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David Letts > Dreaming of Sintra This photograph was taken of Pena's Palace in Sintra Portugal. I took this photograph while on vacation on September 2, 2003. Sintra is usually crowded with people, but on this day, it seemed like it was just my wife and I. The fairy-tale setting of Sintra is one of the oldest places in Portugal occupied by the Romans until 5 AD. The town's landscape is lush with surrounding green forests, exotic flowers and elaborate palaces built centuries ago as summer retreats for the royal family. When the Christian Crusaders captured it in 1147, they fought bitterly against the Moors firmly entrenched in their imposing castle, the ruins of which remain today. ONE cannot enter Sintra without temporarily losing one's mind. Is it real or some strange trickery wrought by ancient alchemy? A magical confabulation of Roman relics, Moorish ruins, medieval cloisters, royal palaces, old forests and cobblestones, Sintra clings perilously to the craggy mountains of the moon above Cabo da Roca, where the most westerly tip of Europe leaps into the Atlantic. A fantasyland at the end of the world, it has lured various war-faring tribes and armies of conquest ever since anyone can remember. It is even said that there are dinosaur footprints on the slopes of a cliff near Praia Grande. Mostly though, Sintra has been a playground for Portuguese royalty and the romantically inclined, who have found in its precipitous triangulation of stone, sea and sky the raw materials from which to construct their own fabulous visions. Try to imagine the people entering or leaving thru this door over the past few hundred years. Kings, Queens, visiting Heads of State from other contries. If this door can only talk....
David Letts > Dreaming of Marvao Photograph taken in Marvao, Portugal. Marvao is situated almost on the Spanish border. Marvao, with its serpentined walled fortress, rests among other medieval hilltop towns in the eastern part of Portugal's Alentejo, the least populated region of Portugal. Alentejo means land beyond the Rio Tejo (Tagus River) and stretches from the Atlantic coast to Spain. Rich in agriculture and peppered with oak and cork trees this eastern section could be some of the most scenic of Portugal.
David Letts > Dreaming of Sintra III This photograph was taken of Pena's Palace in Sintra Portugal. I took this photograph while on vacation on September 2, 2003. Sintra is usually crowded with people, but on this day, it seemed like it was just my wife and I. The fairy-tale setting of Sintra is one of the oldest places in Portugal occupied by the Romans until 5 AD. The town's landscape is lush with surrounding green forests, exotic flowers and elaborate palaces built centuries ago as summer retreats for the royal family. When the Christian Crusaders captured it in 1147, they fought bitterly against the Moors firmly entrenched in their imposing castle, the ruins of which remain today.
David Letts > Dreaming of Sintra II This photograph was taken of Pena's Palace in Sintra, Portugal. I took this photograph while on vacation on September 2, 2003. Sintra is usually crowded with people, but on this day, it seemed like it was just my wife and I. I could not resist taken this photo. I think that the colors and shadows make this photo interesting. The fairy-tale setting of Sintra is one of the oldest places in Portugal occupied by the Romans until 5 AD. The town's landscape is lush with surrounding green forests, exotic flowers and elaborate palaces built centuries ago as summer retreats for the royal family. When the Christian Crusaders captured it in 1147, they fought bitterly against the Moors firmly entrenched in their imposing castle, the ruins of which remain today.
David Letts > Dreaming of Obidos Photograph taken in Obidos, Portugal. Óbidos is Portugal's most romantic village. It has a population of just 500, and its reputation dates back to the 13th century when the honeymooning King Dinis and Queen Isabel loved the enchanting village so much, he presented it to her as a wedding gift. That tradition lasted 600 years. Every Queen of Portugal was presented with Óbidos as part of her dowry. The fortified hilltop village is enclosed by high, castellated medieval walls. It sits on a limestone ridge, overlooking a 16th century aqueduct. Until the 15th century, it overlooked the sea, but the bay filled with silt, leaving a lagoon, and the town became landlocked. The walls date to the Moors of the 8th century, but were ineffective in protecting them against Alfonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal. He was a fierce warrior and conquered the town in 1148, one of seven seized from the Moors, and makes up the official Portuguese coat of arms. There are four entrances to the town, but only one for tourists. Cars, unless owned and driven by a resident, are absolutely forbidden. The main gate, Porta da Vila, is very fancy and leads straight into the main street. That is where you will find shops and cafes. Buildings are decorated with ceramics. Many local artisans have a talent for making them, and you will see them at work, creating their colourful tiles, and the basket-style ceramic unique to Óbidos. The style symbolises the baskets used during grape harvest. Choosing what to buy is a difficult task. Óbidos almost seems to be more a showpiece than a town, and its silent, starry nights and beautiful nightfalls can give the feeling of actually being there centuries ago.
David Letts > Dreaming of Obidos II Obidos is a picture-postcard town, flower-covered balconies, whitewashed houses, roofs of orange tiles and narrow cobblestone streets -- all surrounded by Moorish walls and dominated by an old castle. This tiny walled town has hardly changed at all since the middle ages. It started its existence as a fortress on the sea but the bay silted up leaving the town without a purpose. In 1228 King Dinis paused at Óbidos. His wife so admired the charm of the town, he gave it to her as a present.
David Letts > Ginja Bar of Obidos Photo is taken of an outdoor cafe seating area in Obidos, Portugal located directly infront of a Ginja bar. The table is made of wood and the seating is made from old worn leather. Ginja is brandy which is flavored with morellos which is a type of cherry. When visiting the town of Obidos, one must drink at least one glass of Ginja. This Ginja bar is located on the main street of Obidos (RUA DIREITA), not far from the castle. It is a great place to sit, drink a Ginja and watch the people pass by. The chairs are attached to the wall by hooks. The owner of the bar removes the chairs every night and replaces them each morning. Óbidos is a picture-postcard town, flower-covered balconies, whitewashed houses, roofs of orange tiles and narrow cobblestone streets -- all surrounded by Moorish walls and dominated by an old castle. This tiny walled town has hardly changed at all since the middle ages. It started its existence as a fortress on the sea but the bay silted up leaving the town without a purpose. In 1228 King Dinis paused at Óbidos. His wife so admired the charm of the town, he gave it to her as a present.
David Letts > Dreaming of Obidos III Photograph taken in Obidos, Portugal. Óbidos is Portugal's most romantic village. It has a population of just 500, and its reputation dates back to the 13th century when the honeymooning King Dinis and Queen Isabel loved the enchanting village so much, he presented it to her as a wedding gift. That tradition lasted 600 years. Every Queen of Portugal was presented with Óbidos as part of her dowry. The fortified hilltop village is enclosed by high, castellated medieval walls. It sits on a limestone ridge, overlooking a 16th century aqueduct. Until the 15th century, it overlooked the sea, but the bay filled with silt, leaving a lagoon, and the town became landlocked. The walls date to the Moors of the 8th century, but were ineffective in protecting them against Alfonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal. He was a fierce warrior and conquered the town in 1148, one of seven seized from the Moors, and makes up the official Portuguese coat of arms. There are four entrances to the town, but only one for tourists. Cars, unless owned and driven by a resident, are absolutely forbidden. The main gate, Porta da Vila, is very fancy and leads straight into the main street. That is where you will find shops and cafes. Buildings are decorated with ceramics. Many local artisans have a talent for making them, and you will see them at work, creating their colourful tiles, and the basket-style ceramic unique to Óbidos. The style symbolises the baskets used during grape harvest. Choosing what to buy is a difficult task. Óbidos almost seems to be more a showpiece than a town, and its silent, starry nights and beautiful nightfalls can give the feeling of actually being there centuries ago.
David Letts > Dreaming of Obidos IV Photograph taken in Obidos, Portugal. Óbidos is Portugal's most romantic village. It has a population of just 500, and its reputation dates back to the 13th century when the honeymooning King Dinis and Queen Isabel loved the enchanting village so much, he presented it to her as a wedding gift. That tradition lasted 600 years. Every Queen of Portugal was presented with Óbidos as part of her dowry. The fortified hilltop village is enclosed by high, castellated medieval walls. It sits on a limestone ridge, overlooking a 16th century aqueduct. Until the 15th century, it overlooked the sea, but the bay filled with silt, leaving a lagoon, and the town became landlocked. The walls date to the Moors of the 8th century, but were ineffective in protecting them against Alfonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal. He was a fierce warrior and conquered the town in 1148, one of seven seized from the Moors, and makes up the official Portuguese coat of arms. There are four entrances to the town, but only one for tourists. Cars, unless owned and driven by a resident, are absolutely forbidden. The main gate, Porta da Vila, is very fancy and leads straight into the main street. That is where you will find shops and cafes. Buildings are decorated with ceramics. Many local artisans have a talent for making them, and you will see them at work, creating their colourful tiles, and the basket-style ceramic unique to Óbidos. The style symbolises the baskets used during grape harvest. Choosing what to buy is a difficult task. Óbidos almost seems to be more a showpiece than a town, and its silent, starry nights and beautiful nightfalls can give the feeling of actually being there centuries ago.
Dreaming of Sintra

This photograph was taken of Pena's Palace in Sintra Portugal. I took this photograph while on vacation on September 2, 2003. Sintra is usually crowded with people, but on this day, it seemed like it was just my wife and I.

The fairy-tale setting of Sintra is one of the oldest places in Portugal occupied by the Romans until 5 AD. The town's landscape is lush with surrounding green forests, exotic flowers and elaborate palaces built centuries ago as summer retreats for the royal family. When the Christian Crusaders captured it in 1147, they fought bitterly against the Moors firmly entrenched in their imposing castle, the ruins of which remain today.

ONE cannot enter Sintra without temporarily losing one's mind. Is it real or some strange trickery wrought by ancient alchemy?

A magical confabulation of Roman relics, Moorish ruins, medieval cloisters, royal palaces, old forests and cobblestones, Sintra clings perilously to the craggy mountains of the moon above Cabo da Roca, where the most westerly tip of Europe leaps into the Atlantic.

A fantasyland at the end of the world, it has lured various war-faring tribes and armies of conquest ever since anyone can remember. It is even said that there are dinosaur footprints on the slopes of a cliff near Praia Grande.

Mostly though, Sintra has been a playground for Portuguese royalty and the romantically inclined, who have found in its precipitous triangulation of stone, sea and sky the raw materials from which to construct their own fabulous visions.

Try to imagine the people entering or leaving thru this door over the past few hundred years. Kings, Queens, visiting Heads of State from other contries.

If this door can only talk....
David Letts > Dreaming of Sintra This photograph was taken of Pena's Palace in Sintra Portugal. I took this photograph while on vacation on September 2, 2003. Sintra is usually crowded with people, but on this day, it seemed like it was just my wife and I. The fairy-tale setting of Sintra is one of the oldest places in Portugal occupied by the Romans until 5 AD. The town's landscape is lush with surrounding green forests, exotic flowers and elaborate palaces built centuries ago as summer retreats for the royal family. When the Christian Crusaders captured it in 1147, they fought bitterly against the Moors firmly entrenched in their imposing castle, the ruins of which remain today. ONE cannot enter Sintra without temporarily losing one's mind. Is it real or some strange trickery wrought by ancient alchemy? A magical confabulation of Roman relics, Moorish ruins, medieval cloisters, royal palaces, old forests and cobblestones, Sintra clings perilously to the craggy mountains of the moon above Cabo da Roca, where the most westerly tip of Europe leaps into the Atlantic. A fantasyland at the end of the world, it has lured various war-faring tribes and armies of conquest ever since anyone can remember. It is even said that there are dinosaur footprints on the slopes of a cliff near Praia Grande. Mostly though, Sintra has been a playground for Portuguese royalty and the romantically inclined, who have found in its precipitous triangulation of stone, sea and sky the raw materials from which to construct their own fabulous visions. Try to imagine the people entering or leaving thru this door over the past few hundred years. Kings, Queens, visiting Heads of State from other contries. If this door can only talk....
Dreaming of Sintra

This photograph was taken of Pena's Palace in Sintra Portugal. I took this photograph while on vacation on September 2, 2003. Sintra is usually crowded with people, but on this day, it seemed like it was just my wife and I.

The fairy-tale setting of Sintra is one of the oldest places in Portugal occupied by the Romans until 5 AD. The town's landscape is lush with surrounding green forests, exotic flowers and elaborate palaces built centuries ago as summer retreats for the royal family. When the Christian Crusaders captured it in 1147, they fought bitterly against the Moors firmly entrenched in their imposing castle, the ruins of which remain today.

ONE cannot enter Sintra without temporarily losing one's mind. Is it real or some strange trickery wrought by ancient alchemy?

A magical confabulation of Roman relics, Moorish ruins, medieval cloisters, royal palaces, old forests and cobblestones, Sintra clings perilously to the craggy mountains of the moon above Cabo da Roca, where the most westerly tip of Europe leaps into the Atlantic.

A fantasyland at the end of the world, it has lured various war-faring tribes and armies of conquest ever since anyone can remember. It is even said that there are dinosaur footprints on the slopes of a cliff near Praia Grande.

Mostly though, Sintra has been a playground for Portuguese royalty and the romantically inclined, who have found in its precipitous triangulation of stone, sea and sky the raw materials from which to construct their own fabulous visions.

Try to imagine the people entering or leaving thru this door over the past few hundred years. Kings, Queens, visiting Heads of State from other contries.

If this door can only talk....
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