Explorations of two white-washed cities in Southern Portugal.
Faro and Tavira are cities not too far from each other in south eastern Portugal, in the region known as Algarve. Neither are really big, nor very small, but both were fun to explore.
Faro, the capital of the Algarve region, lies on an immense lagoon. The Phoenicians set up camp in the area back in the 4th century CE, then called Ossonoba. Then the city became Roman, and then Visigothic, with Byzantine influences, and then finally captured by the Moors in the 8th century. The city would eventually be known as Faro after the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Christians.
After hiking 10 miles (last post), I decided it was a great idea to walk around a bit in Faro. I returned in the morning for more explorations.
Wandering Jana Can’t be a seaside city without a marina.
Wandering Jana Arco da Vila, the gate to the old city.
Wandering Jana The Palacete Belmarço, a very interesting building not far from the free parking lot.
Wandering Jana Cutest chimneys ever.
Wandering Jana The next morning brings us to the reason I really wanted to stop in Faro, Igreja da Ordem Terceira de Nossa Senhora do Monte do Carmo. Catholic church names are sometimes just ridiculous.
Wandering Jana Soooooo Baroque.
Wandering Jana Really nice church, but I really came for this.
Wandering Jana Bone Chapel!
Wandering Jana The chapel is built of the bones of over 1,000 Carmelite friars. Ossuaries are common in Europe, but they went to the extreme with this one.
Wandering Jana Even this fountain in the courtyard was covered in bones.
Wandering Jana Moving on. Really see the Moorish influences with this building. I didn’t see that much of it in Portugal as in Southern Spain.
Wandering Jana I headed through the Arco da Vila to the Old City where you can find the Faro’s Cathedral. The plaza in front of the cathedral is used for parking, hence the weird angle of this photo.
Wandering Jana A small cathedral with some fantastic chapels.
Wandering Jana Those famous Portuguese Azulejos making an appearance. During the 18th century, scenes were popular, basically making it a tiled painting.
Wandering Jana Even the Gothic chapel is covered in Baroque tiles.
Wandering Jana This one is ridiculous.
Wandering Jana A fancy chapel just for reliquaries? Um…yes.
Wandering Jana The cathedral even has an outdoor bone chapel!
Wandering Jana Faro’s lagoon as seen from the tower of the cathedral.
Wandering Jana Now for an amazing gem that is right next to the free parking area, São Francisco.
Wandering Jana So many Azulejos.
Wandering Jana Absolutely ridiculous.
Tavira is only 28 km (17 miles) from the center of Faro. The Moors also conquered Tavira, which still influences the city’s appearance today. The walls of buildings are white washed and roofs and doorways are in a Moorish style. The city’s grand medieval bridge was built during the Moorish period. Most cities in Central to Southern Portugal were greatly affected by the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, said to be about 8.5-9 on the Richter scale, followed by a massive tsunami. Much of the city lay in ruins after the earthquake, but some of those Moorish influences can still be found. (Random fun fact: the tsunami that wrecked absolute destruction on anything that survived on the coast didn’t affect Faro. Their lagoon saved them from the onslaught of the waves, but they still had to deal with the earthquake.)
Wandering Jana Tiles, glorious tiles. I may have a problem.
Wandering Jana Adorable.
Wandering Jana Looking down the river.
Wandering Jana Porta de Dom Manuel.
Wandering Jana Even more adorable.
Wandering Jana I love the tree over the door.
Wandering Jana The 11th century castle.
Wandering Jana Nice garden inside.
Wandering Jana Cute little city.
Wandering Jana Igreja de Santiago. There are entrance fees for some of the churches in Tavira. This was just the winner of the one I paid for. It won because it was open when I walked by.
Wandering Jana More Azulejos.
Wandering Jana Azulejos all around the church.
Wandering Jana Close up on those tiles.
Wandering Jana That altar is kind of insane.
Wandering Jana Back at that adorable bridge from earlier. It’s actually a surviving Ancient Roman bridge.
Wandering Jana Cute town.
Faro and Tavira are great places to visit in Southern Portugal. They are small and easily walkable, with lots to see. However, bring some small change for the churches. They prefer coins.
Tune in for my next update where I explore a couple small towns and some Roman ruins!
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