Tom`s travels: Tomar, Almourol, Fatima (11/10/2014)

This trip was organized by ESN and took us by bus to three different locations. After leaving Coimbra, early in the morning, we reached out first destination: Tomar. The town itself is famous for the beautiful and a Unesco World Heritage Site Convento de Cristo, or Convent of Christ, which was first built by the Templar order in the 12th century, and after the order's dissolution in the 14th century, became part of the newly formed Knights of the Order of Christ. The convent is surrounded by walls and there is a Keep guarding the entrance, built at the same time as the Templar church. After passing through the main gate, we waited outside in the garden while the Esn team was getting the tickets. As we went in, I was amazed to see the Romanesque part of the convent, the one built by the Templars, with its beautifully decorated and frescoed Rotunda, the only of its kind in Portugal, that took its shape from the churches in Jerusalem. The monastery was immense, and had a total of 8 cloisters, all from different periods and styles, my favorite was the Claustro de D. João III completed by the Italian architect Filippo Terzi, with beautiful arches and a wonderful fountain right in the middle. There was so much to see but we didn't have enough time so I tried seeing as much as I could, it was then time to get back on the bus and head to downtown Tomar. The city was very nice and had a beautiful Gothic church right outside the centre, the Igreja de Santa Maria dos Olivais which was a resting place for the knights of the Templar order. Once we crossed the medieval bridge we reached the old town with the main square and the Igreja de São João Batista which is the main church of the town, built in the 15th century. However the really interesting monument, hidden among the old narrow streets of the town, was the Synagogue ;the oldest one in Portugal. We then got back on the bus and headed for our next destination: the Castle of Almourol. This interesting castle sits on a small high-rised island in the middle of the Tejo or Tagus river. It is contemporary to the Convent of Christ and also a possession of the Templar Order. It is quite small but has some great view of its surroundings and of the river itself. After visiting the castle we headed on to our last stop: Fatima. This place was very strange in my opinion, because from a really small village in the middle of nowhere grew an immense town full of hotels (nearly as many as in Lisbon) and other structures, after the 1917 apparition. Later on in the 1950s the Sanctuary was built and in 2006 with the completion of the other basilica on the opposite side of the immense square, the place now just looks so strange and empty to me. It is probably not so during the mass pilgrimage which fills the huge square in May, the 13th to be precise, which is the day the apparition came to the three kids in 1917. But still at all other times, there are just some sporadic pilgrims and other tourists that visit the place and it just seemed "cold'' to me. The day was at an end so we got back on the bust and left for Coimbra in time for dinner.