Knights to Remember

30/11/2019 Seamus Comments 0 Comment

Castle and Convent of Christ, Tomar

For a wooden seagull, I must say I’ve become quite the high flyer. I was certainly happy to take flight again once it started to get chilly in Austria. I was even more delighted to find myself back in my home from home, good old Lisbon.

Large castle with churches and complex of white buildings in foreground at top of hill, blue sky with white clouds above, Castle and Convent of Christ, Tomar, Portugal

We weren’t long there when the Oldies hired a car and set off to visit Tomar. Even I had heard about the famous Convento do Cristo, Convent of Christ, which was originally the home of the Knights Templar way back in the 12^th century. But I wasn’t prepared for the scale of the building. This is one enormous convent! In fact it is a complex of no less than six cloisters. It is so huge, you could easily get lost in it. Which, of course, the Oldies promptly did. They should have left a trail of breadcrumbs behind them to help them find their way around. And I could have done with the snack.

long, wide corridor with terracotta tiles on floor and blue and white decorative tiles on walls close to top of doors along corridor, lights hanging from high ceiling, window visibible at far end of corridor, Convent of Christ, Tomar, Portugal

I don’t know about you, but when I think of convents or monasteries, I think of simple, basic facilities. But this one is five star all the way! The dormitories alone are phenomenal. The ceilings of the beautifully tiled corridors must be at least 5 metres high. I spotted a luxury (for the time) bathroom at the end of one of these corridors and the individual bedrooms are generously large. The occupants even had central heating, would you believe! The hot air from a fire in the centre of a large room at the end of the corridor was piped into the bedrooms. Yes, all mod cons – medieval style.

Seamus the Seagull standing on long marble refectory table in long room with decorative arched ceiling, arched door visible at end of room, Convent of Christ, Tomar, Portugal

The refectory too was anything but spartan, with its long marble tables and fine tableware on the dressers …

Woman wearing dark trousers and red rain jacket standing in centre of large stone fireplace looking upwards, arched section with ten large holes in back of fireplace, Convent of Christ, Tomar, Portugal

… and the kitchen off it was by far the biggest I have ever seen. You could get lost in the fireplace alone!

Seamus the Seagull looking towards large stone aqueduct surrounded by trees, blue sky above, Tomar, Portugal

Outside, the aqueduct which was built to supply water to the castle and convent complex is miles long and dizzily high in places. What an amazing feat of engineering! Of course, labour must have been very cheap, or, I suspect, even ‘free’ in those days.

Tomar itself, with its beautifully restored houses, churches and municipal buildings, is a lovely city. Of course, you can hardly take a step without encountering some reminder of its Templar heritage, such as the Templar Cross pattern in the pavement cobblestones. Even the local fast food restaurants appear to be cashing in on the theme …

three men standing near white van with door open, two wearing high visibility jackets, van parked on footpath in front of gable end of house covered in painted mural of Templar knight wiedling sword, three crosses and castle in background, McDonald's M symbol to right splashed with white paint, Tomar, Portugal

We found the iconic Tomar waterwheel in the local park, and from there it was just a short stroll to the market. That is one large and busy market, it seemed to go on and on forever. The stalls heaving with fish, meats, breads and cakes had my beak dripping almost as much as the weir in the nearby River Nabão.

statue of two men sitting on bench on cobbled paving along river's edge, slope leading down to river, weir visible behind railing and houses in background, Tomar, Portugal

I was loath to leave the market with all its tantalising sights and smells, but the Oldies were intent on visiting the House of Cubes. I must admit that the photographic exhibition on the Festa dos Tabuleiros there was fascinating. The ‘Festival of the Trays’ takes place only once every four years. After seeing the work involved in the preparations, I can certainly see why! The entire community is involved, making thousands of elaborate hand-made paper flowers, traditional clothing and decorated floats. The local women wearing traditional dress carry the ‘trays’ which are elaborate head dresses decorated with the paper flowers, traditional bread rolls and topped off with gold crowns with the dove symbolising the Holy Spirit on top.

display of highhead dress made of red and white flowers and bread rolls, gold crown and white dove on top, display of photographs in background, House of Cubes, Tomar, Portugal

My poor little bird brain was overloaded with all the facts and figures about the festival, but I do remember that each head dress weighs about 15 kg and is carried for 5 km on the parade through town. Those local ladies must be some tough birds!

Large house with numerous arched windows, all blocked out by boards decorated with photographs of scenes from festival with people wearing traditional costumes and wearing high head dresses, two large green bins in front of house and lampost with two lanterns next to bins, Tomar, Portugal

On our way back to Lisbon, we made a brief stop at Obidos. We had just managed to walk around the walls of this beautiful little fortified town and admire several of the restored churches and municipal buildings before rain stopped play. The Oldies, however, were only too happy to use it as an excuse to duck indoors for a shot of the famous Obidos ginja, a sour cherry liqueur served in shot glasses made of chocolate. I could see that Her Ladyship certainly approved!

I don’t know what His Lordship made of it. He disappeared on us all of a sudden. Probably to go and ask if they also did chocolate pint glasses.