Page 331 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Portugal

Statues in an
ornamental pool in
Praça al Mutamid, Silves

At the top of the town the
16th-century church, Divino
Salvador, has a Manueline
portal carved with foliage, lions
and dragons. The outermost
arch is an octopus tentacle.

11
Silves
! E7 £ @ n Parque das
Merendas; 282 098 927
Silves’ commanding position
made it the ideal fortified
settle ment. The Romans built
a castle here, but it was under
the Arabs that the city flour-
ished, becoming the Moorish
capital, Xelb. In the mid-12th
century the Arab geo grapher
Idrisi praised its beauty and
its “delicious, magnificent”
figs. Silves was renowned as a
centre of culture in Moorish statue of Nossa Senhora structure descends 15 m
Al-Gharb until the Knights of da Conceição, believed to (49 ft) to the bottom of
Santiago took the city in 1242. date from the 14th century. the well.
Today, the red walls of the Opposite the Sé, the One kilometre (half a mile)
castle stand out against the 16th-century Misericórdia east of Silves is the Cruz de
sky line. The nearby Casa church has a Manueline Portugal, an ornate 16th-
da Cultura Islâmica e side door and a beautiful century granite cross, carved
Mediterrânica hosts local Renaissance altarpiece. with the Crucifixion. This may
exhibitions and events. Downhill from the cathedral, have been given to the city by
The red sandstone Castelo the Museu Arqueológico was Manuel I, when João II’s body
de Silves dates back mainly to opened in 1990. Its exhibits was trans ferred from Silves
Moorish times, though it has include Stone and Iron Age to Batalha (p172).
done duty as a Christian fort- tools, sculpted Roman capitals,
ress and a jail. It was the site surgical instruments from the Casa da Cultura Islâmica
of the Palace of the Verandahs, 5th–7th centuries and items e Mediterrânica
abode of Al-Mu’tamid from of 18th-century ceramics. The ' ⌂ Largo da República
1053 when he was ruler of museum is built around a § 282 440 800 # Tue–Fri,
Seville and Wali of Al-Gharb. large Arab well-cistern that Sat pm for groups only
There are superb views of was uncov ered in 1980.
the town and countryside The staircase built into the Castelo de Silves
from the massive, polygonal " ⌂ Rua do Castelo § 282
ram parts. Inside, there are 440 837 # Jul–Sep: 9am–7pm;
gardens and the impressive Oct–Jun: 9am–5:30pm daily
vaulted Moorish Cisterna da
Moura Encantada (Cistern of Did You Know? Sé
the Enchanted Moorish Girl). " ⌂ Largo da Sé # 9am–
Built on the site of a Sancho I (1185–1211) 5pm Mon–Fri ¢ Public hols
mosque, the Sé dates styled himself as
from the 13th cen tury. In the king of Silves from Museu Arqueológico
chancel, light falls from lovely 1189 to 1191. " ⌂ Rua das Portas de
double windows with stained- Loulé 14 § 282 440 838
glass borders on a jas per # 10am–6pm daily
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