Silves
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Silves castle, long the capital of Moorish Portugal.
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"Christian blood, Muslim blood – the streets and the river ran red with both for years." But I'm getting ahead of myself...
When the Moors invaded the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century, they first selected, settled and fortified choice locations. Of particular interest was a hill located amid rich arable land a few miles inland on the Arade, a river navigable from the sea. It had been occupied earlier by Romans, and later by Visigoths. It was there that they established their capital, "Xelb", and surrounded it with orange and almond trees. They crowned the hill with a castle-fortress to house rulers, administrators and their families, with underground grain storage silos and an enormous cistern for rain water. Xelb grew into a major walled town of about 17 acres (7 hectares), and was a centre of Muslim scholarship, culture and law, where Christians and Jews also lived and worked. By the late 12th century, when the Christian re-conquest reached that area, it was larger and more important than Lisbon, with a population estimated at 30,000.
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A Crusader's memorial, Silves.
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By then, Christian forces had been gradually reclaiming the Iberian peninsula for centuries. Forget the tales about chivalrous knights and glorious combat; mediaeval warriors acted much like their barbarian ancestors. The wars of religion were merciless, with both sides expecting to go to Heaven and to send their opponents to Hell, so there was slaughter right and left. In 1189, aided by thousands of northern European adventurers on their way to the Holy Land, Portuguese knights took advantage of internal squabbling among Muslim factions and attacked Xelb. They destroyed the wall, sacked the town, slaughtered inhabitants, and captured the fortress after a six-week siege. Others, among them King Richard the Lion Heart of England, helped defend the town during the counter-attack the following year. The Moors recaptured what was left of their capital and remained in control, with periodic battles, for 50 more years. In 1231 King Afonso III starved them into submission and defeated them for good. Throughout these campaigns, atrocities were committed by both sides: thus the reference at the start of this story.
Today Silves is a peaceful little town, whose tranquillity belies its bloody past. The Arade has long been silted up, so there is no maritime traffic. The surrounding countryside is one of Portugal's best orange-growing areas, and there is a factory that processes cork from the neighbouring Alentejo province. Of limited economic importance today, Silves is still of great historic and touristic interest.
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The castle's commanding view over the countryside.
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The most obvious reason is its beautiful red sandstone castle. With 11 towers and an enclosed area as large as a football field, it was the biggest and most sophisticated Moorish structure in the Algarve, perhaps in the entire country. We were struck by its commanding view over the countryside, and could only imagine what a haven it must have been 900 years ago. It seems to have been as much a place of peace and beauty as a fortress. Unlike many forts I've visited, the stone steps leading up to the observation areas could be climbed not only by soldiers with armour but even by ladies and children out for a stroll. Its huge silos made it a viable refuge for the general population, and its 200 foot (60m) deep cisterns were even used as reservoirs for the town until recent times. In recent times gardens were replanted and there was a bit of reconstruction. Archaeologists are always working there, but there's so much to be done that I doubt it will ever be more than a pleasant site for picnics and short visits.
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Afonso III captured Silves in 1231.
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Besides the castle, three other sites are of interest – the 13th century cathedral built over the ruins of the earlier mosque, the archaeological museum, and the Cross of Portugal, featured in an earlier article. The cathedral is huge, and what I found particularly interesting was that the floor contains the tombs and memorials of many of the knights who died in the re-conquest, including one future king. In the museum a few blocks away, the main attraction is an enormous stone cistern dug into the rock, apparently designed to serve the town's needs, or as a backup to the one in the castle. It's about 60 feet (18m) deep, and has spiral stairs around the walls. Some say that it was used as a hiding place for civilians during the sieges, and that many were massacred there, but that may be hearsay. In any event, it's another fine example of the Moors' advanced building techniques.
Heading north from Silves the highway passes the very old resort spa of Caldas de Monchique, with its interesting mix of architectural styles going back as far as the re-conquest. Its warm mineral waters have been used for centuries to treat arthritis and, while the spa doesn't operate during the winter, we toured the grounds and sampled the water. The road continues on through the town of Monchique on its way to the top of the highest "mountain" in southern Portugal, from which one can see the Atlantic to the south and west and, on a clear day, as far as Lisbon to the north.
Two roadside shops near the spa are the best places we found to buy azulejo art. The first time we visited we saw a few items that we liked, but since we were just exploring we decided we'd wait and get them elsewhere. Guess what? In Portugal you just don't find things "elsewhere". Art and handicrafts aren't mass-produced or marketed; they are unique to each location, so when you see something you like, you'd better buy it then and there. We went back, and were glad we did.
Next month we'll visit Albufeira, the "Saint-Trop" of the Algarve.
Questions?
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