National Palace of Sintra
The Sintra National Palace, a UNESCO heritage site, has a thousand over years old history, is the best-preserved medieval royal palace in Portugal and was a favorite with the Portuguese nobility. The original Moorish Palace became the property of the Portuguese Crown after the conquest of the city of Lisbon by Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, in 1147. The palace’s long history has been intertwined with the fortunes of Portugal’s ruling nobility, who resided here from the early 15th through to the late 19th century making it Portugal’s most lived in royal palace. The interior courtyards, outdoor spaces, sound of running water; the windows with their surmounted arches; and the walls covered in glazed tiles with rich geometrical patterns, gothic exterior are all features that underline the Moorish links of the craftsmen who built and embellished the Palace.
Shrine of Fatima
Fatima is a town and important centre of faith in the Catholic world which includes Basilica of our Lady, House of Lucia and the Parish Church, located 142 km north of Lisbon, dedicated to Virgin Mary. Fatima’s Sanctuary welcomes millions of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. The pilgrims gather in Cova de Iria, an enormous plaza where a little chapel was built and where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared. On the far side of the plaza rises the great basilica, built in a neo-classical style with a central tower 65 meters high. The construction of the basilica began on May 13, 1928. In the basilica are the tombs of two of the three visionaries, siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto. They died in 1919 and 1920 respectively and were beatified in 1970. The third seer, Lucia dos Santos, died in 2005.
