Portugal, Spain and Dubai Day 4 Evora Portugal 19th Sept 25

We were picked up at 9am and drove about 136km east to Evora, about a 75 min drive from Lisbon. The speed limit on the Tollway/highway was 120km/hr. Our driver today was John, and he will also be our driver for our trip up to Porto.
Our route east took us over the 25th April Bridge. Lisbon suburbs extend for about 40km from the centre of the city, it’s rural after that.
We passed a VW car manufacturing plant, the largest in Portugal, it employs about 10,000 workers.
Cork Oak tree farms were dotted all along either side of the highway. Cork takes 25 years to get to a 1st bark harvest. Unfortunately, the 1st harvest is not good quality. The next harvest is after 9 years further growth and then every 9 years after that. Cork bark is removed from just above ground level to about 1.0 to 1.5m up the trunk. You can tell recently harvested trees by the red colour of their trunks. Cork farms are randomly planted, not like an ordered orchard.
There were huge Stork nests everywhere, they seem to favour electricity transmission towers and other tall structures. They are protected birds and the nests can’t be disturbed.
We arrived in Evora, a UNESCO World Heritage City, located in the heart of the Alentejo region at around 10:20am, it is a walled city. The town square, Praça do Giraldo, is in the centre of the town and was a place of significant events during the Spanish/Portuguese Inquisition.
The inquisition began in Portugal in the Evora area, because of its proximity to Spain. The Inquisition was the investigation and subsequent prosecution of new converts to Christianity who had “embraced” Christianity (and apparently abandoned their old faith), to obtain the safety of citizenship/ residency of Portugal (& Spain), they were essentially Christians of convenience. These people were said to have been predominately Jews and some Moors. There were many atrocities committed in the name of Christianity in these times.
A bit up the hill from the square was an old Roman Temple ruin. The ruins were built in the 1st Century and likely dedicated to Emperor Augustus, though it has been falsely/commonly linked to Diana, the goddess of the hunt. The ruins now consist of a 4 sided structure that has columns along 3 of its sides. It looks impressive.
It stands next to the Evora Cathedral, officially known as the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption was built between1186 and 1250 and is a blend of Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, and Baroque styles. Its nave is 70m long, one of the longest in Portugal. It is the largest medieval cathedral in Portugal. It has wide cloisters with high arches and access to the roof via a spiral staircase of 135 steps. (they have installed a traffic light system for the very narrow staircase, but everyone seems to ignore it). The views of the roof and from the roof are both interesting architecturally and panoramic of the countryside. The Renaissance Organ inside is one of the oldest in Europe still housed in a Cathedral. The cathedral was a hub for the School of Évora, a centre of polyphonic music in the 16th and 17th centuries. There were Romanian beggars at the entrance to the church, a family all with cups outstretched and practiced woeful looks on their faces. (Our guide said they were professional beggars)
We then went to the Chapel of Bones that adjoins to the São Francisco Church. In the 16th century the plague decimated the population of Evora and the graveyard quickly filled to capacity. In the 17th century it was decided to “unbury” the skeletons to make room for new graves. To respect the remains they used the bones to cover the walls and columns of a chapel. An inscription above the entrance to the chapel reads in Portuguese “ NOS OSSOS QVE AQVI ESTAMOS PELOS VOSSOS ESPERAMOS” (or in English, “We the bones that are here are waiting for yours”). It was really interesting and skilfully done. There were also two mummified bodies on display as well. Fascinating and respectful. After visiting the chapel we had a look inside the São Francisco Church it was attached to. It was built between 1480 and 1510, and it a good example of Gothic and Manueline architecture.
From there we went to a local restaurant “Restaurante REPAS” for lunch. We had cheeses and bread for starters, and shared Carne de Porco a Alentejana (Pork and Clams) for main. It was served with a healthy portion of locally made chips. (I guess you could call it a fancy Portuguese Pork, chips and gravy). It was very good.
We left Evora and went to the village of Arraiolos, home to a centre continuing the traditional methods for producing Arraiolos carpets. These carpets are hand stitched and can take months to produce. The craftsmanship of the women who work at the centre was stunning. We gained a very good insight into what is unfortunately a dying art form.
We left there at about 2:30pm and drove back to Lisbon. We were expecting a day in the low to mid 30s today, instead we got high 20s with some rain. Gladly the rain came while we had lunch and on the drive back. So in the end the weather was very kind to us.