Portugal
Belmonte Municipality

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    • Day 20

      May 20. Sun. Belmonte, Averio/Porto

      May 20, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      Very busy day. Just recovering from Degustation Dinner last night! Probably shouldn’t have had the humungous toasted cheese and ham toasted sandwiches and pastries for lunch in Tomar. Lesson learnt🤣. The pousada is an amazing old convent that has had the hotel built around it. Very beautifully done. The convent was for wealthy monks. Each room was named after a monk. I think there have been a few upgrades in the interim!
      Survived death by degustation. The guys were flagging so I had to ask the wait staff to hurry it along. We finished at 11pm in hurry mode!
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    • Day 20

      May19th, Sat. Lisbon, Tomar/Belmonte

      May 20, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      We collected the rental van, lovingly called the Blue Bird of Happiness. Euan was the driver and David the navigator in chief, with four support co-pilots. (How lucky are they?) We had a slight detour around the motorway then on to Tomar. (Off 120km road to a wrecked country road, past some cork & eucalyptus forest). We found Castle Almouruol on the bank of the Tagus. Kayaks on the river👍 On to Tomar for lunch.
      We visited Tomor Castle, Pegos Aquaduct, etc. then onto Pousada Belmonte, a delightful renovated Convent, (which was a monestry for wealthy monks). (Mosteiro da Batalha), built to celebrate the battle that confirmed Portugal as an independent nation (1385). A beautiful building. We were too late to have a swim in the pool, but we had time to appreciate the building before we got ready for the degustation dinner booked by TT. This was a truly bonkers meal. A very big and busy restaurant - we had about 9 courses, with approx. 30 mins between each small course. "Death by Degustation" was our conclusion. We were so tired by the end. I asked the wait- staff if they could hurry it along a bit, (they looked surprised at this). I have no idea why, as the rest of the restaurant was almost empty by this time and cleaning was in progress, surly they wanted to get rid of us). Food was lovely. Obviously we had not yet managed to get into the Iberian dining mode. More practise needed.
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    • Day 21

      Belmonte

      December 9, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

      Ein weiteres der 12 historischen Dörfer mit einer bemerkenswerten Sehenswürdigkeit. Bemerkenswert ist allerdings die Sehenswürdigkeit selbst gar nicht so sehr, sondern eher die Tatsache, dass niemand weiß, ob sie jetzt aus der Zeit der alten Römer oder doch eher aus dem Mittelalter stammt 🙄Read more

    • Day 178

      Villa Centum Cellas

      March 18, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      Die Villa Centum Cellas (auch Centum Celas geschrieben bzw. früher auch Torre de São Cornélio, also Turm des Hl. Cornelius genannt) soll laut Wiki Teil einer römischen Villa gewesen sein. Die Ruine liegt nördlich von Belmonte im Osten Portugals. Der heute sichtbare, markante Baukörper gehört nach neueren Ansichten zum Belvedere einer römischen Villa. Als Datierung wird das frühe 1. Jahrhundert angegeben. Ende des 3. Jahrhunderts fiel der Bau einem Brand zum Opfer. Die Villa gehörte Lucius Caecilius, einem reichen römischen Zinnhändler.
      Auffällig ist, mit welcher Präzision die unglaublich großen und schweren Steinquader (wie mit Lasertechnik geschnitten) aneinandergefügt wurden. Und das vor 2000 Jahren. . . . 😗🤔🤔🤔
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    • Day 3

      Romans, Castles, and Rain

      October 29, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

      Since Marvao Castle is one of my favorites, I got Joe up there early in the morning for a visit with minimal climbing. Then after breakfast, we drove to Spain, to see Trajan’s bridge (106 AD) over the Tajo/Tejo/Tagus River. I don’t know why I had never heard of it, and it was only thanks to my Camino pal Alan that I knew it was not to be missed. It is spectacular! From there, on to the little historical village of Idanha-a-Velha, where we were able to see some Roman walls and templar towers, and then the rain started.

      Our main destination for the day, the stone village of Monsanto, has become extremely popular in the 8 year interval since we last visited. Parking was difficult (there was one handicapped space open right at the entrance, mocking me for having left Joe’s pass at home). We had about 15 minutes walking on the cobblestone streets through narrow streets and navigating huge boulders. Then the rain started. So I dropped Joe off in a little pastelaria, where he had several empanadas and a few sweets while I climbed up to the castle. Even in the rain, I will climb up to a castle. Thankfully, the rain stopped for a good 20 minutes while I was up there and I was able to climb and enjoy the views. Then a bit more rain while I had a snack in Joe’s place. We did get a good 45 minutes with no rain and enjoyed getting lost in the little narrow streets, it is really a beautiful place.

      We are spending the night in the town of Belmonte. The pousada was full, unfortunately, so we are in town in a modern place that’s fine. I’ve climbed to the castle and explored the judería while Joe naps. That’s a good division of labor for us!
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    • Driving Day - Belmonte Jews

      January 29, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

      Today we headed to the area on the Douro Valley that grows grapes for Port wines. We will be staying in a town called Lamego for 10 days, recharging our travel batteries and sightseeing in the surrounding area. The drive took about 4 hours on the no toll highway through the countryside, with a stop in the historic village of Belmonte.

      Generations of Kings who were concerned about territorial defence decided to populate and fortify the area that is located on the border between Spain and Portugal. In 1991 a government program was set up called The Historic Villages Program. The aim of the program was “to restore and promote a series of ancient villages/human settlements important to the history of Portugal”. Belmonte is one of the 12 designated Historical Villages.

      The border between Portugal and Spain is the oldest border in Europe and there were many rulers who built castles and walls, granted charters and gave privileges to those who would establish themselves in the areas close to Spain, especially since the 1100s. Because if no one lived in a place where so many battles were fought, it would have been easier for the enemy to conquer it. People saw each victory as a miracle, so they quickly built chapels or churches. For each event, a legend was created.

      Pedro Álvares Cabral is without a doubt, the most well-known Belmonte native in history. King Manuel chose him as captain to the second armada to India, but Álvares Cabral discovered Brazil after a journey of 43 days and he became the most prominent figure of the Age of Discovery.

      Also important in this town is the Jewish tradition which still lives on. Belmonte was one of the towns chosen as place of refuge by a small group of Sephardic Jews in the 1100s. Following the non-tolerance policies of the Catholic Kings, King Manuel issued a law which ordered all Portuguese Jews to convert to Christianity (1496). If they refused, they would be forced to leave the country.

      We went to Belmonte because we had heard an interesting story about the Marranos that have been living in Belmonte who are sometimes referred to as the "Belmonte Jews." They are a community that has survived in secrecy for hundreds of years by maintaining a tradition of marrying within their families and by hiding all the external signs of their faith. To all outsiders, they were Catholic since 1496. They and their practices were discovered only in the 20th century. Can you imagine?

      In Belmonte, there is a Jewish museum that we went to, that documents their history.

      The Jews thought that they were the last living Jews and wanted to pass on their traditions. They did that for more than 600 years.

      I found this poem about them...

      PHOENIX
      by Jocelyn Cooper

      For 500 years
      They hid
      In the mountains of Belmonte
      Along narrow streets
      Among pretty flowers,
      olive trees, and apple orchards

      For 500 years
      They hid -
      Their religion
      Forbidden by law

      For 500 years
      They prayed to their God
      With tears in their eyes
      Prayed to be allowed to pray

      For 500 years
      They lit the Sabbath candles
      And drank the sacramental wine
      In the cellars of their homes
      Mothers passed on rituals
      to daughters and grand-daughters

      For 500 years they hid their belief
      For 500 years they kept their faith

      A knock on the door brought fear
      A stranger could not be trusted

      Forbidden by law
      Yet
      For 500 years
      The flame was not extinguished

      Today they walk with heads held high
      To their house of worship

      Magen David firmly planted in the garden
      Menorah standing proudly in the garden
      Outside Sinagoga Bet Eliyahu

      Their voices sing the liturgy
      Their voices sing
      Sephardi melodies

      That
      For 500 years they hid
      Behind closed doors
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    • Day 5

      Belmonte

      March 23, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Nach diesem einzigartigen Erlebnis zog es uns dann voller Vorfreude zu dem 2. historischem Dorf, Belmonte.
      Dies war im Gegensatz dazu nicht annähernd so spektakulär. Es gab eine alte Burg, für die man Eintritt zahlen musste. Ansonsten war der Großteil schon relativ modern und touristisch angehaucht. Anfangs hatten wir die Befürchtung, dass schon sehr viele Touristen dort wären, dem war zum Glück nicht so.
      Also schlenderten wir ein wenig durch die engen Gassen, des älteren Stadtteils und genossen den Charme, welcher aber nicht annähernd so geil war, wie von Sortelha.
      Was man aber auch hier immer wieder sah, waren Häuseraußenfassaden mit Fliesen, die teilweise schon kaputt waren oder bröckelten.
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    • Day 22

      Belmonte

      September 28, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      Heute spezieller Start mit Lift und Fussgängerbrücken aus der Altstadt von Covilhã. Später auch wieder eine Römerbrücke. Am Ziel dann ein wichtiger Pilgerort: Belmont mit Saõ Tiago Kirche, Kastell und Judenviertel.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Belmonte, Belmonte Municipality, בלמונטה, Белмонти, 貝爾蒙蒂

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