Zoe goes to Portugal: Off to Belem

Saturday, 15th June, 2013.

Zoe, Mummy and Gran took a taxi to the suburb of Belem, a bit further west along the Tagus River, to meet some friends.

Along the way, the taxi stopped at a red light placed in the middle of a street, seemingly for no reason, as there was no crossing, and no roads coming in from anywhere.  When Mummy and Gran looked puzzled by this, the taxi driver explained:  “Over there are some bars, and drunk people often walk onto the road, so you have to stop and watch out for them”.  Only in Portugal.

 

Through the window of the taxi, they could see the Ponte 25 de Abril (ANZAC Day to Australians and new Zealanders) looking remarkably like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (on which it is modelled).

The bridge was originally called the Salazar Bridge, after the dictator who had it built in 1966, but it was renamed to commemorate the revolution which restored democracy to Portugal.

Two kilometres long, the bridge links central Lisbon with the south bank of the Tagus.

 

Monument to the Discoveries, beside the river.

 

Here are Zoe and Mummy at the Torre de Belem.

The sun is very hot, so Zoe is under cover.

 

The Torre de Belem was built as a fortress in the middle of the Tagus in 1515-21, and became a symbol of Portugal’s great era of expansion.  The superbly preserved tower has openwork balconies, Moorish style watchtowers and distinctive battlements in the shape of shields.

 

The openwork balconies feature stone carved into the shape of rope.

 

The battlements are in the shape of shields.

 

In the 19th century, land on the north bank of the river was reclaimed, so the tower is now much closer to the shore than when it was first built.

 

From the Torre de Belem, you could look upstream and see the Ponte 25 de Abril  and also the towering Cristo Rei monument.

 

Modelled on the more famous Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, this giant statue stands with arms outstretched on the south bank of the Tagus.

The 28 metre tall figure of Christ, mounted on an 82 metre pedestal, was built by Francesco Franco at the instigation of Prime Minister Salazar (Eye Witness Travel: Portugal).

Referring to Portugal’s current precarious financial situation, the taxi driver said of the Cristo Rei monument: “He is trying to bless us because we are broken”.