SILVES - The Ancient Moorish Capital

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When the Moors invaded the Iberian peninsula in the 8^th century, they selected for their capital a hill located on a river amid rich arable land a few miles inland, named it “Xelb”, and surrounded it with orange and almond trees. They crowned the hill with a castle-fortress to house rulers, administrators and their families, with underground grain storage silos and an enormous cistern for rain water. It grew into a major walled town of about 17 acres (7 hectares), and was a centre of Muslim scholarship, culture and law, where Christians and Jews also lived and worked in relative harmony. By the late 12^thcentury it was larger and more important than Lisbon, with a population estimated at 30,000.

After centuries of gradual reconquest, in 1189 Portuguese knights attacked Xelb. They destroyed the wall, sacked the town, slaughtered inhabitants, and captured the fortress after a six-week siege. Others, among them King Richard the Lion Heart of England, helped defend the town during the counter-attack the following year. The Moors recaptured what was left of their capital until 1231 when King Afonso III defeated them for good. Today renamed Silves, it is a peaceful little town, whose tranquility belies its bloody past, and whose surrounding countryside is one of Portugal’s best orange-growing areas.

Today Silves is still of great interest for its beautiful red sandstone castle. With 11 towers and an enclosed area as large as a football field, it was the biggest and most sophisticated Moorish structure in the Algarve. We were struck by its commanding view over the countryside, and could only imagine what a haven it must have been 900 years ago. It seems to have been as much a place of peace and beauty as a fortress: the stone steps leading up to the observation areas could be climbed not only by soldiers with armour but even by ladies and children out for a stroll. Its huge silos made it a viable refuge for the general population, and its 200 foot (60m) deep cisterns were even used as reservoirs for the town until recent times. Since the 1940s gardens have been replanted and archaeologists are always busy, but there’s an enormous amount of work still to be done.

Besides the castle, three other sites are of interest -- the 13^th century cathedral built over the ruins of an earlier mosque, the Archaeological Museum, and the Cross of Portugal. The cathedral is huge, and what I found particularly interesting was the floor that contains the tombs and memorials of many knights, bishops and other notables, including one future king. In the museum a few blocks away, the main attraction is an enormous stone cistern dug 200 ft into the rock, another fine example of the Moors’ advanced building techniques, apparently designed to meet the expanded town’s needs, or as a backup to the one in the castle.

The Cross of Portugal is an intricately carved white limestone cross of unknown origin almost ten feet (3 m) tall, centuries old, which stands at the foot of the hill leading to the castle. One side portrays the Crucifixion, while the other displays a touching Pietà (Descent from the Cross). It is one of Portugal’s most cherished religious artifacts. Recently enclosed in a small shelter, it has braved the elements there, unguarded, for decades. What is truly remarkable is that it holds such a place of honour among the Portuguese that it hasn’t been vandalized. Can you imagine such an example of respect anywhere else?

Believe me, when visiting the Algarve, Silves is one place not to be missed.

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Comments

[Rainyb]

Wonderful detail! I thought I had been to Silves on on of my local Portugal tours but nothing looks familiar? I would have remembered this cross for sure ;o)