Portugal

We went to Portugal from Seville, by coach to Faro the far south, before returning to Spain and Madrid.

There we hired a car and made our way north to Lisbon staying in the Pousadas de Portugal; hotels established in old monasteries and castles (click here ).

 It's dreadful having to slum it!

The car was a very nice brand new diesel Fiat; just right for zipping along the very good EC funded country roads with virtually no other traffic. 

A roman style bridge - note the traffic

Despite the very fine accommodation and pleasant countryside Portugal was at times depressing.

 Twenty years earlier it was vibrant compared to Spain. But three years ago Portugal was already in the grip of a long recession and high unemployment.   According to the OECD the economic contribution of the farm sector in Portugal has shrunk by a massive two thirds in the past two decades.

Carbon farming has sterilised a good deal of the best agricultural land.  Cork lies in untended heaps by the roadside; while vast plantations of young trees have years to go before they yield a crop.  Meanwhile wine makers worldwide are moving to metal screw tops as they deliver a better, more consistent product, with superior controlled breathing when cellared; and result in virtually no wastage due to corkage. 

We also saw vineyards lying untended, going to rack and ruin, and in the villages unemployed field workers aimlessly loitering in the streets or playing cards in back alleys.  In the fields and lanes we saw farmers using horses for ploughing; reminiscent of the Middle East rather than Europe. 

Despite the distant plantations the countryside is not in good condition

Notwithstanding this, and despite having only one or two words and using fingers for pointing and counting, we were greeted with hospitality and good humour in the villages.  In one café a local girl had quite good schoolgirl English that helped a lot.

The strange thing was that I could make better sense of written Portuguese than of written Spanish; although pronounced differently it has more in common with English.

 
Note the Australian Rugby on the TV

In regional Portugal the churches are still well attended; particularly by small women dressed in black.  They are also often populated by garish painted statuary that is sometimes clothed, presumably by the faithful.  Piety abounds; along with colourful posters imaginatively misrepresenting the developing foetus; and proclaiming the twin evils of contraception and abortion.

We visited a number of fortified towns.  The country is enormously rich in history.  There is considerable built archaeology; often dating back to the initial pre-Christian Roman conquest around 200 BCE; through the early Christian era and the Visigoths; to the Moors and the Christian reconquest.   

Another well defended town

There is also a rich pre-history.  As recently as 25,000 years ago our near-human big-brained cousins, the Neanderthal, roamed these lands; just before their extinction; probably at our hands. 

With the collapse of the Roman Empire Portugal was invaded in the fifth century by the Christian Visigoths and Suevi; wandering tribes originating in Germany.  Like the rest of Iberia, two centuries later it fell to Islam and the Moors but in the ninth century the Northern Province was reconquered by a Christian (Count Vímara Peres) when it first became known as Portugal. It took another four centuries for the Christians to fully reconquer modern Portugal. 

Nevertheless this was relatively early in the reconquest of the Iberian peninsular. The early reconquest defined its separate character; as it reached a centuries-long accommodation with its Muslim neighbours.  

Ibn Qasi the Sufi (Islamic) governor of the Taifa of Mértola Portugal
who fought against the Almoravid dynasty in Al-Andalus (Spain).  

As the reconquest continued in Spain, Portugal was more often at war with the neighbouring Christians than with the Moors.

When the Jews were expelled from Spain during the rule of Isabella and Ferdinand many fled to Portugal.  As Jews tended to be better educated middle class, for a time Portugal more than held its own in the economic competition with its larger neighbour.  Spain soon realised its mistake and offered Jews the right to return; provided they converted to Christianity; few accepted.

Lisbon

Lisbon still seemed prosperous enough until we ventured into the suburbs where many buildings were poorly maintained; some were graffiti covered and seemed to be abandoned; others secured with wire and bars; and the less salubrious streets felt unsafe.

Dominating the city is a fortified hill from which there are excellent views. 

From here it is just as picturesque as I remembered; and the narrow-gauge trams are fun. 

Riding the trams

Electronic tickets can be used across the city public transport system. Unlike proximity cards in other cities, that are usually plastic and are recycled many times, these are cardboard and disposed of after one or two uses.  Although each contains a purpose built micro-chip and associated antenna they litter the transport system.  Someone’s making a lot of money.

The Gothic/ Romanesque Cathedral in Lisbon is not as large as those in Spain and relatively unimpressive.  Portugal is prone to earthquakes and Cathedrals and churches are particularly vulnerable.  This one has been restored several times and is relatively squat by Gothic standards (only half as tall internally as even the Gothic Revival Roman Catholic and Anglican Cathedrals in Sydney).  

Lisbon Cathedral

Roman ruins built over in the medieval and Islamic periods have been discovered under the Cathedral cloister and much of the grounds are being excavated by archaeologists.  The dig has been provided with elevated walk-ways for visitors; it’s more interesting than the church.

Archaeology
the lowest levels are iron age topped by a Roman 1st century street and steps
above these was built a medieval cistern and other construction

Lisbon also boasts a big Jesus (Christ the Redeemer) on a tower; it’s a small replica of the one in Rio (see elsewhere on this site). This is an acknowledgement of the close relationship and common language with Brazil; the largest and wealthiest of their former colonies.

mini-me

Portugal has always had a close diplomatic relationship with Britain with whom they allied in the peninsular campaign against the French under Napoleon. At this time the Portuguese Court transferred to Rio de Janeiro. The building used as a palace can be seen in the article on Brazil elsewhere on this website.  In due course this led to Brazil's independence in 1822.

Lisbon has a fine museum housing European art and archaeological artefacts; illuminating its complex history. 

Is the naked man after the girl; or just returning her towel?

There are also pleasant parks; at least one featuring a collection of interesting sculptures; popular with young lovers.

From Lisbon we returned to Spain and Madrid.