"Tour into Lisbon's Alfama District" a Lisbon Travel Page by dlytle

Since we were on a tour bus I am not sure exactly where we entered the Alfama. I think we were down somewhere near the Military Museum but that's only a guess. I know that we walked through a gate so it was probably one of the old city gates of which there are only a few. We immediately had a view of this old 14th century wall that enclosed the ancient city.

Leading off to the right, along the ancient wall, was the first of many narrow serpentine streets that crisscross this area.

This unique narrow little house clung to the outer 14th century walls. Maybe all of five feet wide it ran along the wall for maybe 30 feet and was architected around the protruding boulders.

I can't imagine what the inside must be like, moving from room to room, but it certainly was home sweet home for someone.

We started walking along the street alongside the ancient wall which, I was told, was in the old Jewish quarter. We soon came to a very narrow and long staircase leading downwards to another street. Our guide told us that this was the narrowest alley in the Alfama. I took a series of pictures in order to make a panorama from top to bottom which is the picture I am showing here. There were many, many short steps leading down from this opening and the buildings seem to lean inwards towards their top to even further narrow the gap. It was an interesting place to visit.

All along our walk we could see signs that a major celebration had taken place. When we asked about that, the guide then explained about the festivities that take place during the month of June.

It seems that June is a month of saint's-day festivals throughout Portugal. The highlight in Lisbon comes on the night of June 12, when people march down Avenida da Liberdade in a parade of music and color to celebrate the city's patron saint, St. Anthony. St. John is feted June 23-24, and St. Peter on June 28-29. All three saint's days inspire arraiais - improvised parties in the streets. Since we were on the tour the first week of July, many of the decorations were still in place.

The Alfama is an old working section of the city. You can use your minds eye to imagine the way this now quaint area was probably a place of squalor and pestilence centuries ago. Smoke and haze probably often filled these passageways that are, in many places, so tight that a donkey-cart would have difficulty traversing them. You can imagine the shrill sound of street side neighbors yelling and conversing across the span of the street. You can easily conjure an image of myriads of clothes and linens hung to dry on lines threaded between the buildings. The hustle and bustle of those ancient locals as they maneuvered around street-laden garbage and filth to complete their errands each and every day must have produced an audible din within the caverns of these narrow arteries of commerce.

And, of course, people would need a place to sell and buy goods and services. When I saw this sign for the Alfama Bazar, near a few tourist-oriented shops that our tour guide took us into, much of what I wrote above ran through my mind. What is available to be seen today must pale in comparison to what has been in this ancient of places in ages past.

Although this is an ancient area there are many colors and contrasts to be enjoyed and savored. There is an abundance of renovation being accomplished in this old quarter that provides an interesting contrast of old and tarnished and shabby to old and repaired and repainted.

Around almost every corner was a visual spectacle of one sort or another. In the case of this picture I found the charm of the old drab peeling structure of one building to be at odds with the bright new colors of its adjoining building and colorful clothing hanging in the wind to dry. It seemed to me that those waving cloths and rugs must make a tempting target for the vigilant pigeons roosting on the sills and the roof edges.

Portuguese tiles - azulejos - adorn the inside and outside of many homes in Lisbon and the Alfama. The word azulejo comes from the Arabic for 'little stone' probably referring originally to mosaics. Although introduced by the Moors, the fashion continued after they left.

In the 16th century, blue and yellow were the favorite color combination and tiles depicted mostly floral patterns or religious scenes. Then, near the end of the 17th century, the fashion changed and blue tiles became popular. This was probably due to the craze for blue and white porcelain from China just being introduced into Europe. The nobles as well as the merchant class adorned their abodes, inside and out, with these decorative tiles. The fashion for blue and white tiles lasted until the mid-18th Century.

After the earthquake of 1755, during the rebuilding of Lisbon, houses were routinely encased in tiles. But although tiles have been in use in Lisbon since the 15th century, it was not until the 1830s that ordinary people began to decorate the outside of their homes with them. Up to that time tiles were largely the preserve of the wealthy and the church. Mass production eventually allowed even ordinary Portuguese citizens to embrace azulejos and they have been using them on their homes ever since.

Traditional qualities are carefully protected in the Alfama district. The area has succeeded in retaining last century's charm in this historic area. Streets and plazas seem adapted to a slower time than the present.

The squares in and around the Alfama create a pleasing living area for the current locals. The Alfama of a century ago can still be seen in the vicinity of these squares. The Alfama?s squares and plazas are still focal points for activity in this district. The buildings, people, and various goods being sold here all help make the Alfama a pleasing, distinctive area that has maintained its unhurried traditions for the past several generations.

Our tour bus was parked on a street that came into this little square. You can see that the people living here decorated it up for the recent festivities and seem to live a basic and simple life. The buildings speak of individualism and harmony at the same time. It seemed to me to be a friendly place to call home.