This is the old bridge of Tomar (Ponte Velha) at nighttime, which crosses Nabão River from Rua Marquês de Pombal to the intersection of Rua Everard (Levada) Rua Serpa Pinto (Corredoura) and Rua Marquês de Tomar. These two areas of Tomar linked by the bridge are the parishes of Santa Maria dos Olivais and São João Baptista and I remember that when as a young kid I lived for about two years at São João Baptista parish, people used to call the other side para além da ponte (in portuguese), which means beyond the bridge.
Old bridge of Tomar at night. On the other side of the bridge in the distance is the backlit Castle of the Knights Templar and the town centre. Notice the reflections of the lights on the waters of Nabão River
Cars and people on a busy weekend, crossing the old bridge in Tomar at night, from the parishes of São João Baptista to Santa Maria dos Olivais
Photo of the old bridge of Tomar (Ponte Velha) shot at night from Mouchão Park.
The statues of the Portuguese composer Fernando Lopez Graça and the writer Nini Ferreira (Fernando Araújo Ferreira) located at Mouchão Park in Tomar, near the soccer field and right next to Nabão River, is the creation of the sculptor Rui Fernandes. These two men were great “tomarenses” (the way people born in Tomar are called) and very good friends despite their completely different political beliefs. The Composer Fernando Lopes Graça, thought born in Tomar, used to live at Paredes, near Cascais (Lisbon area) but Nini Ferreira lived in Tomar all his life, wrote a few books about the town and was a great friend of the city he was born. Every time the composer Fernando Lopes Graça visited Tomar both friends used to get together, often sitting down on a bench at Mouchão Park and engage each other on long conversations. The composer Fernando Lopes Graça died with 88 years old in 1994 and Nini Ferreira died with 86 years old in 1998.
The statues of the writer Nini Ferreira on the left and the composer Fernando Lopez Graça on the right "talking to each other" on a bench at Mouchão Park in Tomar, Portugal
Statues of two great friends. When the composer Fernando Lopes Graça on the right visited Tomar, he and his friend Dr. Nini Ferreira on the left, used to engage on long conversations at Mouchão Park in Tomar
These two men from Tomar, Nini Ferreira the writer and great friend of the town and Lopes Graça the composer, are modern historical personalities of the City of Tomar and will be remembered forever
Taking photos of skies is exciting and sometimes even awe-inspiring, considering the wide variety of colours and textures you can get from the skies of our world. In my case, photographing the skies of the City of Tomar in Portugal was quite interesting, given that in Perth, Australia where I live, you get too many flat blue skies particularly during summer. So I kept shooting and in this specific day at Mouchão Park, and in other days too, I got skies with chemtrails. I don’t know why, but in Perth, I don’t remember to have seen skies with chemstrails while in Tomar, this occurred quite often.
I shot this photo with chemtrails in the sky, from a wooden bridge at Mouchão Park, facing the street Rua Marquês de Tomar, in the City of Tomar in Portugal
This is a wooden bridge in Tomar, which crosses Nabão River from the Island of Mouchão Park to the other side where the soccer field is located
Photo shot in that wooden bridge at Mouchão Park. Notice the chemstrails in the sky sprayed by aircraft at high altitude. The purpose of these chemtrails are unknown
When you enter the gate of Seven Hills Forest (Mata dos Sete Montes) in Tomar, Portugal, to your right there are two a benches near a wall covered with beautiful climbing plants and flowers. It’s a beautiful green corner and my wife and son sat there for a while, talking and relaxing. On the other side of the wall, seen on these photos is the road that leads to the Castle of the Knights Templar in Tomar and the Convent of Christ.
When you enter the Seven Hills Forest you can immediately see a big garden and to your right there are these benches and beautiful climbing plants and flowers on the wall
On the other side of this wall covered with climbing plants and flowers, is the road leading to the Castle of Tomar, the Christ Convent and the Chapel of Senhora da Conceição
Same spot from a certain distance at the Seven Hills National Forest (Mata Nacional dos Sete Montes) in Tomar
I have mentioned before that the best way to reach the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Piedade in Tomar, Portugal, is on foot by climbing a flight of 286 steps, to the top of the hill. These photos show us just the beginning of the long walk up to the hill where this 400 years chapel was built. Though the construction of the chapel started in 1512, the staircase was built only in 1846 to answer the growing devotion by the people of Tomar to the patroness saint Nossa Senhora da Piedade.
This is the start of the staircase heading up to the hill where the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Piedade in Tomar was built 400 years ago. To the right of the staircase is the street Estrada do Prado
Another view of the staircase of Senhora da Piedade in the City of Tomar in Portugal. In this photo my wife and son were already in their way to our destination
At this stage of our progress upward to the Chapel of Senhora da Conceição, there were no stairs but a steep cobblestone ramp, built in the middle of the 19th century
The Chapel of Senhora da Conceição (Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Conceição) in Tomar, Portugal, started in 1535, led by the master of architecture João de Castilho, but after his death in 1553, Diogo de Torralta took over and he was the one who completed the work in 1573. This chapel is influenced by the cultural rebirth of the Renaissance in Italy, but it also presents Portuguese architectural elements, known as the Manueline Style. These are three of the many photos that I shot while I was there. You can also enjoy striking views of Tomar from this chapel.
The Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Tomar, was started in 1535 by the Portuguese architect João de Castilho and completed in 1573 by Diogo de Torralta
This Manueline style chapel known in portuguese as Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, received influences from classical italian architecture of the Renaissance
Photo of the Chapel of Senhora da Conceição in the City of Tomar in Portugal, shot from the road heading to the Castle of Tomar
Some people think of rooftops as a place with a view to the city, in some hotels you can even find a swimming pool on the rooftop, others put solar power panels on rooftops to reduce power bills, and the rooftops of some cities and towns are covered with a sea of TV antennas. In the case of the City of Tomar, seeing rooftops is inevitable, as soon as you leave the valley where Tomar is built and visit the Castle of Tomar, the Convent of Christ, the chapels of Senhora da Conceição or Senhora da Piedade, etc. These photos were shot when my family and I were walking up to the hill where the Castle of Tomar was built by Gualdim Pais.
I shot this photo in my way up to the Castle of Tomar and the Convent of Christ. From this position I could see the rooftop and tower of the church of São João Baptista, as well as the town council rooftop
While walking to the Castle of the Knights Templarm I took this photo of rooftops of an old area of the City of Tomar.
This shot was taken at the start of my walk to historical monuments located up in the hills of Tomar. This rooftop on the forefront is a car parking, right behind the building of the Town Council of Tomar
People have traveled since the beginning of times, and for that purpose they built roads, sidewalks and even plazas and paved them with different materials, but cobblestones, probably due to its durability and longevity, was the most widely used material for centuries. Nowadays cities use asphalt for their roads but cobblestones are still used today for decorative purposes. In the case of my home town Tomar, there is a mix of cobblestone pavements from medieval times in the old streets of Tomar and new pavements built with interesting designs. The photos below show cobblestone pavements at Praça da República (Republic Square).
Cobblestone pavement at Praça da República in Tomar, Portugal. On the other side of this shrub you can see the statue of Gualdim Pais, the founder of Tomar
Another perspective of a Cobblestone pavement at Republic Square (Praça da República) in Tomar. On the left is the building of the Town Council
This cobblestone pavement with parallel lines crossing each other, is still at Praça da República in the City of Tomar, facing the street Corredoura (Rua Serpa Pinto).
Tomar isn’t a big city but it’s growing by the day. If you live the centre of the town you may be able to walk to most places, but if you are located somewhere in the outskirts of Tomar, you may have to use your own car or take the local bus, known as Tuto or TutoTomar, which in Portuguese stands for Transportes Urbanos de Tomar (Urban Transport of Tomar). This service started in 2005 with only three buses and every 20 minutes, from 7.30 AM to 7.00 PM, you can catch one of these “red wine” colour buses to those destinations in the City of Tomar that are a bit more remote.
"Red wine" coloured bus in Tomar, Portugal, known as Tuto or TutoTomar (Urban Transport of Tomar). I shot this picture near Estrada de Leiria
Photo of the bus Tuto Tomar at the bridge that connects the roundabout Praceta Alves Redol, behind me, to the street Avenida Norton de Matos
Here Tuto Tomar was passing by at the square Praça da República, which is basically the city centre and where the Town Council is located. Hundreds of pigeons usually gather in this area, waiting to get something from generous locals and tourists
These photos were shot at the end of the day at Lameiras farm (2010), which is about 20 kilometres away from the City of Tomar in Portugal. This is the place my wife was born as her parents were small farmers, and when we got married I used to visit this farm almost every weekend. I have to say that I have fantastic memories from this place. This is a farm that is no longer active but my mother in law still lives there. In its peak it used to produce all sorts of vegetables, fruit, wine, honey, bread, cheese and sausages. In the sausages area I remember how good the chouriços, farinheiras and morcelas tasted and the wine was just outstanding. My father in law, José Maria Moura, was a magician when it came to making wine.
View seen from the house of my parents in law at Lameiras farm, in Tomar, Portugal. At some distance you can see a row of pine trees.
Mandarin tree and pine trees behind. You can also see agricultural fields that aren't being used to its full potential, due to my father in law's death and my mother in law illness
Another perspective of Lameiras farm and fields that were mostly abandoned. Only my sister in law Matilde and her husband Acácio work the land, but just a tiny bit of it