Reports of recent Trips/ Travel
13-17 Oct 2009 – Four night Visit to the North of PortugalDay 1: Travelling north from the Algarve it’s always fascinating to see the landscape change. From cork trees to olive to vineyards to corn and of course always interspersed with the ever present pine trees. At about one o’clock we arrived at the archaeological site and museum of Conímbriga where after lunch we were guided by Maria Jose. Conímbriga , meaning a ‘high rocky place’, was inhabited from the 9th century BC until the 7th or 8th century AD. When the Romans arrived here in the second half of the first century BC it was already a thriving village, and under Roman influence it rapidly became a prosperous city. Sadly in 465 AD the Swabians
captured and sacked the city. Many of the inhabitants fled with their Bishop to Coimbra and established a strong Christian community. The remains of the Roman wall and the outstanding mosaics are truly awesome.
Day 2: Via a romantic garden with panoramic views of the City and tablets exhibiting poetry by locals and students among the plants and trees, we went on to the University where Maria Jose explained the many aspects and traditions of student life. The black gowns and cloaks date back to the days when the clergy ran
the University and only Latin was spoken. The old University square is reached by the
impressive 6th century arch after which one sees the famous Tower built in l728 which has become the symbol of not only the University but also the actual city of Coimbra.The highlight of the visit was the Baroque Library. Originally built in the time of King Joao V one stands in wonder at the rows and rows of valuable books, over 200,000 volumes. We moved on to the Museum National de Machado de Castro which has been constructed over the original Roman Forum. The dateable materials (pottery, glass and coins) found in the foundations of the building show that the cryptoporticus and the forum it supported are contemporary with the Claudian era (mid 1st Century AD). An incredible place with magnificent galleries. Most notable of the finds were the busts of Trajan, Vespasian, Agrippa, and Livia. The café where we lunched was a neo-manuelin building constructed in 1530 originally as a parish church. Our next destination was the old Cathedral which was once a Mosque. It has an outward appearance of a fortress as when it was taken back from the Moors it was fortified against their return. The interior is quietly impressive with a great sense of peace. We also visited the neighbourhood of Santa Clara on the other side of the Mondego river where the convent of Santa Clara was erected. Of the medieval structure only the ruined church remains standing. The new 17th century convent is imposing in stature and is clearly visible at the top of the Hill of Hope (Monte de Esperança).
Day 3: After a 2 hour drive we arrived in Guimarães which is the birth place of Portugal as declared by the Pope in 1179. Following the lunch our guide Sophia took us to the
Guimarães Castle which dates back to the time of Mumadona Dias a very strong lady who arranged for the erection of the castle to defend Guimarães Monastery which she had founded in 950. However, the oldest elements that have been found up to date are from the second half of the 11th century. The castle outline that we see today dates from the reign of King Dinis (1279-1325). Following use as a quarry, a prison, and a military barracks, it was classified as a National Monument in 1881 and restored to the present condition in 1937. Walking the old road through town we happened on some sort of parade. It was the parade of the Freshmen from the University, accompanied by the more mature students dressed in black gowns and cloaks with tricorn hats. Lots of noise of drums, made from cans of beer, which it seems the students are obliged to drink. According to Sophia, the first thing the newcomers have to learn is to drink beer. The harsh parading and the deadly noise is to teach the freshmen what to expect during the first year of study. Each faculty has its own section, each with its own banner representing the subject to be studied. The parade ends at the town hall where the doors are flung open so that the Mayor can hear the students sing or chant their dedication to the University and the City.
Day 4: A twisting mountainous road took us to the hillside settlement of Citânia de Briteiros which was one of the 
largest historical fortified towns in the Iberian Peninsula. Its study began in 1875 when Francisco Martins Sarmento(1833-1899) who lived in the local village discovered pieces of Roman pottery on the hillside where he took his walks. Thinking there must be more he started the excavations. As he continued to discover more remains he decided to buy the land which on his death he donated to the Martins Sarmento Society. With our guide we walked along the ancient roads. He pointed out the remains of a circular stone house which would have been the building where the nuclear family lived. Surrounding this house are more angular structures where agricultural implements and tools were kept and maybe some food was stored. Ma
ny questions have been raised since the discovery of this vast site. Which peopleor peoples inhabited the family compounds? Where had they come from and how did they develop? Would they have survived the impact of the Romans? Excavations continue and maybe some day these questions will be answered. Finally we visited the Castro Culture Museum established in the old family house of Sarmento where artefacts discovered on site are displayed: earrings, hair pins, needles, coins, ceramic pottery marked with the potters “trade mark”. The next day we returned from Guimarães back to the Algarve after a marvelous trip.
Saturday,
30 May 2009 Visit
to São Brás Alportel for a guided visit of the town and
a short walk along the calçadinho which runs from the south of
the town towards Milreu and Estoi.
The
tour was guided by Sr. Emmanuel who is director of the Museu do Trajo
in the town. He was accompanied by a young man who is a guide
for the ‘cork route’ scheme which has just been set up to
highlight and inform visitors of the importance of the production of
cork in the region. As we walked through the town Sr Emmanuel
explained some of its history and pointed out certain places of
particular interest. It was somewhat surprising to hear how important
São Brás had been in the administrative history of the
Algarve. This was mainly due to its sound economical past as a result
the cork industry and in turn through its religious and political
importance. He explained how, in the early 20th century, the
‘Farmacias’ in particular had been places where people met and
discussed politics depending on which stand they took …monarchist
or republicans. During our walk down the calçadinho, Sr
Emmanuel explained the importance of the underground water supply to
the town. In early days this supply was quite abundant but in recent
years the springs had dried up due to over extraction and hot
summers. However with the building of a new dam and mains water from
there to the town, together with increased rainfall some of these
springs have become active once more. The short walk along the old
road was quite atmospheric especially as this had been the old route
from Faro up to São Brás from at least the Roman period
right through till the construction of a new road in the 19th
century. Time did not allow us to continue along the whole road
beyond the flyover but it is well worth the effort as it takes one
into the countryside over huge weathered stones that once carried
travellers on their way to and from the town, Also there is a new
interpretation centre nearby giving information about the calçadinho.
The tourist office in the town is also a good source of information.
Saturday,
18 Apr 2009 Visit
to Palácio da Galeria in Tavira to the exhibition "Patrimonio
do Mar"
On
18th April, 24 members met in Tavira to visit the exhibition
Patrimónios do Mar in the Palácio da Galeria. This is
an exhibition showing the relationship of the city with the sea from
Phoenician and Turdetan times to the 20th century. In the entrance is
a 4 meter map of the Gilão river valley as it was in the early
1800’s. Through the exhibition
are maps, archaeological and artistic finds, scale
models and a visual
display of the immense changes in the coastline
through the ages. The importance of trading with North Africa, the
Eastern Mediterranean
and Asia is evident, as were the forts built to protect the city,
though these had to be rebuilt as the coastline changed. The tuna
fishing is shown as a brutal
affair up to the 1930’s and the
poorest women who had to climb the salt mountains to get the salt to
preserve the fish must have had the worst job of all. Lastly there is
a display of ships in distress painted by local artists. Our guide,
Rita Manteigas, brought the exhibition to life with her immense
knowledge of the history of Tavira. The exhibition was due to end in
June, but has been extended until the autumn, and it is recommended
to all members of the AAA.
20
- 28 Feb 2009: AAA
Trip to Morocco with Chris Pollard.
A
group of 22 members set off for a tour of coastal Morocco and
Marrakesh. This excursion was led by Chris Pollard who is very well
known to the AAA. We crossed the Straits of Gibraltar by jet ferry
and made for the capital city, Rabat. This was an interesting opening
for our tour as this city encompasses Morocco’s history – the
remains of the Roman settlement of Sala (with massive stork and egret
colonies), plus the stunning bronzes from Volubilis in the
archaeological museum, the medieval medina and casbah with a
fascinating jewellery museum. In the city there is also the French
ville nouvelle, the modern royal city and the beautiful mausoleum of
Mohammed V – the father of the modern state. We then travelled down
the coast to the busy fishing port and seaside resort of Essaouira –
the former Portuguese fort of Mogador. The ramparts, the harbour with
its attractive wooden fishing boats and the medina all contributed to
an interesting tour which ended in a visit to a marquetry and
woodcarving workshop using both the trunks and roots of the Thuya
tree.
Our next location was the magical city of Marrakesh where we
stayed in a beautiful Riad – a mansion built around a central
courtyard right in the heart of the old town. On arrival we set off
immediately for the 14thc Medersa Ben Youssef, a Koranic school. In
the 16thc it was rebuilt and the intricate, Andalusian-influenced
craftsmanship in wood, stucco and tile work is impressive and could
be appreciated again in the royal tombs of the Saadian dynasty.
Equally remarkable is the tranquil and exotic Jardin Majorelle,
lovingly restored by the late Yves Saint Laurent. No stay in
Marrakesh would be complete without a visit to the Unesco World
heritage site - the Jamaa el Fna – a combined market, carnival and
open-air theatre. We, of course, also had to visit the souk and in
the pharmacy were assured that all the physical and mental ailments
of mankind could be cured with their oils and lotions – some of the
group made extensive purchases so look out for miracles! From
Marrakesh we travelled to Casablanca (pop about 4m) with its faded
art-deco buildings and the grand or possibly grandiose modern mosque
– the third biggest in the world. Our fascinating tour ended with
the jet ferry back to Tarifa. We owe a big thankyou to Claire Larson
for arranging this for the AAA, to Chris Pollard and Moses for
organising and leading us in Morocco and to coach driver Manuel for
piloting us through a challenging 2500km marathon including several
amazing reversing manoeuvres!’
15
Nov 2008
a group of members visited the new museum
in Portimão.
The visit was organized by Gina Hall and we were guided by Rui
Parreira assisted by Rosanna Costa who works at the museum. The
museum, which opened in the summer is situated in the old sardine
factory near to the Naval Club, took 3 years to complete. The old
factory has been sympathetically restored and shows that the area in
and around Portimão has a fascinating past. We began the tour
with Rui who described the excavation work and some of the finds from
Alcalar and which also included an impressive model of the monument.
We then moved through the Roman displays to a section devoted to
underwater archaeology with finds from the River Arade, which
included amphora and ships’ anchor and cannon. This led on to an
exhibition emphasizing Portimão’s fame as a ship building
centre with original tools on display. Here we also saw an original
film made in 1959 by the father of one of our members – Michèle
Carron who has donated it to the museum. It was very interesting
viewing especially as it was taken in the vicinity of the old factory
and we could see how the area has changed over the years. Here too
there was an excellent model showing the processes in the
construction of a typical fishing vessel. The next part of the tour
was guided by Rosanna Costa who described the life and work of Manuel
Teixeira Gomes who became Portugal’s first President in 1923. We
then moved through to a part of the building that still retains
features of the sardine factory. This area has been totally restored
but gives an excellent idea about the work that was carried out. Our
guide explained how the work had been carried out and we soon
understood how labour intensive the work was and how important this
industry was to the local population. It seems that everything
required by the industry, from the provision of clothing for the
workers to the cans, printing of labels and boxes was carried out in
the factory. There was even a crèche provided for the
children. We concluded our visit by seeing a film made in 1948 which
told the story of the sardine from its capture in the seas off the
coast through its processing to its final destination the contents of
a picnic! A visit to this highly class museum is thoroughly
recommended.
The visit was concluded by lunch at the Dos Cais
Restaurant in the Clube Naval de Portimão where we were served
with generous portions of soup, salmon/pork and desserts.
15-18 Oct 2008 Once again a group of members headed off to Spain this time to the ‘White Villages of the Sierra de Cadiz’ Agnete Sylvan and Liv Hansen provide this report. ‘On a sunny morning our jolly group travelled into Spain stopping at Los Morales on the way to Zahara de la Sierra. This village, on the top of a mountain, has remains from Moorish times. Our walk took us up the steep hills to the remains of a Mosque which is beneath the church of St. Maria de la Mesa (now the interpretation centre). Further up on the top is the Roman castle which has spectacular views to the mountains and the lake. The following morning we travelled to Espera where we visited an olive pressing mill dating from the 19th century. It is no longer in use as a new one has been built outside the town. Then we continued up the streets towards the castle of Fatetar (see picture left) which dates from Roman and Visigoth times but later restored by the Moors. It later fell into Christian hands and was used as a fortress. This was followed by a visit to the town museum which contained tools and artefacts dating from the prehistoric right through to the medieval period although most objects came from the Roman settlement of Carissa Aurelia. The afternoon was spent in Arcos de la Frontera where we saw the hospital convent of San Juan de Dios and the church of Santa Maria. The castle on Praza del Cabildo was built in the 15th century but following the Christian conquest it became the home of the Dukes of Arcos. The tour continued to the 14th century church of S. Pedro. The following day our itinerary had to be changed due to the recent heavy rain in Spain. So we travelled to Carteia the earliest remains of which date from the 7th century when the Phoenicians settled in the area. This old town is very close to the Straits of Gibraltar and is almost surrounded by modern oil refineries. As it is so close to the sea it was an important town which controlled the Straits and the trade through the port at that time. After the 3rd Punic war the Romans took over the town and enlarged it. There are many remains visible on the huge site and there is still even more to be excavated. After lunch we travelled along the coast to the enormous and very impressive Roman town of Baelo Claudia (picutre right). The town faces the Straits of Gibraltar and it was just possible to get a glimpse of the African coastline. The town was very wealthy having earned this through tuna fishing and the production of garum – the ‘factory area’ being very well preserved. Baelo Claudia was built some 2.200 years ago but was abandoned by the 6th century due to earthquake and a tidal wave. The remains of the town are well presented and our tour included the gates, cardo maximus, basilica, temple of Isis, the forum, the theatre (which is used for plays in the summer months), baths and market place. Our guide was very knowledgeable and Michèle and Mercedes did a brilliant job in translating the information into English.. Our last morning was spent in Medina Sidonia. We went to a convent and saw their lovely little church. We went on up the narrow streets to the ruins of the Roman castle and the church of Santa Maria. Finally we were shown the remains of one of the original Roman roads in the town. This has been preserved inside one of the more modern buildings and here we saw a virtual presentation showing life as it might have been in the town during Roman times. After lunch we set off home to the Algarve. Our thanks go to Michèle, Mercedes, Ruth and our driver Manuel’.