It's what i do: The Iberian Peninsula adventure and beyond -Pt 4

Day 10

Today is the last day out our tour.

We're going to see Evora .

Not this Evora...

But this :-P

Beautiful Portuguese scenery .

Turns out our driver is also a biker ,and after sharing stories he decided to take us on an extra leg to see a very nice place according to him.

Look at the view .

Here .

It sits high up on the hills .

And the surrounding views .

Nice view .

Nicer view .

The water is part of a dam.

The Alqueva Dam is an arch dam and the center-piece of the Alqueva Mutlipurpose Project. It impounds the River Guadiana, on the border of Beja and Évora Districts in south of Portugal.

Ye olde homes .

The entrance to Monsaraz .

My ride .

Bunny likes .

It is one of the oldest Portuguese settlements of the southern Portugal, occupied since pre-history, whose examples of permanent habitation include hundreds of megalithic monuments.

Post box ?

The hill, on which the main settlement is located, was a pre-historic fortification, or castro, that was the basis of pre-Roman occupation and funerary temples, carved from the local rock.

Off the tourist path .

Nice and quiet. .

I really like Portugal .

We walked along the streets...

Took in the views of the town...

And the surroundings .

Really old walls .

Lack of tourist in the heights of summer .

We head towards the main fort .

Many narrow streets .

Chapels and churches .

Past the outer walls...

Peaceful now.

Till we reach the keep proper .

The watch tower .

Lets go in .

Quite a small keep.

But its quite a small town anyway .

Ever up...

Time to take in the views.

Amazing...

The dam in the background .

Nice huh .

I really like this place .

We walk everywhere...

...and make memories .

Nice !!

Looking on to the town .

And country side .

Watchtower of São Genes do Xadrez.

Restoration ongoing .

Orange :-P

After a last look...

We make our way down...

Past all the sights...

More narrow streets.

And stop at a church .

Stealth photography...

As photos were not allowed .

:-) :-)

Time to head back .

A living fort and medieval village .

This is just the first stop .

Other road users .

Our 2nd stop .

Zoom.

The city walls of Evora .

One of the entrances .

Extensive walls .

Aqueducts...

Not Roman though .

Old city gates .

Time to enter the walls.

Much wider streets as its a large city .

Évora has a history dating back more than two millennium.

The main square .

Big .

Hot in the sun ,cool in the shade .

Nice buildings everywhere .

The Central fountain .

Memories .

We start our exploration .

Off the main street .

Mrs Torro .

Miss Torros. :-P

We have a place to see down this way .

Local handicraft .

The Cathedral of Évora (Portuguese: Sé de Évora) is one of the oldest and most important monuments in the city of Évora, in Portugal, lying on the highest spot of the city. It is part of the historical city centre, and the seat of the Archdiocese of Evora.

It has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988

That's what i want to see .

Part of the cathedral .

An ancient temple .

First we head past it...

To the viewing point in the Diana Garden .

Such a nice place .

The viewing point .

Marble fountain .

Views .

I love Portugal .

We're here to tour , but someone decided to help the local economy .

Now to the main attraction .

The Roman Temple of Évora (Portuguese: Templo romano de Évora), also referred to as the Templo de Diana (albeit wrongly, after Diana, the ancient Roman goddess of the moon, the hunt, and chastity) is an ancient temple in the Portuguese city of Évora (civil parish of Sé e São Pedro). The temple is part of the historical centre of the city, which was included in the classification by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.^[1]^[2] It represents one of the most significant landmarks relating to the Roman and Lusitanian civilizations of Évora and in Portuguese territory.

So cool .

After that we head down again .

More narrow streets .

No shopping this time though .

Another must see place .

The Chapel of bones .

One of the must see places .

First we check out the church .

Regular and nice.

Extremely high ceilings . .

A side nave .

Big huh .

The main altar .

ok...too mainstream .

A guy was actually playing for a while ..

Now the fun starts .

We go to the side...

To a museum...

some displays...

I keeeeeeeel you.

Outside for a while...

And through a passage past nativity scenes from all over the world .

Very cool display .

Onto a balcony...

And through another passage .

Lots of them .

Cute huh .

Abandon all hope, you who enter here.

The main attraction .

The Capela dos Ossos (English: Chapel of Bones) is one of the best known monuments in Évora, Portugal. It is a small interior chapel located next to the entrance of the Church of St. Francis. The Chapel gets its name because the interior walls are covered and decorated with human skulls and bones.

The Capela dos Ossos was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan monk who, in the Counter-Reformation spirit of that era, wanted to prod his fellow brothers into contemplation and transmit the message of life being transitory, a very common spirituality theme summed up in the motto memento mori. This is clearly shown in the famous warning at the entrance Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (“We bones that here are, for yours await").

Lots and lots of bones .

The number of skeletons of monks was calculated to be about 5000, coming from the cemeteries that were situated inside several dozen churches. Some of these skulls have been scribbled with graffiti. Two desiccated corpses, one of which is a child, dangle from ropes. And at the roof of chapel, the phrase "Melior est die mortis die nativitatis (Better is the day of death than the day of birth.