LISBON: A TRIP INTO HISTORY

We saw Lisbon for the first time in 2005 when our cruise ship called in the port at the shore of Rio Tejo. It was a very short visit, just for half a day. We only saw a few places along the river bank. The grandeur of Praca do Comercio  and the Belem was very impressive. We spent most of the time there and walked back to the ship.  

We decided to come back again to Lisbon and see it properly. 

We did just that this month. Spent five days in this lovely understated city.  It has all the majesty and splendour but without the commotion and hustle of most of the European capitals. 

I feel that to really see a city one should use its public transport.  It lets you have a peep in to the very soul of the place. You not only see the proscribed touristy places but also get a glimpse of the ordinary, everyday local life and culture. It does need a lot of prior research which has become much easier now due to the internet. I love doing that because it makes the holiday seem much longer. My holiday really begins from the day I start looking up about the city on the web. Besides, it is much cheaper than using the usual commercial holiday and tour providers. 

Lisbon is quite a historical place. It was ruled by the Romans, Visigoths and the Moors and it later colonized Angola, Brazil, Mozambique and Goa, to name a few. All these diverse cultures have left their marks in Lisbon. We saw the narrow pebbled streets of Alfama, weaving through the tiled houses and shops. Moors initially built a castle atop the hill here, reclaimed back after the crusade and now called Castle of São Jorge. We saw the whole Lisbon city from here.

Along the water front one name dominates: Vasco da Gamma. Vasco da Gama Bridge, Vasco da Gama Tower, Vasco da Gama shopping centre and The Jeronimos Monastery where his tomb lies. He discovered the sea route to India in late 15^th century breaking the Arab monopoly on spice trade and heralding the era of European colonization of India.

The other famous name which connects Portugal with India is St Francis Xavier who is described in Encyclopedia Britannica as “the greatest Roman Catholic missionary of modern times, who was instrumental in the establishment of Christianity in India. Though he was Spanish by birth, he came to Lisbon to go to India where he arrived in 1542 on a Portuguese ship. Today there are nearly hundred schools and colleges in India which bear his name.

We visited the Sao Roque Church reputed as being one of the world's most expensive churches. The outside looks rather plane but the chapels inside are dazzling, covered with Brazilian gold leaves and precious stones. There is a chapel here dedicated to St. Francis Xavier. A kind church lady seeing that we were very interested in him, called the security guard to unlock the sacristy where a lot of artifacts associated with St Francis are kept, along with other treasured paintings and objects. This was a real privilege to be allowed in the sacristy.

People in Lisbon are very friendly and even in the souvenir shops the salesmen were very polite. Portuguese wines are really fabulous and the prices are much lower than that in Britain.

This country, which was colonized by others and then colonized others, has now settled back. Though economically not doing well, it seemed more at peace with itself than many other European countries.

All in all, the entire trip was very pleasant and edifying.