We visited Evora's most famous site this morning: Igreja de Sao Francisco and its associated Capela dos Ossos (Bone Chapel). This chapel is built entirely out of bones and cement. It's estimated there are over 5000 bones belonging to the monks used to build this chapel. Despite its gruesome look, the purpose of this chapel is to remind us the fleeting nature of life itself. The saying on the entrance door translates to "We bones that here are, for yours await". The museum inside the rebuilt church is also nicely done and gives a fantastic view of the hill city.
Next we drove to the nearby archeological site "Cromeleque dos Almendres" which is a megalithic complex consisting of a collection of giant stones laying out in specific positions for what believes to be religious or just ceremonial purpose. The construction of this complex dates back over 6000BC! This is the "Stonehenge" of Portugal!
After almost a week of touring Portugal and Spain since we landed in Lisbon, we came full circle back to Lisbon. First thing we noticed is that Lisbon is filled with tourists. Everywhere is busy and filled with people. Walking down the wide Avenida Liberdade, you can feel the grandeur of decades or even centuries past when Portugal was the world power. The iconic Lisbon trams ply the streets near the waterfront. In the distance across the river, we could see the long bridge where we drove into the city. Lisbon also has a statue of Christ on top of the hill across the river.
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