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Portugal

November 9, 2022 I left San Diego, California for Lisbon, Portugal the beginning of a month long journey on land and sea, visiting many countries on the west side of Africa, ending in Cape town, South Africa on December 9, 2022. After traveling for 26 hours, via London, approaching the landing into the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal.

The first morning we set out in Tuk Tuks across the city of Lisbon. Our hilltop hotel in one of Lisbon's most exclusive neighborhoods is the Olissippo Lapa Palace Hotel.

Our tour of the city of Lisbon begins in a Tuk Tuk small electric vehicle zipping in and out of the narrow streets on the hills above the city to down into the city.

Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. It looks like a Roman fortress. The oldest church in the city, it is the seat of the Patriarchate of Lisbon.

Built in 1147, the cathedral has survived many earthquakes and has been modified, renovated and restored several times. It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles. Next to the Cathedral is Jeronimos Monastery ,The Jerónimos Monastery replaced the church formerly existing in the same place, which was dedicated to Santa Maria de Belém and where the monks of the military-religious Order of Christ provided assistance to seafarers in transit.

Lisbon was conquered by the Moors and stayed under Arab control from the 8th to the 12th century, although Christians were allowed to live in Lisbon and its surroundings. In the year 1147, the city was reconquered by an army composed of Portuguese soldiers and North European crusaders taking part on the Second Crusade . An English crusader named Gilbert of Hastings was placed as bishop, and a new cathedral was built on the site of the main mosque of Lisbon.

To the left of the Cathedral is The National Museum of Archaeology. It is the largest archaeological museum in Portugal and one of the most important museums devoted to ancient art found in the Iberian Peninsula.

Monument of the Discoveries is a monument on the northern bank of the Tagus river estuary, in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon. The Monument to the Discoveries stands 170 Feet tall. This stunning monument was designed to commemorate the Age of Discoveries in Portugal. It was inaugurated in 1960, on the fifth centennial of one of the country’s great discoverers, Prince Henry the Navigator, who discovered the Azores, Madeira, and Cape Verde.

The Monument to the Discoveries is made up of a group of sculptures that represent the bow of a small sailing ship constructed by the Portuguese to explore the Atlantic Ocean. Leading the ship is Prince Henry the Navigator and behind him are many other great Portuguese discoverers.

The northern bank of the Tagus river with the 25th de Abril Bridge spanning the river in the distance. The monument is located along the river where ships departed to explore and trade with India and the Orient, the monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery, "Age of Exploration", during the 15th and 16th centuries.

On either side of the slab are ramps that join at the river's edge, with the figure of Henry the Navigator on its edge. On either side of the Infante, along the ramp, are 16 figures, 33 in total, representing figures from the Portuguese Age of Discovery. These great people of the era included monarchs, explorers, cartographers, artists, scientists and missionaries. Each idealized figure is designed to show movement towards the front, the unknown sea then, projecting a direct or indirect participation in the events after Henry.

Tower of Belém, located very close to the Monument of Discovery, was officially the Tower of Saint Vincent, a16th-century fortification, located in Lisbon that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. The tower was built as a fortified lighthouse, 1515–1520, to guard the entrance to the port.

The views of the monument and the city’s western neighborhoods are impressive, but the most beautiful view is a marble mosaic at the foot of the Monument that represents a compass, with a world map in the center. You can see a portion of it in the foreground of the photo.

Driving around Lisbon we came across a protest. Never found out what they were protesting. I was told there is always a protest somewhere daily.

A tourist shop in the downtown area.

View from São Jorge Castle of Lisbon from a look out point above the city.

In the distance is the Cristo Rei Lisbon, next to the 25 de Abril Bridge. The Lisbon statue of Christ the King stands facing the city with open arms in the form of a cross on a 435-foot bluff on the left bank of the Tagus River.

Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 3 million people making it the third largest metropolitan area in the Iberian Peninsula, after Madrid and Barcelona.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world and the second-oldest European capital city,after Athens, predating other modern European capitals by centuries.

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