Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon (or Lisboa in Portugese) is a capital and the largest city in Portugal. I could not believe how old this city is! The archeological findings dated back to Neolithic period are found there! From wikipedia: Since 1200 BC, a Phoenician trading post might have occupied the centre of the present city. Lisbon was under Roman rule from 205 BC, when it was already a 1000 year old town. Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, it was captured by Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city for the Christians and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural center of Portugal.
This card makes me want to go travel to far away lands and unknown places!

Alcobaça - amazing monastery

Some postcards seem to be just ordinary postcards. But some hold much more - a new place, and a new story. This postcard comes from a town of Alcobaça in Portugal. The Alcobaça Monastery (Portuguese: Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça) is a medieval monastery located in the town of Alcobaça, in central Portugal.

Some history and a love story:

In the 12th century Alcobaça became the site for the construction of the Portugal's largest church. In the month of March in 1147, the fledgling King, Dom Afonso Henriques defeated the Moors by capturing the city of Santarem. As a suitable memory to this splendid victory he vowed to build a magnificent home for the Order of Cistercians. It took another 76 years before this task was completed. The monarchy continued to endow the Monastery of Alcobaça with further construction, and 60 years later King Dinis built the main cloister but it was only in 1252 that the Monastery was inaugurated within the church.

In the church are the tombs of King Pedro I and his murdered mistress, Inês de Castro. Forced at an early age by royal duty he had to marry Constanza, the Infanta of Castile, in 1336. She died in 1345, and created the opportunity for Dom Pedro to escape with his true love and live in the city of Coimbra. King Alfonso IV, his father, believing that the family of Inês to be a threat to his own kingdom, had her murdered. Shortly after the death of his father, Dom Pedro declared that he had married Inês in a prior secret ceremony in Braganca, promptly taking revenge on the killers in a very gruesome manner and exhumed her body. He presented the embalmed corpse at court with a crown on her head and demanded that all his courtiers kneel and individually pay homage to her decomposed hand. Their ornate tombs have been facing each other for 650 years (!) and on Judgement day, his first sight would be of his beloved Inês."

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Long delay and a new card

I apologize for the long delay in posting new scans. Over the last week and a half I received a lot of new cards that mostly came through the Round Robins I joined online. They all are fun cards and I am having great time researching the places they came from. Unfortunately, Blogspot and my desktop don't cooperate for some reason. I finally figured out how to post from my laptop.

SO, here goes:

A nice card from Porto, Portugal. "The city is located in the estuary of the Douro River in northern Portugal. The largest city in the region, Porto is considered the economic and cultural heart of the entire region. The city, which had an estimated population of about 220,000 (est.2008), lies at the centre of the political Metro area, with a population of slightly more than 1.7 million. One of Portugal's most internationally famous products, Port wine, is named after this city because it is produced in, and shipped from the area."
The card shows Dom Luis I bridge that was built in 1881-1886 by the Eiffel's students, and an old city center which was recently recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.