While in Tomar, Portugal, we visited the ancient Knights Templar castle and Convento de Christo. I have been to many an impressive castle throughout Europe particularly, but this one clearly deserves a blog dedicated to it exclusively. To name but a few which come to mind, I include Josephine Baker's elegant and music-filled home (her own beautiful voice) in France and the 13th century Castlenaud on the Dordogne River which took part in the 100 years war between England and France. A few years ago, we stayed downstream across the river and just below its then French controlled rival castle in Beynac. Around 1190, this imposing structure in Tomar, built on the border of Christian and Muslim territory in Iberia, was encircled by the armies of Abu Yusuf al-Mansur, conquering Muslim caliph in the south and
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