Fatima
Another short ride and we were at the Santuary of Fatima. On May 13, 1917, three shepherd children, Lucia Santos, age 10, and her two young cousins, Jacinta Marta and Francisco, claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary told them that she would appear on the same day for the next 6 months. On the last day that she appeared, she told Lucia the “Secret of Fatima,” made up of three messages: first was a vision of Hell; second, that a war worse than World War I would occur; and third, a papal assination was foretold. (It depends on which source you read as to what these messages were.) On the left of the photo is the Capela das Aparicoes (Chapel of Apparitions), the site of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Fatima
Fatima
Inside the Chapel of Apparitions. Pope John Paul II put the bullet used in the 1981 attempt on his life in the crown of the statue of the Virgin Mary in this chapel.
Fatima
Fatima
Close–up of the basilica. Its tower is 200 feet high.
Fatima
Fatima
Another view of the basilica with statues of saints on top of the colonnades.
Fatima
Fatima
Close–up of one of the statues.
Fatima
Fatima
Tiles outside the basilica.
Fatima
Fatima
Sign at the entrance.
Fatima
Fatima
Inside the basilica. There was a mass going on, with the priest singing the mass. Hence, we could not walk around inside and view the tombs of Jacinta and Francesco. They both died soon after the visions, during a flu epidemic. Both were beatified in May 2000. Lucia became a nun and died at the age of 97 in 2005. I don’t know where she is buried.
Fatima
Fatima
Close–up.
Fatima
Fatima
Inside the basilica.
Fatima
Fatima
A stained–glass window.
Fatima
Fatima
A station of the cross.
Fatima
Fatima
View from the basilica.
Fatima
Fatima
If you want to light a candle here, you are not allowed to do it in the basilica. Instead, you light them in what looks like a huge firepit near the Chapel of Apparitions.
Fatima
Fatima
You can buy candles of all sizes to light here. The result is a bit strange.
Fatima
Fatima
The four very neat (at least for awhile) candles that I lit.
Fatima
Fatima
The Igreja da Santissima Trindade, built in 2006 to handle the overflow of worshippers. It can hold 9,000 people. I didn’t have time to go inside it because I stopped off at the religious souvenir stores.
Fatima
Fatima
Cross and statue of Pope John Paul II.
Fatima
Fatima
Close of the statue of John Paul II (Joao Paulo II).
Fatima
Fatima
Statues of Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia seen on our way out of Fatima.
Fatima
Tomar
Now we were on our way to Tomar. Our first view of the Convento de Cristo above the town of Tomar. We were to visit it tomorrow.
Tomar
Tomar
We checked into our hotel, the Dos Templarios, a very nice hotel in walking distance of the town of Tomar. All our hotels on this tour were centrally located.
Tomar
Tomar
View from the hotel of the River Nabao and the town of Tomar. The town was founded in 1157 by Gualdin Pais, the first grandmaster of the Order of the Templars in Portugal.
Tomar
Tomar
We were on our own time now and Rui suggested that we visit the synagogue of Tomar, one of the oldest ones in Portugal. We first walked down this street.
Tomar
Tomar
And then down this street.
Tomar
Tomar
Inside the synagogue. It was last used as a place of worship in 1497, the year that King Manuel I banished all Jews who refused to convert to Christianity.
Tomar
Tomar
Inside the synagogue. It is now a museum.
Tomar
Tomar
Window in the synagogue.
Tomar
Tomar
Painting on the wall.
Tomar
Tomar
I walked from the synagogue to the very pretty main square of Tomar: the Praca da Republica. You can see the convent in the hills above.
Tomar
Tomar
Close–up of the statue of Gualdim Pais, founder of Tomar. The cross is of the Knights Templar.
Tomar
Tomar
This cross on the sidewalk is of the Knights of Christ, the knights of the Convento de Cristo (more about these knights when we visit the convent tomorrow).
Tomar
Tomar
In the opposite direction in this square is the Gothic Sao Joao Baptista church, built in the late 15th century.
Tomar
Tomar
Close–up of the clock on the outside of the church.
Tomar
Tomar
Also on the outside of the church appear the Knights of Christ cross, a coat of arms, and an armillary sphere, symbols of Manueline architecture.
Tomar
Tomar
The Manueline portal of the church.
Tomar
Tomar
Inside the church.
Tomar
Tomar
A close–up.
Tomar
Tomar
Very plain stations of the cross.
Tomar
Tomar
From the square, I walked down the Rua Serpa Pinto, Tomar’s shopping street.
Tomar
Tomar
There were many interesting buildings on this street.
Tomar
Tomar
Another, with a bit different tiled front.
Tomar
Tomar
A very pretty building.
Tomar
Tomar
And another.
Tomar
Tomar
We ate dinner at our hotel tonight. A colorful mural lined its wall. Photo: Part of the mural.
Tomar
Tomar
The knights going off to war. This was quite an exciting day, visiting so many interesting places.
