There’s possibly no finest example of the Manueline style than the Window of the Chapter House at the Convent of Christ in Tomar. This window in Portuguese is known as Janela do Capítulo and it shows most of the motifs related to the maritime discoveries of the Portuguese, centuries ago. The Chapter Window is an amazing elaborated masterwork of the Manueline architecture with themes like corals of the beaches the navigators landed, ropes from their caravels, and the vegetation they found in distant strange lands.
The Chapter Window at the Convent of Christ in Tomar is a masterwork of the Manueline style
Partial view of Janela do Capítulo (Window of the Chapter House) at the Christ's Convent with motifs like coral, ropes and vegetation, inspired in the Portuguese maritime adventures in the 15th and 16th centuries
In this half of the Window of the Chapter House, not only you can see the ropes. corals and vegetation, but also the armillary sphere of the Portuguese maritime discoveries and the coat of arms of Portugal
Once again another indoors set of photos, shot at the Convent of São Francisco. This convent is at Varzea Grande in Tomar and I went there with the purpose of seeing the Matchstick Museum Aquiles de Mota Lima, which contains possibly the biggest collection of match sticks and boxes in the world. Unfortunately it was closed at the time and for one reason or another I didn’t come back.
Corridor inside the Convent of São Francisco in the City of Tomar. Once again, traditional Portuguese artistic hand painted tiles (azulejos artísticos) on the walls stand out
Courtyard of the Convent of São Francisco in Tomar. That door between the two trees leads outside to an area of the city called Varzea Grande and to Avenida General Bernardo Faria
General view of the courtyard of Convento de São Francisco in Tomar, Portugal
This is another set of photos of Estalagem de Santa Iria as it is known in Portuguese, or if you prefer Santa Iria Inn. My goal in this site is to promote Tomar and in the process I may mention commercial enterprises like this inn, but I’m not being paid for this. I just think that the things that are good and beautiful and beneficial deserve to be acknowledged. Santa Iria inn is in a great location. What better place to be than Mouchão Park surrounded by Nabão River?
This photo of Estalagem de Santa Iria in the distance, was shot from the other side of the Island of Mouchão
Another photo in the distance of Estalagem de Santa Iria, but this time it was taken in the Island of Mouchão behind the well maintained lawn of the park
I was right in the middle of the Island of Mouchão Park when I took this photo. On my right and left is Nabão River and behind me, across a small bridge is Rua Marquês de Tomar
As soon as you approach Nabão River on most areas of Tomar, you can immediately see lots of ducks swimming around. They are part of the environment and at least in this river they are protected species. Many people like to feed them and that’s why they usually swim in greater numbers close to places where tourists and the local population tend to gather or pass by. This set of photos were taken from Rua Marquês de Tomar and Rua Fonte do Choupo.
Ducks swimming at Nabão River. Photo shot when I was leaning on the rail separating the river from Rua Marquês de Tomar
Ducks swimming and resting close to the Bridge King Dom Manuel I in Tomar also know as Old Bridge
On my right is Rua Marquês de Tomar and as in most areas of Nabão River, ducks swim around waiting for some food scraps
The Festival of human Statues in Tomar, attracted a huge number of people not only from the city but also from other places in the country. It was considered a huge success. It was the first time that Tomar organized this event, but in the end the organizers were rewarded with thousands of people. At the end of the festival people gathered at Praça da República at night to see the human statues and here you can how enthusiastic people were about this event.
Thousands of people gathered at Praça da República in Tomar to see some of the human statues at the Festival
Some luckier people attending the Festival of Human Statues, found chairs at the coffee shops of Praça da República in the City of Tomar. I was sitting on a small staircase when I shot this picture
Though this photo appears last in this set, it was taken first. I arrived early and Republic Square (Praça da República) wasn't yet full of people. They were just starting to arrive
This is Rua Serpa Pinto again. I’m not just trying to show you this street known as Corredoura, but attempting to display the environment of the street in different days and situations. This time I’m showing a few vehicles in a street that is usually closed to traffic. There’s a vehicle near Torres Pinheiro Pharmacy for some kind of eyes tests on people. The second photo obviously belongs to the police. At the time I heard that the night before, there was an attempt to break into a shop. As a side-note, Tomar is very safe. You don’t hear much about crime there but occasionally it happens. The third vehicle is the green tourist train which is allowed to run there and park at the end of Corredoura.
This vehicle was parked close the Torres Pinheiro pharmacy at Rua Serpa Pinto (Corredoura) in Tomar. Apparently it was doing some kind of eyes tests on people passing by. On a voluntary basis of course
Police car parked at Rua Serpa Pinto in the City of Tomar
The Tourist green train is allowed in Rua Serpa Pinto, despite the fact that traffic was closed years ago. It's a tourist attraction and it even parks at the end of Corredoura, near Praça da República
These are some corridors at the Convent of Christ in the City of Tomar, which as I mentioned before is one of the most significant historical and artistic monuments in Portugal, and that’s the reason it has been listed in 1983 in the UNESCO World heritage. Walking in this corridors you can almost feel the past and the way the Templars and Knights of the Order of Christ used to live.
This a corridor close to one of the cloisters at the Convent of Christ in Tomar
Another corridor at Christ's Convent in Tomar, decorated in Gothic style
Corridor in the Convent of Christ (Convento de Cristo) in the City of Tomar. This is combination of a convent and a castle
Symbols of Portugal can be found in many places in the City of Tomar, not just on buildings or monuments, but even on pathways of commercial enterprises. The photos below are examples of that. The first photo is a five-pointed star, which I believe represents the five corners of the world, where the Portuguese have been centuries ago with their caravels. The symbol in the centre is the coat of arms of Portugal, related to the Battle of Ourique, where the first king of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques defeated five moor kings. The second photo is again Portugal’s coat of arms located at the building of São João Baptista parish and the third photo is the symbol of the Knights Templar at the top of Hotel dos Templários.
Five-pointed star with the coat of arms of Portugal in the centre. This is a cobblestone pathway that I found at Rua da Saboaria in Tomar and represents the maritime discoveries of Portugal centuries ago
This coat of arms of Portugal is located on the building of Junta de Freguesia de São João Baptista in Tomar. This building is at the corner of Rua Marquês de Pombal and Rua Major Ferreira do Amaral
This is the symbol of the Knights Templar in Portugal located on top of Hotel do Templários in Tomar
This is the Church of São João Baptista built at Praça da República in Tomar many centuries ago. In English, São João Baptista translates into Saint John the Baptist. I know that I have already shown this church previously, but this is a photoblog more than it is a blog, and images in this site reign supreme. So here you can see different angles of this 12th century church. As far as I know there isn’t a photo in this site that is a repeat.
Church of São João Baptista built centuries in an area of Tomar now known as Praça da República
Another angle of the Church of Saint John the Baptist, right across the statue of Gualdim Pais, the founder of Tomar
In this photo you can better see the Manueline Style facade of the Church of São João Baptista in the City of Tomar
One of the main attributes of the Charola or Round Church in the Convent of Christ in Tomar, is its profuse and exuberant architecture and decoration, just like this amazing balcony and the surrounding areas. This is a supreme example of the Portuguese architectural ornamentation called Manueline Style, that was inspired in the Portuguese maritime discoveries throughout the world, which in turn can be regarded as greatest endeavour embarked by Portugal in its entire history.
Exuberant architecture and decoration inside Charola in the Convent of Christ, which is also known as Round Church
These amazing decorations at Charola at the Christ's Convent in Tomar are supreme examples of the Manueline Style
It's hard to imagine that inside the Round Church (Charola) at the Convent of Christ in the City of Tomar, there is such an amazing array of architectural beauty