Castle of Sao Jorge
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 29 Aug 2008 21:05
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Castle of Sao
Jorge
After the gruelling trek up to the
Castle, I needed to sit and have a Calippo to cool down and get my pulse rate
back to normal. That perked me up no end and I was ready then to clamber all
over the Castle. It is in the cradle of the city. Visigothic in origin ( but
there have been ruins found dating back to 6 BC ) is one of the finest
fortresses in the country. Conquered from the Moors in 1147 by Dom Afonso
Henriques. Thorough restoration in recent years.
   
 Bear with a funny looking chimney
thing over his right shoulder, this is actually a periscope with a 360 degreee
view over the whole city, when we went in to take a look there was too much mist
for a clear view. The square shaping of the ramparts are very classic of Moorish
design. The Cathedral was built by Dom Afonso Henriques on the ruins of the
Chiado Mosque, completed in 1147. It is a characteristic example of Romaneque
Art. It contains a fine treasure of religious art and gold work.
   The middle photo I am quite pleased
with shows The Convent da Graca.
 
 Some of the original ruins, me with
some nude Bear found and the well.
  The streets around this square were
almost totally destroyed by the earthquake of 1755. When they were rebuilt they
were organised by trade. The jewelers, cloth, buttons ( we saw loads of button
shops in a row, quite amazing ), silversmiths, goldsmiths, cobblers and food
merchants each with their own street. Modern times see the streets filled
with restaurants of every nationality, we ate in an Italian. The big white
building is the railway station; to the north of it is The Church of St
Anthony, patron saint of Lisbon, he was born in the city in 1195. He preached in
Morocco, died in Padua in 1231 and was canonised shortly afterwards, his feast
day is July 13th. Bear with the St Just lift in the centre of the
photo.
 A good photo to show the new city
rising in the background. The airport is off to the right. We enjoyed our bimble
around the castle.
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