Tavira City, Portugal
Tavira lies only 28 kilometers from Faro, though this city is small but very rich in history. This town was conquered from the Moors on July 11 of 1239 by King D. Paio Peres Correia during the Reconquest of Algarve.
There are beautiful building beside the banks of River Gilao in Tavira. One in particular caught my eye at at Rua Borda d`Agua da Asseca because azulejos tiles were used at the front of the house. Next to that house was an arch and above that arch was another house. It could have been anywhere in Middle East or North Africa.
Praça da República (the Republic square) is next to bridge and it is filled with cafe and tourists, a place of happening. In the past, slaves were traded along with less ignominious commodities such as fish and fruit in this square.
I saw a sign beside the Roman Bridge shows the Route of al-Mutamid (1040–1095). He was the third and last ruler of the Abbadid in Seville.
After visiting the Igreja de Santa Maria do Castelo (a former mosque), I walked downhill to see the old town of Tavira. A big block of old city walls was rising above a house. Few metres down the road, I could see more fragments of the defensive wall.
Then there was the Church of Santiago, this church dates to the second half of the thirteenth century built on the site of an old mosque. There is a second door, which provides access to the main altar of the church but there was a mass in progress so I didn’t go inside.
The Church of São Francisco is situated at Praça Zacarias Guerreiro, it was built between 1250 and 1330. The foundation of the church is attributed to the Knights Templar and it was given to the Franciscan Order in 1312. This church had suffered earthquakes in 1722 and 1755, a collapse in 1840 and a massive fire in 1881.
