Pied beauty of Portugal

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

Olivia Miwil is captivated by this southern European nation with its rich history, intricately designed buildings and picturesque towns.

MENTION Portugal and the first thing that comes to mind is Cristiano Ronaldo, the country’s national footballer.

But for Trafalgar Tour travel director Pedro Pinto, “the little Portugal” (as he fondly refers to the country) has more to offer than just the handsome footballer. It has splendid beaches by the Atlantic Ocean, different landscapes and a year-round mild climate. “That’s 3,000 hours of sunshine in a year!” he says.

Pedro is like a walking encyclopedia of everything Portuguese — from its broad architectural styles, heritage, culture, politics, economy, education and even the diseases common among the people. And of course there’s the local cuisine.

Portugal welcomes us with a beautiful fado show at the welcome reception held at Cafè Luso in Lisbon.

However, our eight-day Best of Portugal tour by Trafalgar Tour starts the following day with a city tour around Lisbon, a city that sits on the north bank of the Tagus estuary and about 17km from the Atlantic.

As our city guide takes us around the city, we listen to his detailed explanation through the given individual portable audio system. This gadget is conveniently rechargeable in the Trafalgar luxury coach which we use throughout the tour. Not only that, the bus is also WiFi connected.

It is inspiring to see a modern-day hilly city which began reconstruction within a month after the deadliest earthquake in November 1755 which killed 15,000 people. That tragedy saw over half of the city reduced to rubble; fires spread and huge waves rolled in from the Tagus and flooded the lower part of the city. It still holds many reminders of the earthquake.

Among the buildings that survived the quake are the Belem tower which was a beacon for navigators returning from the Indies and the New World; the 16th-century manueline-style Monastery of Jeronimos and quarters with a Kasbah-like layout in Alfama district — the quaint neighbourhood was once the most desirable quarter for the Moors.

But one day is just not enough. I wish we could stay at least for another two days to see more of this beautiful city.

SOUTHERN REGION

From Lisbon, the tour heads south to the Algarve and Alentejo regions. Our first stop is Monte Negro or the Black Mountain Stud Farm where we have our lunch in Trafalgar’s Be My Guest lunch stop. An exclusive Trafalgar feature, the dining experience lets guests dine in the home of a local and enjoy food cooked by the host.

Our hosts are Tiago and Vera, the first generation to reinstate the farm which once had a gloomy atmosphere. Its owner Jacinto Paes Falcao, who reared Lusitano horses for wars, painted all buildings at the farm in dark colours. He became depressed because of unrequited love. The story goes that he fell for King Charles’ wife, Queen Amelia.

Then we head to Alentejo, home to Evora, a World Heritage site. With two millennial of history, the well-preserved old town centre is still enclosed by medieval walls with a large number of monuments dating from rule of the Romans and Moors, before it was reconquered in September 1165.

The Romanesque-Gothic style Cathedral of Evora, which located at the highest spot in the city, resembles similar designs of Notre Dame de in Paris with its 12-apostles in the main portal.

Cathedral of Evora.

I stay a little longer appreciating the details of the Lady of O statue at the central nave of the church as it is uncommon to see Our Lady with a bulging tummy, depicting her pregnancy when carrying Jesus Christ. It is said that local priests had used it to convert local pagans who were worshiping the mother goddesses. Nowadays, people come here to pray for fertility or for help in difficult childbirths.

Diana Roman Temple in Evora

Not far from the church is the Diana Roman Temple which had held little mystery to the locals for a period when it was covered around by Evora Castle in the 11th century. In the beginning, the temple was converted into a structure dedicated to the Romans to honour Emperor Augustus, before the castle was built surrounding it. Later, the castle structure was slowly dismantled and the place converted into a butcher shop.

At the St Francis Church, there is a chapel of bones with thousands of skeletons and skulls interred neatly around the wall and ceiling of the room. Those human remains of about 5,000 people were relocated from cemeteries when the lands were developed. Pedro says that according to most of his dentist and medical doctor guests, some of those bones belong to babies and young children.

The 16th-century structure is meant to convey message on the fragility of life. “NÛs ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos,” states a sign engraved at the entrance which means: “We bones that are here, for yours we wait”.

About a 90-minute drive from Evora is the Castelo de Vide town which was once a typical Portuguese hill-top village with a castle, a stronghold on the Spanish border. I enjoy taking a stroll uphill around the town, observing some red-roofed houses at the Jewish quarter with blue and white Portuguese tiles known as Azulejos, paintings of saints above their doors, tiny mailboxes on the doors, and different kinds of flowers in pots outside their houses.

The hidden treasure of the town, a fountain, is known for its natural water which is rich in chloride, bicarbonate and potassium. We have a few sips straight from the running water and it tastes refreshing.

CENTRAL REGION

In Viseu, Guimaraes city offers a fascinating day tour with its charming city centre of gothic buildings, traditional houses and delightful plazas. It is also regarded as the birthplace of the country as the first king of Portugal Afonso Henriques was born here.

Guimaraes is another historical city in the country and has been listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2001. One of the highlights is its ancient castle, which has been classified as one of the New Portuguese Seven Wonders. It was used to defend the city from Moors and Normans attacks.

As I touch the wall of the castle, it makes sense as to what Pedro said about people no longer wanting to live in the building as the inside temperature is either extremely cold or warm, according to the seasons.

About an hour’s drive from Guimaraes is the Boroque-style Mateus Palace. Its splendid manor house is depicted on the labels of the Mateus Rose wine. The Manor house which was built in the early 18th century has been declared as national monument in 1911. Inside and out, the house has been designed to create vistas and a series of mirror images. A pool was added in 1930s to reflect the main faÁade and its two wings.

Mateus Palace

Pedro says the immaculate French formal garden surrounding it does not only complement the symmetrical concept but also accentuates the beauty of the place with its multi-coloured leaves from different types of plants.

The formal beds and complex parterres edged with tightly clipped dwarf box hedges, rose shrubs, well-ordered orchards and fields of the estate, and its vast cedar tunnel make perfect background pictures for visitors.

Although the stop at Fatima town is only about an hour long, it is a privilege to step on a place where Our Lady had appeared to three young seers six times 99 years ago. Not far from Fatima is the beautiful fishing village of Nazare which the town gets its name from after a statue of the Virgin Mary which was brought from Nazareth in Israel by a monk in the 4th century.

The slow-pace town has a beautiful sandy beach with colourful fishing boats. Locals still wear their traditional costumes of checked shirts and trousers for the men, and colourful dresses with petticoats for the women.

Nazare, unlike other parts of Portugal with ancient ruins or magnificent architecture, is a perfect place for an undisturbed stroll, tanning, surfing , fishing or feasting on locally caught fish at the cafe and restaurants at the seaside.

NORTH REGION

We then head north to Oporto, the Portugal’s second largest urban city. But as the oldest European centre, it is another historical site with Unesco World Heritage status.

Located along the Douro river estuary in northern Portugal, Oporto which is also known as Porto, is famous for its international export - the naturally sweet, rich and fortified Port wines.

I have my crash course on the secrets and flavours of the Port Wine and other types of wines at House of Sandeman - located at the waterfront of Vila Nova de Gaia, a few steps from the river - houses the cellars and the brand museum. We have an idea on the wine-making process, from grape plucking to bottling at Quinta de Morroccos.

Palacio da Bolso, an old stock exchange building, is a must for those who look for great artistic variety in paintings on the ceilings or walls, sculptures, and other decorations within a building. While there are several rooms that have their own specialty, the Moorish revival-style Arab Hall reminiscing the story of 1001 Arabian Nights is the highlight of the entire building. It is used as a reception hall to host dignitaries, or for concerts.

Within walking distance from the building is the Casa do Infante. Harry Porter fans will be thrilled to be here, a place which is said inspired author J.K Rowling when writing the Potter books.

Among them are the Majestic Cafe, where she spent most of the time writing her first book Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, one of the world’s most beautiful libraries, the Lello & Irmao bookstore (part of its interior design was featured in a Harry Potter movie).

I am lucky to come across students of University of Porto wearing “traje” en route to a performance at a charity concert. The traditional traje is similar to costumes worn by the wizard students in Hogwarts.

 students of University of Porto wearing “traje”

Porto’s Sao Bento station, which stands just around the corner from the monumental Avenida dos Aljados, has around 20,000 azulejo alluding to the history of Portugal. The most remarkable panels depict the Battle of Valdevez, the meeting between Knight Egas Moniz and Alfonso VII of Leon, the arrival of King John I and Philippa of Lancaster in Porto, and Prince Henry the Navigator conquering Ceuta in Morocco.

Porto is also a souvenir shopping haven, offering affordable souvenirs ranging from wines, fashionable traditional filigree jewellery, Portuguese rooster which symbolises good luck and honesty, tablecloths and hand mittens, products made from cork,l and fashionable clothes.

where millions go to show their devotion

The small town of Fatima will play host to 1.2 million of pilgrims from all over the world as the Catholics celebrate the centenary apparitions of Our Lady of Rosary next year.

Located 142 km north of Lisbon, Fatima will also have Roman Catholic church 266th Pope Francis, cardinals and bishops join the congregation. Francis’s coming to the town will become the fourth papal visit to Fatima after Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II in 1982, 1991 and 2000 and Benedict XVI in 2010.

On previous significant celebrations, it has been reported that some of the pilgrims, who travel in the spirit of faith or for penance, will camp out overnight as one of the gestures of their devotion over Our Lady.

fatima shrine

As one of the most important Catholic shrines in the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Fatima receives thousands of people with higher volume between May and October as this is the period when Our Lady had appeared to three young children for six times in 1917.

At the centre of the shrine is The Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus where people collect the water of Fatima through taps found under the monument. The shrine’s souvenir shop sells mini bottle filled with the water at reasonable price.

The beautiful Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima, a neo-classical style building, is the second erected in 1928 after the construction of Little Chapel of Apparitions in 1919. The basilica has 15 altars that are dedicated to the 15 mysteries of the Rosary. The painting above the high altar depicts the Message of Our Lady to the little shepherds.

At the four corners of the basilica are statues of the four great apostles of the Rosary including Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Saint Dominic, Saint John Eudes and Saint Stephen. The tombs of the said three visionary children Jacinto and Francisco, who are siblings and their cousin Lucia are kept here.

Other sites that can be visited outside the shrine are the Parish Church where the three seers were baptised, and the children’s homes at Aljustrel and Valinhos.

If I had the chance to visit Fatima in future, I would want to stay at the Hotel Fatima, from which according to Trafalgar travel director Pedro Pinto, I could see the mesmerising candlelight procession from the hotel’s windows in the evening.

“Some of the visitors, although they are not Catholics, decide to leave their room and walk across to join the procession. They even describe the stay at the town as one of the best experiences in the Best of Portugal tour package,” he says.

Fatima becomes significant to Catholics as the church believe Our Lady’s apparitions meant to convey messages through the children for people to be sorrowful with their sins and made amendment, to pray, as well as to devote to Our Lady’s virtues way of living, compassionate love towards God, her son Jesus Christ and the people.

During my short visit to the holy town, I see pilgrims show their devotions that will definitely register in my memory box for quite a long time. One of them is an elderly woman who is carrying a toddler with pacifier moves on her knees before Our Lady statue at the Little Chapel of the Apparitions.

Then, there’s an 8-year-old girl who suddenly kneels before the altar while a group of 20 people are busy taking pictures of the new Church of the Most Holy Trinity. Outside the church, she even asks her parents to give out some cash to a woman who has asked around for money earlier.

Visitors lid up candles

It is also pleasurable to see people especially loving couples light up their candles at an open space adjacent to the Little Chapel of the Apparitions. The candles are lit up either for prayers or simply kind gestures.

During the third apparition in July 13, the Virgin Mary had also entrusted three secrets related to hell, World War I, World War 2 and the assassination attempt of the Pope John Paul II.

The Miracle of the Sun occurred on the last apparition on Oct 13 whereby thousands of people including journalists witnessed the 10 minutes of extraordinary solar activity.

Some may wonder why Fatima, a female given name of Arabic origin, is used to name the holy place for Catholics in Portugal. Fatima is also a common name used among Portuguese women.

As suggested in a book Fatima The Great Sign by Francis Johnston, Moorish people, who once conquered Portugal, were intrigued that Our Lady of Rosary had appeared at the town thus call the place by the name of Prophet Muhammad’s favourite daughter known as Fatima.