Fatima

Another short ride and we were at the Santuary of Fatima. On May 13, 1917, three shepherd children, Lucia Santos, age 10, and her two young cousins, Jacinta Marta and Francisco, claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary told them that she would appear on the same day for the next 6 months. On the last day that she appeared, she told Lucia the “Secret of Fatima,” made up of three messages: first was a vision of Hell; second, that a war worse than World War I would occur; and third, a papal assination was foretold. (It depends on which source you read as to what these messages were.) On the left of the photo is the Capela das Aparicoes (Chapel of Apparitions), the site of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary.

Fatima

Fatima

Inside the Chapel of Apparitions. Pope John Paul II put the bullet used in the 1981 attempt on his life in the crown of the statue of the Virgin Mary in this chapel.

Fatima

Fatima

Close–up of the basilica. Its tower is 200 feet high.

Fatima

Fatima

Another view of the basilica with statues of saints on top of the colonnades.

Fatima

Fatima

Close–up of one of the statues.

Fatima

Fatima

Tiles outside the basilica.

Fatima

Fatima

Sign at the entrance.

Fatima

Fatima

Inside the basilica. There was a mass going on, with the priest singing the mass. Hence, we could not walk around inside and view the tombs of Jacinta and Francesco. They both died soon after the visions, during a flu epidemic. Both were beatified in May 2000. Lucia became a nun and died at the age of 97 in 2005. I don’t know where she is buried.

Fatima

Fatima

Close–up.

Fatima

Fatima

Inside the basilica.

Fatima

Fatima

A stained–glass window.

Fatima

Fatima

A station of the cross.

Fatima

Fatima

View from the basilica.

Fatima

Fatima

If you want to light a candle here, you are not allowed to do it in the basilica. Instead, you light them in what looks like a huge firepit near the Chapel of Apparitions.

Fatima

Fatima

You can buy candles of all sizes to light here. The result is a bit strange.

Fatima

Fatima

The four very neat (at least for awhile) candles that I lit.

Fatima

Fatima

The Igreja da Santissima Trindade, built in 2006 to handle the overflow of worshippers. It can hold 9,000 people. I didn’t have time to go inside it because I stopped off at the religious souvenir stores.

Fatima

Fatima

Cross and statue of Pope John Paul II.

Fatima

Fatima

Close of the statue of John Paul II (Joao Paulo II).

Fatima

Fatima

Statues of Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia seen on our way out of Fatima.

Fatima

Tomar

Now we were on our way to Tomar. Our first view of the Convento de Cristo above the town of Tomar. We were to visit it tomorrow.

Tomar

Tomar

We checked into our hotel, the Dos Templarios, a very nice hotel in walking distance of the town of Tomar. All our hotels on this tour were centrally located.

Tomar

Tomar

View from the hotel of the River Nabao and the town of Tomar. The town was founded in 1157 by Gualdin Pais, the first grandmaster of the Order of the Templars in Portugal.

Tomar

Tomar

We were on our own time now and Rui suggested that we visit the synagogue of Tomar, one of the oldest ones in Portugal. We first walked down this street.

Tomar

Tomar

And then down this street.

Tomar

Tomar

Inside the synagogue. It was last used as a place of worship in 1497, the year that King Manuel I banished all Jews who refused to convert to Christianity.

Tomar

Tomar

Inside the synagogue. It is now a museum.

Tomar

Tomar

Window in the synagogue.

Tomar

Tomar

Painting on the wall.

Tomar

Tomar

I walked from the synagogue to the very pretty main square of Tomar: the Praca da Republica. You can see the convent in the hills above.

Tomar

Tomar

Close–up of the statue of Gualdim Pais, founder of Tomar. The cross is of the Knights Templar.

Tomar

Tomar

This cross on the sidewalk is of the Knights of Christ, the knights of the Convento de Cristo (more about these knights when we visit the convent tomorrow).

Tomar

Tomar

In the opposite direction in this square is the Gothic Sao Joao Baptista church, built in the late 15th century.

Tomar

Tomar

Close–up of the clock on the outside of the church.

Tomar

Tomar

Also on the outside of the church appear the Knights of Christ cross, a coat of arms, and an armillary sphere, symbols of Manueline architecture.

Tomar

Tomar

The Manueline portal of the church.

Tomar

Tomar

Inside the church.

Tomar

Tomar

A close–up.

Tomar

Tomar

Very plain stations of the cross.

Tomar

Tomar

From the square, I walked down the Rua Serpa Pinto, Tomar’s shopping street.

Tomar

Tomar

There were many interesting buildings on this street.

Tomar

Tomar

Another, with a bit different tiled front.

Tomar

Tomar

A very pretty building.

Tomar

Tomar

And another.

Tomar

Tomar

We ate dinner at our hotel tonight. A colorful mural lined its wall. Photo: Part of the mural.

Tomar

Tomar

The knights going off to war. This was quite an exciting day, visiting so many interesting places.

Tomar