Reports of Day Trips within the Algarve
18 March 2010 - Visit to the Faro Jewish Cemetery
16 Jan 2010 – Visit to the castle at Paderne.
Our
guide was Rui Parreira who began the visit by explaining the history
behind this important Muslim castle (Hisn) which is situated on a rocky
promontory overlooking the valley of the Quarteira River. It was built
in the 12th century as part of a line of castles constructed to protect
the region we know as the Algarve. The castle occupies a good strategic
point and dominates the valley and also one of the main entrances to
the region. The castle’s elevation also allowed for good communication
between other defensive positions such as Xelb (Silves). R
ui
also explained that in the 14th century the castle was conquered by the
Portuguese and it remained the main habitation site for 2/3 centuries
until the population moved to the village of Paderne in the 16th
century although the hermitage within the castle remained in use until
the 19th century. The castle is built of Military Tiapa – concrete made
of earth and limestone formed into blocks and there was also evidence
of limestone wash that was used on the walls to give the appearance
from a distance that the castle had been built of stone. This method of
construction was featured on information panels inside the castle.
These boards also showed how the same technique 
was used during recent renovation work. One typical feature of 12/13th century castle construction in Iberia and N. Africa
is the military tower outside the walls which was originally linked by
a small bridge/arch to the castle itself. At first it was believed that
the castle had been used for defensive purposes only, with just a
military, but excavations within the castle have proved otherwise.
Although only one third of the interior has been excavated there is
ample evidence of houses with connecting streets and drains that exited
through the walls. It is believed there are more buildings within the
walls. We were shown one example, where, during the Portuguese
occupation, a house was constructed over an earlier Islamic home and
close by there was evidence of a rock cut grave. The extensive cemetery
adjacent to the hermitage was in use for many years in the Christian
period and Rui explained that when the population moved to Paderne the
some of the burials were moved to the new cemetery in the town. Within
the castle a large cisterna was built for water, but as yet no food
storage pits have been found and it is suggested that the occupants
were probably supported by the people in the surrounding area.
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.
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.
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.
August 2008 - Visit of Cerro da Vila with Felix Teichner
Artefact just found during
the visit
24 Nov 2007 - Visit to Albufeira: The group had a guided tour though the charming small museum in the old village bordering the former castle parade ground. Above the doorway to the 18th century museum building is incorporated a stone Azevedo coat of arms believed to have once adorned the castle gateway. Inside we were led along the exhibits displayed in chronological order. Significant were the Retorta Vase, several items of later periods discovered by Estácio da Viega at Retorta on the old road linking Albufeira to Quateira, and finds from near Paderne and the Visigoth necropolis at Poço dos Mouros. The Al-Buayre (castle by the sea) Islamic occupiers built the first fortifications in Albufeira and in the foundations of the museum is an Islamic grain silo, large enough to supply a household of eight and suggesting evidence of a time of trade with North Africa. Through the castle’s north gateway and ramparts we were led to the beach through the town’s famous tunnel built by the renowned engineer Duarte Pacheco in the early 20th century. From there it was on to the Neo Classical Parish Church of Nossa Senora Conceição and the Parish museum housed in São Sebastião church, with a beautiful reredos, tile fragments, and a model of the original castle fortifications.
06 Oct 2007 - Visit to the olive farm of Detlev von Rosen near Moncarapacho: On this most interesting and enjoyable visit made to the olive farm we were welcomed by the owner and self-appointed guide. On this farm is a walkway with pillars dating from Roman times and a section of the Roman road that led to Balsa. In addition to a host of interesting facts, we learned that olive trees can live to a great age (some thought to be 200 years old) although harvesting usually starts at 7 years. The modern production plant was visited where oil is extracted to produce ‘extra virgin’, ‘virgin’ and plain olive oil depending on its acidity.
04–11 June 2007 – AAA visit to Roman Provence with Chris Pollard.
May 2007 - Laccobriga (Roman Lagos) with Rui Parreira: The exhibition in the Lagos Cultural Centre was about Laccobriga and had pulled together finds and information that had been collected over the years. Rui guided us through the exhibition and explained the artifacts on display. After the visit we went to Monte Molião where he showed us the archaeological excavations that were taking place. New discoveries included evidence of defensive ditches and also a small section of fish salting tanks down near the modern road.
27 Apr 2007 – AAA day out to Castro Verde: Guided visit to the Basilica Real, the Tesouro da Basilica, the Moinho da Largo da Feira, the Museu da Lucerna and Monte das Oliveiras.
April 2007 - AAA visit to Miróbriga with Felix Teichner : Miróbriga is the supposed name for the site that Pliny refers to as Merobrica being a Roman settlement on the coast between the Tagus and the Algarve but there is no certainty that this is it. The site of Miróbriga is near the prosperous town of Santiago do Cacem, 20 km from the modern port of Sines. Earlier it was an Iron Age fortified settlement (oppidum) in an area not only of fertile agricultural land, but of extensive mineral deposits (copper and iron). The Roman town – dating from the 2nd. century BC – was no doubt an important trading centre, probably a municipium with a local senate and was still occupied in the 5th century. Within the walls the site is hilly but the Forum sits on the highest point, levelled out and dominating the countryside; and itself splendidly overlooked by the podium and columns of a central Temple dedicated to the Emperor. Most of the urban area was buried but a commercial zone and a number of insulae have now been cleared. An unusually interesting double public bath complex is especially well preserved. An exceptional feature is the hippodrome, large enough to have held a possible 5.000 spectators - the only one to have been found in Portugal – and measuring 360 x 77 m. (larger than that in Tarragona, but comparable to those at Mérida and Toledo). There is much still to do and the comparative remoteness of Miróbriga continues to result in low funding and intermittent excavation. A large visitors’ centre has been built and it is expected that this will contain a site museum.
27 Jan 2007 – AAA day visit to the Western Algarve with Dr Rui Parreira as our guide: Near Raposeira we visited the medieval chapel which is dedicated to the Black Virgin of Guadalupe, whose cult is linked not only to navigators and mariners, but also to the ransoming of captives. Henry the Navigator is known to have visited the chapel (having a rural palace in the area). At Boca do Rio (Budens) we visited the Roman ruins that are under considerable threat not only from sea erosion but also through unscrupulous treasure hunters. However we were able to see some of the remains of what had been a large fishing settlement in Roman times having baths and fish salting tanks dating back to the 1st – 5th centuries AD. After lunch we carried on to Praia da Luz to see remains of the Ro
man baths once part of a small
fishing settlement (3rd – 5th century AD). These were originally
located and excavated by Estaçio da Viega during the 19th
century. Later, the area was used to grow vegetables, but when
building work was planned rescue excavations were carried out. This
work supported by the AAA revealed fish salting tanks and an aqueduct
as well as the baths. Part of the bath complex is now open and we
could see the remains of some of the original mosaics, most of which
are now sadly destroyed. Finally we visited Monte Molião, a
prominent hill facing the city of Lagos. This is the site of an
ancient Roman settlement known in classical times as Laccobriga and
dating back to the 4th century BC. Rui described the interesting
history of the settlement and explained that in the 1st century AD
the settlement was moved and is now covered by the town of
Lagos