GEEO Portugal Google Earth Presentation

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USA

Today I’d like to share with you a great experience I had while traveling to Portugal through a non-profit organization called GEEO. GEEO helps educators travel abroad so that they can learn more about different cultures to share with their students. I was joined on my trip by teachers from all around the United States.

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Europe

We traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from North America to Europe. Europe and Asia share a long land border to the east, but Europe is conventionally understood as a separate continent—one of seven on Earth. The ancient Greeks are the ones who created the concept of continents as we think of them today.

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Iberian Peninsula

Portugal is located on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe.

A peninsula is land bordered on three sides by water and connected to a mainland. The Iberian Peninsula is shared by two countries: Portugal and Spain.

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Portugal

Portugal is located along the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula, and has a population of over 10 million people. Portugal is about the size of the state of Indiana (population ~7 mil) or slightly smaller than the state of Virginia (population ~9 mil).

Portugal is one of the oldest nation-states in Europe, with borders that have remained mostly unchanged since the 13th century. The country has a rich maritime history—Portuguese explorers like Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan led some of the most significant voyages during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, establishing trade routes to Asia, Africa, and South America.

Portuguese is the country’s official language, and is spoken by over 250 million people worldwide, making it the sixth most spoken language in the world.

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Lisbon

My adventure began in Lisbon, Portugal’s capital and largest city. Lisbon’s metropolitan area—the city plus its surrounding suburbs and connected towns—has about 3 million people.

In 1755, a massive earthquake, followed by fires and a tsunami, destroyed much of Lisbon. The city was rebuilt with wider streets and earthquake-resistant buildings, creating the Lisbon we see today.

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Rossio (Praça Dom Pedro IV)

One of Lisbon’s most famous landmarks is Rossio Square, which has been the heart of the city since the Middle Ages. For centuries, this has been where Lisboetas—residents of Lisbon—gather for celebrations, protests, and daily life. The square is surrounded by cafes where people still meet today, and the beautiful neoclassical building at the top is Portugal’s National Theatre.

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Rossio Square Tiles

The wave-pattern tiles in Rossio Square create an optical illusion—the ground seems to move beneath your feet. This style of decorative pavement, called calçada portuguesa, is a Portuguese art form that requires skilled craftspeople to hand-lay each small stone. You’ll see these distinctive black and white patterns on sidewalks throughout Portugal and in former Portuguese colonies around the world.

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São Jorge Castle

São Jorge Castle sits on Lisbon’s highest hill, with sweeping views over the city and the Tagus River below. The Moors—Muslim rulers from North Africa who controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula—built this fortress in the 11th century.

Christian forces captured Lisbon and the castle from the Moors in 1147 during the Second Crusade. Portugal’s first king made the castle his royal palace. Today, you can still walk along the medieval walls and see the same views that both Moorish defenders and Christian crusaders would have seen nearly 900 years ago.

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Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

The Jerónimos Monastery was built in 1501 in an area of Lisbon known as Belém. The monastery is famous for its beautiful design and its cloisters. It now houses the Maritime Museum and the Museum of Anthropology.

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Monumento do Cristo Rei

The Monument of Christ the King was built in 1959. Does the statue remind you of any other monuments in the world? You may know of the large Christ the Redeemer monument in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This monument in Lisbon was based on the one in Brazil. Here is a photo of the monument in Rio.

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Batalha Monastery

We left Lisbon behind and headed north to the small hill town of Batalha. The town’s centerpiece is the Batalha Monastery, built to celebrate one of the most important moments in Portuguese history—the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota, where Portuguese forces defeated a much larger Castilian army. This victory secured Portugal’s independence and prevented Spain from absorbing the country. The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its soaring Gothic spires, intricate stone carvings, and massive stained glass windows make it one of the architectural masterpieces of Europe. Construction took over 100 years to complete.

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Coimbra

We continued on to the medieval capital of Portugal, Coimbra. We explored the winding cobbled streets and the waterfront along the River Mondego.

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University of Coimbra

Some of our group visited the famous Coimbra University, a UNESCO World Heritage site and also the inspiration for Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Established in 1290 in Lisbon, it went through a number of relocations until it was moved permanently to Coimbra in 1537. It’s one of the world’s oldest universities in continuous operation, the oldest university of Portugal, and Portugal’s most prestigious university. The Joanina Library is one of the most ornate libraries in the world with its breathtaking frescoes, intricate carvings, and gold-leaf touches.

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Conímbriga

Some of us also visited Conímbriga, Portugal’s largest and most impressive Roman ruins. Ancient Conímbriga was an important city under the Roman Empire, and its ruins are extensive and well preserved. Highlights include villas paved with elaborate floor mosaics, in particular the Casa dos Repuxos (House of Fountains) and a 3rd-century defensive wall.

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Porto

The next day we drove to Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city, set along the steep hillsides where the Douro River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Porto gave its name to the country itself—Portugal literally means “Port of Galo”—and to port wine, the sweet fortified wine that has been produced in the Douro Valley for centuries.

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Dom Luís I Bridge and Cais da Ribeira

Porto’s riverside quarter, the Ribeira, is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The waterfront (Cais da Ribeira) is a long strip of cafes, restaurants, and shops overlooking the river and the Port houses of Vila Nova de Gaia on the opposite bank. Above the Cais da Ribeira is Porto’s iconic Ponte Dom Luís I bridge, which was completed in 1886, and designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel (the designer of Paris’ Eiffel Tower).

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Porto Cathedral

From Ribeira square rises a tangle of medieval alleys and stairways that eventually reach the hulking, hilltop fortress of the Porto Cathedral. Founded in the 12th century, it was largely rebuilt a century later and then extensively altered during the 18th century. However, you can still make out the church’s Romanesque origins in the barrel-vaulted nave. Inside, a rose window and a 14th-century Gothic cloister also remain from its early days.

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Church of São Francisco and Palácio da Bolsa

The Church of Saint Francis (Portuguese: Igreja de São Francisco) is the most prominent Gothic monument in Porto. It is famous for its outstanding Baroque inner decoration. Next to the church is the Stock Exchange Palace (Portuguese: Palácio da Bolsa). This neoclassical monument (built from 1842 to 1910) honors Porto’s past and present money merchants.

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Casa da Música

The wonky cuboid building is a concert hall that is considered to have some of the world’s best acoustics. The Casa da Música is the beating heart of Porto’s cultural scene and the home of the Porto National Orchestra. It was designed by famed Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas in 2001.

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Ferreira Cellars

We finished off the day with a tour of the cellars of the region’s famed export – Port wine. We learned about the art of Port making and the processes that render its rich taste.

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Overview

We ended our trip at Porto and then all flew back to the United States.