Portugal 2004 Photo Gallery by Alan Grant at pbase.com

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Alan Grant | profile | all galleries >> Portugal >> Portugal 2004

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Portugal 2003 | Portugal 2004

Portugal 2004

Meet the locals, main square, Tomar	Oriente Station, Lisbon	Obidos	Spiral staircase, Convento de Cristo, Tomar
Alfama District, Lisbon	Alcobaca Monastery	Man in Black, Tomar	Jaws of Hell, Alcobaca Monastery
Feathered friend, Convento de Cristo, Tomar	Spiral staircase, Convento de Cristo, Tomar	Walled village of Obidos	Detail of facade, Convento de Cristo, Tomar
Basilica in the mist, near Obidos	Alcobaca Monastery	Obidos	Pegoes Aqueduct, near Tomar
Church of John the Baptist, Tomar	Alfama District, Lisbon	Ropes in stone, Convento de Cristo, Tomar	Oriente Station, Lisbon
Alcobaca Monastery	Obidos	Baixa-Chiado Metro Station, Lisbon	Above a door in the Alfama District, Lisbon
Alfama District, Lisbon	Poet's Fountain, Lisbon	Alfama District, Lisbon	Tomar with the Templar Castle
Main square, Tomar	Tomar	Tomar seen from the Templar Castle	Cloisters, Convento de Cristo, Tomar
Oriente Station, Lisbon	Side nave, Alcobaca Monastery	Obidos

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laurie urane		31-Jan-2006 12:58
I like your Portugal photos Thanks for the info about Veliko Tarnavo I looked up the website of the city They seem to be into real estate Laurie australia ps I was in Lisbon in 2004 it was a nice city My neighbour comes from there and also the lady teller at my bank We have a good Portugese community with a club ad a few restaurents The food is good

Helen Bitaxis		03-Dec-2005 07:06
Your photos are a great boost for the Portugal tourism industry. Lovely landscapes - almost like paintings. The architecture is magnificent, as is the way you framed your shots.

Fernando Fidalgo		25-Jun-2005 14:57
Aldine Dubreuil's report made me cry. I am a portuguese living in Perth, Australia for more than 16 years and Tomar is my home town, the place I was born in 1954 in the Rua Marquês de Pombal, near the old bridge. I couldn't have made a better description of Tomar, the beautiful historical town where the portuguese discoveries were planned by Infante D. Henrique the Navigator. Thank you Aldine for your beautiful report. To Alan Grant, the Gallery owner, congratulations for your excellent photos. Now I feel like visiting Portugal next year and shoot a few pictures myself. Best wishes and keep up the good work. Fernando Fidalgo Perth, Australia

photokhan		11-Sep-2004 16:24
Alan, you stumbled across our little secret, didn�t you...? Ours is a country begging to be photographed. You made excellent use of this discovery in your 2003 and 2004 galleries. Beautiful photos... I also enjoyed your other galleries. Excellent work!

aldine dubreuil		03-Sep-2004 18:41
Dear Alan Grant May I send you this report that I wish you could add to your gallery. Very truly yours. Aldine D. TOMAR March 2000, after visiting an exhibition praising the obvious universality of the portuguese people, I felt a kinship with these past conquistadors. Even now, they claim that �the entire world is home�. So, one sultry winter morning, I decided to pack up, buy one train ticket to Lisbon, the capitaltown and seaharbor, and call upon the mother of Joao Gabriel, a young attractive portuguese I�ve met in Paris. She lived in a small town Entrecamento, 50 minutes North of Lisbon, by train. Her house was the copy of her older sister�s house who lived next door. They shared the backyard with their parents whose dwelling was under repair. Lemon and orange trees filled up the place with warm hues. These citrus fruits looked like baby suns ! After lunch, I was happy in the outdoor summer kitchen, next to the aromatic basil, to SIT and SIP honeyed lemon tea (lemon peel steeped into hot water); that�s pure bliss ! By the way, basil is a sacred plant here for lovers, sold in Lisbon in June, wrapped in a four-verse-poem where passion �paixao� rimes with coffin �caixio� ! I ate at Maria Fernanda�s, Joao�s mother, slept in Maria Lourdes�house, the older sister who was a single dressmaker. I�ve seen her sewing an original black long skirt in velvet for a lady invited to a wedding. It reminded me of a black tulip turned upside-down. That was irresistible ! Maria-Fernanda laughed a lot, was full of energy, always ready to help stray people and animals. One son was still living in her house. We didn�t see much of him, he was a highly skilled mecanic and worked free-lance in the neighborhood. Her first son, married with one daughter, lived in Lisbon, and the youngest one was in Paris. Wednesday morning was hairdo day ! I followed Maria Fernanda�s habit of washing hair with her favorite shampoo that named her three sons all together Jean Louis Davis TM : Joao Gabriel, Luis Filippe, David. Next , M.F. took me to a special historical town, 8 miles North of Entrecamento, Tomar ! Tomar ! It ringed like a bell in my head ! We parked the car down the hill, near the city hall which windows and arches were framed in pink limestones. From that square starts every second year the impressive procession that goes back to the cult of the �Holy Spirit� Espirito santo (until the 17th century, replaced by the cult of the Banco Espirito Santo in 2000 ! Open an account there and you�ll save your soul !) It�s called the Tabuleiros festival. Young ladies balance on their head a pile of leavened breads decorated with freshly cut flowers and tinsels, then crowned with the symbolic dove. Walking across the street, we entered the church Sao Joao Baptista. Its ceiling was built in blackened wood : the darkness was deep and tomb-like, perfect for prayers and meditation. Most middle-aged women go to church every single day to protect their relatives with burning candles. Faith is very strong. Men and children attend Mass on Sundays. Afterwards, they gather and chat outside, eating chunks of sponge cakes and drinking coffee, tea or soda. News spread fast in this medieval city. But, upon the hill, silence is de rigueur ! Secrets are captured in the castle surrended by ramparts. The place is divided in two : - eastwards, the medieval fortress, partly damaged by storms and blazes ; - westwards, the monastery �Convento do Cristo� dominated by the church which was built in 1160 by the first portuguese esoteric master Gualdin Pais. This octogonal holy place is the copy of another temple found in Jerusalem, Israel, repeated in Paris and London. Paintings and wood panels from the 16th century dress it up. Polychrome wooden statues inhabit it. Many cloisters organize the place like a beehive. The main one dates from the Renaissance �Claustro do Felippes�. From another two-storeyed-cloister, side by side with the church, one catches sight of the 17th century fountain topped by a pine-cone and surrended by gardens of aromatic boxtrees . I took a rest, in front of the famous Window of Tomar, mesmerised by its details and symbols. Diogo de Arruda, born in a family of architects is the master builder of this intricated four-metre-high piece of art. Many of his friends travelled to India and South America bringing back drawings and sketches. That window is unique of its kind where crosses meet spheres, buckles of belts tied to prickly tinsels, knots gathering a bunch of floaters, columns sheathed in seaweeds, unknown fruits mixed with fantastic herbs. Well ! I felt rocketed for a strange voyage into space and time. Furthermore, I had a partner whose face appeared at the bottom of the window : the one-eyed-victim, seaman obviously, one more hero ! He reminded me of Luis de Camoens born around 1525. After a sad love story, he set off to North Africa where he lost one eye in a fight against the opponent. Next, we found him in Goa and Macao. There, he wrote the Saga of the islands of Many loves. His style is heroic and full of beauty. The last song took place on top of one island of many loves : the nymph led the author there and pointed to the transluscent sphere that stood for the system of the world. She says : � Thus, from here, you�ll be able to see where to go and what you wish you�d learn. � Camoens praised the discoveries of Vasco de Gama, from Brazil to China �which islands are inhabited with golden birds that never land. One can see them after they perish. � Climbing one tightly spiraling staircase, I had an urge in indulging in singing. Maria F. found the way to the harmonic cloister that is on the left from the main entrance where we made up a game together in singing and acting out the famous text by Doctor Sousa Martins (1843-1897) whose statue keeps an eye on the medical university in Lisboa. He used to be in charge of that school and helped the poor people with their various ailments. � Three minutes with Dr Sousa Martins � � Brother Sousa Martins, can you see me ? Brother Sousa Martins, can you hear me ? - I am with you. What is your worry about ? Health ? Heatlh of a beloved ? Success in your studies ? Peace at home ? - Be courageous and faithful brother. - Behave like a good son, a good father, a good brother ! - Go on � And God will remain your companion ! � Lea ving the castle, I was still deep in its healing vibration. I felt my soul larger and wiser. I was reminded of the powerful Hermes Trismegiste, i.e. three times very big, who faced the visitors on top of a doorway. Back in town, Maris-F. and I were munching on cod �o bacalhau� nicknamed the faithful friend �o fiel amigo�. There are 365 ways of cooking it. Fancy eaters like me adore the sweet and fat cheeks ! Others prefer its tongue ! Anyway, at every corner, you�ll find it served with fresh veggies or potatoes. This is the most common food all year around ! Taking a walk in the park by the river Nabao, we enjoyed the best view on the old Tomar which sidewalks are paved with white limestone cubes. They made my luggage wobble like the tooth one child is about to lose. After many earthquakes, the art of making these sidewalks is not lost from generation to generation, since August 1515. In Lisbon, the street called Nova dos Mercadores is all covered with the cobblestones. I walked gingerly as if my feet were two small beating hearts ; the drumming was never ending , erasing the past disasters. Portugal completes its mission of enticing newcomers walking around its thousand secret gardens. Go, walk and look over the gate ! The old gardener will offer you these baby suns, lemon and orange, one in each hand, from his heart to yours � de todo o coracao obrigada � Wholeheartedly thank you !

Fernando Mata		13-Mar-2004 12:41
I like this pics you have make in my contry. Thank you. Be welcome

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