When I re-visited the convent of Christ in Tomar in 2010, I didn’t take notes of was I was photographing, but in this case I captured the plaque near the Cloister of the Cemetery (Claustro do Cemitério) shown in these photos and this was what I got: “Built by the Architect Fernão Gonçalves when the Infante D. Henrique (Prince Henry) was Governor and Administrator of the Order of Christ (1420-1460), it was remodeled at the beginning of the 17th century (Filipian period). It served as ground for religious processions and burial of the friar knights. The arcosolia (arcosolium) built in this cloister houses the tombs of Diogo da Gama (died in 1523), Baltazar de Faria (died in 1584) and Pedro Àlvares Seco de Freitas (died in 1599)”.
This the Cemetery Cloister (Claustro do Cemitério) at the Convent of Christ in Tomar. This Gothic cloister was a burial site for the knights and monks of the Order of Christ
The Cloister of the Cemetery is surrounded by elegant columns decorated with beautiful Manueline motifs and the corridors around it are adorned with 16th century tiles
It was here at the Cloister of the Cemetery at the Convent of Christ, that some knights and friars were buried, among them Diogo da Gama, the brother of the famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama
In Tomar as well as in other cities and towns of Portugal you can find lots of sidewalks and streets, especially pedestrianized streets, paved with cobblestones. In medieval times cobblestones were used in most of the narrow streets of Tomar and today you still see them there. However since this material was gradually replaced by macadam, tarmac and asphalt pavements, in recent times cobblestones pavements became an upmarket alternative. Though many cobblestone streets in Tomar are very old, recently some pavements have been covered with artistic cobblestones.
This cobblestone pavement and design is located near the Old Bridge of Tomar and Bela Vista Restaurant. This is one the those cobblestones pavements built recently as an artistic addition to the city
This is a not too old cobblestone pavement, built near the wooden water wheel at Nabão River in Mouchão Park. I believe it was built to avoid mud gathering around the area
On the other hand this is a really old cobblestone street stairs in the City of Tomar, which is an extension of the street Rua da Cascalheira. This is probably a medieval causeway
The Chapel of São Gregório in Tomar (Ermida de São Gregório) is located right next to the gardens of Varzea Pequena and Hotel dos Templários and has an octagonal configuration. This chapel was built in the 16th century and was dedicated to the saint Gregório Nazianzeno who was a theologian and a Patriarch of Constantinople in the 4th century, who claimed to have proven the divinity of Jesus Christ. Its decoration is slightly Manueline, especially the portal.
This is the Chapel of São Gregório at Varzea Pequena, next to Hotel dos Templários. This chapel was dedicated to a theologian from Constantinople called Gregório Nazianzeno, who was later sanctified
The Chapel of São Gregório in Tomar is at the start of a road called Estrada do Prado and not too far from the flight of 286 steps that lead to the Chapel of Senhora da Piedade
A different perspective of the Ermida de São Gregório in the City of Tomar. This chapel was built in the 16th century and was decorated with some Manueline elements
Charola or Round Church at the Convent of Christ in Tomar (Convento de Cristo) is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage and it was built in the 12th century, apparently to emulate the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Round Church (Charola) has sixteen sides externally but internally is an octagonal and decorated with paintings from the 16th century. In addition, the central area of Charola is exuberantly decorated in the Manueline style, which is the unique Portuguese Gothic style, that incorporates motifs brought from the maritime travels of the Portuguese navigators around the world, among them Vasco da Gama and Pedro Alvares Cabral.
This is an internal photo of Charola or Round Church at the Convent of Christ in Tomar. Among other architecture marvels, visitors can see 16th century paintings by Portuguese artists
This is the centre of the Round Church (Charola) at the Convento of Christ, sumptuously decorated in the Manueline Style, which incorporates elements of the Portuguese maritime discoveries
This is Charola or Round Church outside the Convent of Christ in the City of Tomar. Externally, Charola has sixteen sides (polygonal), but internally is an octagonal
I have been trying to show photos of the Castle of the Knights Templar in Tomar in some sort of sequence, since we started our journey to the Castle with photos from Calçada de São Tiago. In this set of photos below we are inside the Castle looking at the battlements which once helped the Knights Templar to defend the town of Tomar and the kingdom of Portugal, against the invasion of the Moors. I entered the castle at about 9.30 AM, but I wasn’t the only visitor. Soon after, tourists started to arrive, most of them non-Portuguese.
While I shot one of the battlements at the Castle of Tomar, some tourists from other European countries started to enter the main gate of this Portuguese middle age fortification
My son Nelson Fidalgo, who was born in Australia, is also a keen enthusiast of photography, and in this photo inside the Castle of the Knights Templar in Tomar, he was busy capturing its medieval surroundings
Photo of medieval walls just to the right of the main gate in the Castle of Tomar. Looking at these walls, one can only imagine the hard fought battles to defend Tomar and Portugal against the Moors
This set of photos of the Castle of the Knights Templar in the City of Tomar, were shot from the Old Bridge, also known as Ponte de D. Manuel (Bridge of King Manuel I). This is possibly the oldest point for crossing Nabão River from one side to the other. This bridge seems to have been built by the Romans, but later King Manuel I, ordered some repairs in 1480 and 1550 and King João V did the same in 1710. Anyway the Castle of Tomar can be perfectly seen from this ancient bridge
The Castle of the Knights Templar on top of the hill, seen from the Old Bridge of Tomar, also know as the Bridge of King Manuel (Ponte de D. Manuel). This King took great care of this bridge when it needed repairs
Another view of the Castle of Tomar in the distance, picture shot from Ponte de D. Manuel (Bridge of King Manuel). On the right is Nabão River and water falls can be partially seen in this picture
The Old Bridge which in Portuguese is known as Ponte Velha. This ancient bridge was originally built by the Romans and in the distance is the Castle of Tomar.
When we visited Carril Water Dam in the countryside of Tomar, we all walked around for a while on the roads that you can see in this set of photos. From here we intended to explore the rest of the area. After all walking in the countryside is good for the body. We had a nice lunch at home and needed to burn off a few calories. Not only that but apparently walks on the countryside sharpen your mind, due to some microbe found in the soil, which when blown by the wind and breathed in, increases your ability to comprehend things. So I reckon we all got smarter by visiting Carril Dam that day.
There is this a small bridge at Carril Dam in the region of Tomar, that leads to a road which in turn takes you to trails, thus allowing you to walk around the countryside of that specific area
In this photo, my wife, my sister in law and my son were heading to the end of this road to find a trail which would lead us into the rural areas around Carril Dam
This is the opposite side of the road. In the distance is the four wheel vehicle of my sister in law Amélia Moura, who drove us to Carril Water Dam near the City of Tomar
These photos were shot at Everard Street in Tomar, also known as Levada. This old street was built by the Portuguese King Manuel I, who lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. A branch of Nabão River goes this way, flowing between Levada and these buildings which are called Lagares Del Rey. The word Lagares means Press and it is exactly what these building in the photos were for. It was here at Lagares Del Rey that olives used to be pressed to produce olive oil. These buildings were first constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries by the Templars and later remodeled by King Manuel I, supposedly with new olive oil presses, to serve the plantations of olive trees around Tomar.
These buildings on the left of this branch of Nabão River are called Lagares Del Rey (Presses of the King) and they were used for centuries to press olives and produce olive oil
Lagares Del Rey as these buildings are known, were first built in the 12th and 13th century by the Templars who lived in the Castle of Tomar, but later in the 16th century, King D. Manuel I, remodeled them
Lagares Del Rey (Presses of the King) took this name because King D. Manuel I, made this buildings the centre of production of olive oil in Tomar. In more modern times Lagares Del Rey also served as a foundry
As I mentioned in a previous post there was a new bridge built in the area of Flecheiro in Tomar, which was inaugurated at the end of 2008. This bridge was built with the purpose of facilitating the traffic in Tomar. With it people had more options to cross Nabão River in their cars, from one parish to the other. However, right next to this new bridge there is another one, which is used by people who only want to cross the river on foot.
This is a small bridge in an area called Flecheiro in Tomar. It's a bridge that allows you to cross on foot only from the parish of Santa Maria dos Olivais to the parish of São João Baptista
The small pedestrian bridge at Flecheiro is right next to a bigger bridge on the left, used by all kinds of vehicles to cross the two banks of Nabão River.
On the other side of this pedestrian bridge located in the south of the City of Tomar, called Flecheiro, lies a new area of Tomar, where more modern apartments where built
When I left the Forest of the Seven Hills in Tomar, I walked down Avenida Cândido Madureira taking photos, and among the photo subjects were windows and doors. This avenue in Tomar is where I lived from 6 to almost 9 years old in the 60’s, so I am familiar with this area. In the first photo, the building in the middle with those black plaques is where two of my aunt-grannies used to live. They both passed away in the mid 70’s. The second photo is from the old hospital of Tomar and the third are photos of protected windows with frames, not far from the statue of Henry the Navigator.
Photo of windows and doors in houses at Avenida Cândido Madureira in Tomar. Those two windows with black plaques near each other, are familiar to me. My aunt-grannies lived in that apartment. Now they are lawyer offices
These are windows and main entrance of the old hospital of Tomar at Avenida Avenida Cândido Madureira. Now there is a more modern and bigger hospital in the City of Tomar, built on the other side of Nabão River
Windows protected with a frame made of iron or steel. I suppose the rooms inside are partially underground, judging by the position of these windows at this building in Avenida Cândido Madureira