Obidos, Portugal
About 85 kilometers from Lisbon is a 14th century town that has preserved its old town look. The population of the town is about 3100 and the regional population registered in 2011 was 11,772. It is a farming area and tourism is the life blood of the town. The people of the town have kept the entire fortification wall. It takes about an hour to walk all around the wall. There is no rail, and there are many tripping hazards.
It is not the only town with a fortress on a hill. There are many. The tower, seen on the next hill top right above, is on the far side of the wall surrounding the town.
There is a shady place to rest after climbing the hill. The view over the town and rural valley are interesting.
The first thing to catch your eye when you drive into the parking lot is the remains of the 16th century aqueduct. Do not confuse it with the fortification wall. This part of the aqueduct is outside of the wall enclosing the city.
The delightful narrow main street, Rua Direita, is lined with small shops selling anything a tourist may want. Ginga is a local sweet cherry liquor often sold in small chocolate sample cups that can be eaten when the liquor is gone.
At the top of the hill is the Obidos Castle of the 14th century. It has been fixed up and can be rented out for a luxurious stay overnight in the town. The street widens out into a small public square in front of the Santa Maria Church.
Entrances can be interesting, from the outside one can only wonder at what is hidden behind the door.
Could you imagine this hidden in an alcove between the two main portals? It is called an Azulejo and is found on the city gate. These blue decoratively painted enameled tiles are common around Portugal.
Lisbon is just over an hour ride away from Obidos by the bus on the expressway unless you are driving one of these rentals. They are ideal to get you from the parking lot to somewhere uphill. I only noticed service vehicles on the streets of the old town.
I will leave you with a short view from the top. You can leave me a comment or sign up to follow more travel pictures as they are posted.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93bidos,_Portugal
Those enameled tiles are GORGEOUS!! The pictures remind me of Assisi Italy, the narrow street with shops and built on a hill. Was this built on a hill so they could see enemies coming as in Italy?
Yes, that was the plan and it is easier to defend from above than to fight your way up from below.
I love the pictures, the engineering and the architecture. The tiled vaulted ceiling, in particular. A must-see when going to Portugal, obviously!
Saskia
xx
That was all of the tiles remaining there at the main enterance
There was another tile picture in the restaurant. Look for it in the next post. https://Jarvie.ca/obidos-i/.