Portugal
Castle of the Moors

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    • Day 7

      Sintra Pt 1

      August 11, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Today I took the train from Lisbon to Sintra!! It was so good I have to make two posts. Omg. Sintra is the town of castles. I visited the top 3 but there were 8 or so in total. Sintra is also beautiful because the city is on a mountain so if you're high enough, you can get a full landscape view!!! I started at the Castelo dos Mouros. This was probably my favourite because I loved walking along the castle. Many many steps! After, I went to the Palace of Pena. This is for most the number one stop. The castle is full of vibrancy and the highest point. I only walked along the outside with the pillars because the line up to get in was ENORMOUS (I also heard it's totally not worth it) so I made the best out of it! Finally I ran by the Quinta da Regaleira. This is the number one stop on Trip advisor. Again, I'm more of an outside person so I did a quick walk by and that was good enough for me. All very magnificent buildings and stunning views. To finish off with the castles, I had a Portuguese tart. Oh. My. God. It was SO good. Right out of the oven and just mushed in your mouth. Amazing. But just you wait for the best part. Sintra pt 2!!!Read more

    • Wunderschön fix und fertig

      November 16, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

      Heute morgen ging’s für einen längeren Halbtagesausflug nach Sintra. Anfangs hatten wir Mitreisende, die wir in unserem Hostel kennengelernt haben. Warum auch immer haben die uns quasi blind vertraut und wir sind immerhin zusammen bis zum Hauptbahnhof gefahren. Angekommen in Sintra, haben wir uns für den fußigen Aufstieg entschieden. Man spart sich viel Geld und allein schon der Weg hoch zur Ruine ist sooooooooo wunderschön, dass mir des Öfteren die Worte gefehlt haben, einfach weil es eben so wunder, wunderschön war. Oben von der Ruine haben wir neben der Chinesischen Mauer auch das Meer und weit ins Landesinnere gesehen. Allgemein war heute das Wetter perfekt für diesen Ausflug. Gegen 15 Uhr machten wir uns wieder auf zum Hostel, um dort eine kurze Siesta einzulegen. Der Tag war doch mal wieder anstrengender als gedacht. Wie schon das ein oder andere Mal erwähnt, sind die Öffis nicht unsere allerbesten Freunde. Wir dachten, dass man, wie in der Metro, im Bus ein- und auch wieder ausstempeln muss. Ist nicht so! Die Stadt hat somit von jedem von uns zwei Fahrten geschenkt bekommen. Nch der Erholungspause ging’s auf Richtung Alfama. Dorthin sind wir mit einer der klassischen E-Trams hingefahren. Und die war richtig richtig voll. Man dachte immer, dass niemand mehr rein passt, aber man wurde eines besseren belehrt. War auf jeden Fall ne Erfahrung wert! In Alfama waren wir in einer Bäckerei um uns dort was zu Essen zu holen. Hat auch n bissl gebraucht bis wir gecheckt haben, dass man um bestellen zu können, eine Nummer ziehen muss. Nach einem „Irgendetwas“, einem Pastéis de Nata und einem Cocktail liesen wir unseren Abend entspannt bei Lieblings.......-Fragen, einem babsüßen Getränk und gerösteten Mais ausklingen.Read more

    • Day 3

      Moorish Castle

      March 27, 2023 in Portugal

      This castle is on the walk back to Sintra and I thought I could give it a skip since there was still a lot of walking to do. Brave Dianne disagreed, saying we shouldn’t miss this opportunity. Ironically, the walk along the high walls on a narrow stone path with panoramic views of the area is more suitable to my sentiments than to hers. She gripped my hand with a vice like force with me reminding her to breathe as we made our way around the castle walls. Brave Dianne was visibly relieved to be back on the footpath to Sintra, but as she said. “We did it.”Read more

    • Day 4

      Sintra - Castle of the Moors

      April 11, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      The Castle of the Moors (or Castelo dos Mouros in Portuguese) is a medieval castle located on a hilltop in the town of Sintra, Portugal. It was built during the 8th and 9th centuries by the Moors, a Muslim people who ruled over the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th to the 13th century. The castle played an important role in the Muslim occupation of the region and served as a military fortification to protect the nearby town of Sintra.

      The castle has extensive fortifications, including the battlements and watchtowers that offer stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
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    • Day 6

      Sintra - The Moorish Castle

      May 1, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      Just back down the main road from Peña Palace is the entrance to the Moorish Castle. Since it was a down trip we decided we could walk it. (This is the recommended order to do these 2 visits as the bus only does a one way loop 😉)
      As we worked our way back down the road we came across a car and driver that had stalled out on one of the hills and the poor driver could not get the car started again. Luckily with so many people about, a dozen of us managed to push the car the 75 feet to the crest of the hill. I’m sure the backlog of traffic we’re happy too!
      If you have a Fitbit or health tracker of any kind perhaps you’ve noticed the number of “floors” you’ve done in a day. This day in Sintra mine recorded 116! And I’m pretty sure half of those were at the Moorish Castle!
      As I understand it, the castle walls we climbed are a restoration of the walls of what was a castle. They were truly amazing. The views from the walls of the surrounding countryside and villages were stunning and you could see all the way out to the coast.
      So many stairs!!! It was incredible.
      Once we completed the walls it was time to catch the bus and head back in to the city centre for some lunch. While we were most definitely not there at peak tourist season it was still incredibly busy and we were lucky to find ourselves a corner in a restaurant with the bonus of a view.
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    • Day 10

      Castelo dos Mouros

      September 11, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Das Castelo dos Mouros ist die Ruine einer Burganlage, die sich im Wald oberhalb der portugiesischen Stadt Sintra befindet. Es ist Teil der Kulturlandschaft Sintra, einem Welterbe der UNESCO.

    • Day 40

      Castle of the Moors

      October 23, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      After the over the top Peña Palace we walked down the hill to the Castelo Dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors). In fact it isn’t a castle any longer but the ruins of what was once I imagine quite an impressive castle.

      It was a medieval hilltop castle built by the Moors in the 8th and 9th centuries. It was an important strategic point during the Reconquista, which were the military campaigns that Christian kingdoms waged against the Muslim kingdoms following the Muslim conquest of Spain (710-780).

      In the 12th century, the chapel constructed within the walls of the castle became the parish seat. It was also remodelled under King Sancho I of Portugal. In 1375 King Ferdinand I of Portugal, ordered the rebuilding of the castle. It was well fortified by 1383, but most inhabitants were abandoning the castle for the old village of Sintra. By the 16th century a small Jewish community was using and occupying the castle but they were expelled by Manuel I of Portugal.

      The 1755 Lisbon earthquake caused considerable damage to the chapel and affected the stability of the castle. It was classified as a National Monument, part of the Sintra Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We clambered up and down the walls of the castle, which provided great views down over Sintra. Some of the paths along the walls were very narrow and didn’t have any railings, which made it interesting and a bit scary when we passed people going the opposite way.
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    • Day 3

      Castelo dos mouros

      July 26, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      After that beautiful small café we did go by bus up to the old castle. The walk from bus stop to castle I was amazed by nature... The way to the castle is really great... Felt like we were in the jungle. Another highlight of our journey was that castle. The way to the castle was beautiful and the view from those towers... Breathtaking...Read more

    • Day 3

      Sintra - Tag 3

      August 2, 2020 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      Heute ging es ganz früh zurück an den Flughafen (per Uber), wo wir unser Mietauto abgeholt haben. Wir haben es bei Flizzr für 31 Euro pro Tag gebucht, hatten aber bei der Abholung einige Probleme. Mit unserem Upgrade-Car Renault Capture ging es dann nach Sintra zu den Burgen. Mit dem Busticket für 6,80 Euro haben wir zwei Burgen besucht. Danach ging es endlich an den Strand nach Peniche!Read more

    • Day 6

      Castelo dos Mouros

      September 10, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Sehr viele Stiegen, eine tolle Aussicht und ein wunderschöner grüner Waldweg hin zu den Ruinen sorgten hier für ein anstrengendes aber auch sehr schönes Erlebnis. PS. Zum Glück hab ich vorher noch meine Nüsse bekommen, sonst hätte ich nach der ersten Stiege aufgegeben!Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Castelo dos Mouros, Castle of the Moors

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