organ, thought to be the oldest in Europe. The Gothic cloister with statues of the Evangelists and the Sacred Art Museum are worth seeing. Its most precious item is a 13th century ivory Virgin whose body opens out to reveal intricately carved scenes of her life in nine episodes. Visitors can also climb up to the roof for a view over the town. 

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Adjacent to the cathedral is the City Museum, representing Evora's long history through Roman columns, 16th-century paintings, and modern sculpture. Among the paintings is a 15th century Holy Virgin with Child by Alvaro Pires (he is one of the earliest identified Portuguese artists although a number of his paintings are displayed in Pisa and Florence in Italy). 

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A short walk behind the cathedral leads to the Jesuit University, founded in 1559. It has elegant Renaissance marble cloisters and the classroom entrances are decorated with tile panels representing each of the subjects taught. 

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A staircase beside the cathedral leads down towards Porta da Moura Square, a picturesque place to rest. It is surrounded by Moorish architecture and has an interesting spherical Renaissance fountain dating from 1556. 

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As you walk around town you will come across some interesting churches. One of the most eye-catching is Graça Church, a Renaissance building that is unique in the Iberian Peninsula. Built in granite, it has four huge figures supporting globes.

But of all the churches, the one that should not be missed is the Church of São Francisco. It is a Manueline-Gothic structure completed around 1510, and legend has it that Portuguese navigator Gil Vicente is buried in it. Not buried, but on display, are the bones and skulls of some 5000 people covering the walls and columns of the church's Chapel of Bones. The creepiest sight is what looks like the desiccated corpse of a child, hanging off to the right of the entrance, where a sign reads "Nós ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos," meaning "We bones that are here, await yours." 

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After that it is a good idea to take a little break in the delightful public gardens near the church, which are also home to the 16th century Dom Manuel Palace. Built in Gothic, Manueline, neo-Moorish, and Renaissance styles, it was where Vasco da Gama received his commission to command the fleet that would discover the sea route to India. 

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Outside the city walls on the road to the train station is Ermita de São Brás ("Hermitage of St. Blaise"), an extraordinary building that looks like a medieval castle, complete with large battlements, gargoyles, and round buttresses. It was built in 1485 in thanksgiving for survival from the plague. 

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Also outside the walls is the magnificent Silver Water Aqueduct. Walk west from Giraldo Square along Rua do Cano to transverse it and take a look at the houses that were built into its arches. 

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Around Evora are also numerous prehistoric monuments -- dozens of sizeable Neolithic menhirs, cromlechs, and dolmens (the one in Zambujeiro, now a national monument, is the largest in Europe, consisting of seven stones, each 6m/20ft high, forming a huge chamber). 

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The Cromlech of Almendres dating from somewhere between 4000 and 2000 B.C has been called "the Portuguese Stonehenge." It is the most important megalithic group in the Iberian Peninsula, consisting of a huge oval of almost one hundred rounded granite monoliths, some engraved with symbolic markings, assumed to have been used for cult purposes. They have their origins in a culture that flourished in the Iberian Peninsula before spreading north as far as Brittany and Denmark. 

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A couple of kilometers east is the Cave of Escoural, a cave adorned with charcoal drawings of horses and other animals, the work of Cro-Magnon artists some 15,000 years ago. There are free tours organized on the site.

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For more information about these sites, how to get to them, or to book tours, visit the Evora Tourism Office. 

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One of Evora's restaurants is also famous throughout the country. Apparently "O Fialho"'s excellent traditional dishes are reason enough to drive all the way from Lisbon for dinner.

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Evora is less than 2 hours away from Lisbon (there are express buses departing from the Sete Rios terminal), so it is a possible daytrip from the capital. However, it makes an ideal base for touring the Alentejo region and an overnight stay is highly recommended, as the town is especially evocative when floodlit at night.

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UNESCO says... Evora was declared a World Heritage Site because: "This museum-city, whose roots go back to Roman times, reached its golden age in the 15th century, when it became the residence of the Portuguese kings. Its unique quality stems from the whitewashed houses decorated with azulejos and wrought-iron balconies dating from the 16th to the 18th century. Its monuments had a profound influence on Portuguese architecture in Brazil."

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