Travel Free admission and public transport On our recent return visit to Lisbon, everything looked cleaner, brighter and more prosperous. Instead of driving, we bought Lisboa Cards for free admission to many Lisbon attractions, including museums, monuments and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The card also gave us free trips on Lisbon’s metro, buses, trams, elevators and funiculars, as well as many other discounts. We used the card to revisit the Tower of Belém. When viewed from the Tagus River, its tower and attached bastion resemble a four-storey wedding cake. Built between 1515 and 1519 to defend the river’s mouth from Atlantic invaders, the fortification became a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1983, after our first visit. The limestone building has Moorish turrets, Venetian loggia and watchtower cupolas. This Manueline architecture blends Gothic and Moorish styles with maritime details, such as coils of rope, shells and coral. It also has a drawbridge. We spotted the winch that we had photographed in 1974. Portuguese explorers As we viewed the Tagus riverside scenery from the tower’s terraces, we felt as if we were standing on a ship’s bow. Portuguese explorers − including Vasco da Gama − viewed the Tower of Belém as they returned from exploring the world, their caravels laden with silk, spices and gold. The Portuguese developed caravels as more maneuverable ships than Spanish galleons. They created their triangular sails from durable canvas. The Monument to the Discoveries, located on the north bank of the Tagus River just east of the Belém Tower, was built in 1960.The 52-metre-highmonument honours the golden age of the discoveries and the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator, who initiated the Portuguese overseas expansion and subsidized map-makers and shipbuilders. As we approached, our footsteps crossed a huge inlaid marble map depicting caravels and countries explored by the Portuguese, including India in 1498 and Terra Nova (Newfoundland) in 1500. Awavy, black-and-white mosaic walkway led us to the stylized caravel monument jutting into the Tagus River. A statue of Henry the Navigator leads a group of crusaders, explorers and poets climbing up each side. 1974 CSANews | SUMMER 2019 | 21
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx