Caminhos de Santiago Alentejo e Ribatejo - Eastern Way

Not far from where we set off, the Eastern Way takes us to Mértola, where the castle is practically a mustsee.

Founded on far more ancient structures, it was built in Christian times, its keep going up in 1292 by order of Dom João Fernandes, Master of the Order of Santiago. It is an archaeologically rich site and a prime location to look over the city and its surroundings.

Further ahead, Beja reveals itself to be a wonderful place to observe nature, above all the birdlife, its county lines serving as the place of ‘pilgrimage’ for about two hundred species. The opportunities for birdwatching are substantial, species such as the osprey, scrub robin or blackbellied sandgrouse gracing the most attentive with their presence.

Through its Azulejo pannels, a legacy of five centuries of tile painting that also tells the history of the city, Beja offers us flashes of colour, indoors and out.

A homage to the art of working in clay awaits the visitor in Évora, in the form of an actual village going by the name of Aldeia da Terra (Earth Village), considered by many as the funniest in Portugal.

This 3D cartoon strip is a marvel of well-observed, irreverent good humour.

Not to be missed is Igreja de São Tiago (St James Church), rebuilt in the 17th century but which still has traces of the Manueline period, such as the battlements of the south wing. With a single nave, the domed roof greets us with magnificent frescos, painted with sacred and profane decorative motifs.

Évora has a lot to offer its visitors, such as Praça do Giraldo square, baptised in homage to Geraldo Geraldes the Fearless, to whom the reconquest in 1165 of Évora from the Moors is attributed.

Baptised the ‘white city’ of the Alentejo, Estremoz has its own 16th century church, the Igreja de Santiago, which is known to have existed since the reign of D. Afonso III (1245-1279, and celebrated for its bell tower, triangular marble gable with a cross, the 18th century picture window and over the doorway, the cross of the Order of Aviz. The medieval castle in the centre of town stands out for its keep that is 27 metres high, one of the best preserved in the whole country. In 1336, this became the last resting place of Queen Santa Isabel, who died in her chambers there.

In Crato, Mosteiro de Flor da Rosa monastery is one of the most original and intriguing Gothic buildings in the country, now home to a Pousada hotel.

Dating from 1356, this monument consists of three separate structures: the church-fort in the Gothic style, a Gothic castellated palace and convent priories. Meanwhile Crato, influenced in days of yore by the presence of Megalithic shepherds and their habits and culture, also reveals traces of other stories in its dolmens, or antas. As a matter of fact, in this municipality alone over 70 have been documented, most prominent of all being the dolmens found at Anta do Tapadão and Anta do Crato, designated national monuments.

As we come to the end of the Eastern Way, there’s still time to visit Nisa, with its 17th century pillory, which looks today much as it did then; the shrine of Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Graça, famous for its religious procession which takes places every Easter, or the traditional red clay ceramics, pitchers and jars decorated with small white stone flower motifs.