The third, and last, day trip we did was to Evora. There were several highlights to the tour we booked through the tourism office in Lisbon.
Evora
Megaliths at Almendres
Megalith
The first stop we were taken to on the way to Evora was the megaliths at Almendres. It is the site of one of the oldest stone circles in Europe dating back to the 5th and 4th century B.C. Some of the stones that were pointed out to us still had visible engravings and designs. Our tour guide made sure it was a surprise so that we wouldn’t expect to see to such things in Portugal. We were told these megaliths are among many scattered around Evora. Reading online, Evora and its region has been continuously occupied for 20,000 years.
Cork Plantation
Cork Oak Tree
The megaliths are surrounded by a cork plantation. To get to the megaliths we were driven, and also walked, through a portion of the cork plantation on a dirt road and path. On our walk back to the car we were educated on the harvesting process of the cork oak tree.
The trees take 25 years to grow and produce the first cork and can live up to 150 years. The first harvest can’t be used for cork stoppers in wine. It takes seven to eight years in between subsequent harvests for the bark to grow back. After each harvest, the year it was harvested is marked on the tree as a way to ensure the correct amount of time has passed. It’s at the third harvest that cork can be used as stoppers for wine. Cork from Portugal accounts for 50% of the world’s production.
Cork Products
Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones)
Chapel of Bones
The Chapel of Bones was interesting to see as well. It’s next to the entrance to the Church of St. Francis. The chapel is small and the interior walls are covered and decorated with human skulls and bones which is why it’s called the Chapel of Bones.
In reading information online, the chapel is a well-known monument in Evora. It was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan monk. We were told that the church was considered a ‘gold’ church and wasn’t supposed to be. In the spirit of most of Franciscan monasteries, the church was suppose not have too many riches. The monk who built the chapel, as part of the Counter-Reformation, wanted to encourage the other monks to be contemplative about their life being transitory and allowed the human bones to make its way onto the walls of the chapel. Other sources online stated that three Fransciscan monks excavated the bones and placed them in the chapel to be closer to god.
The number of skeletons of monks was calculated to be about 5000.
Evora
Evora’s Plaza
The town itself has other sites to see. There are Roman ruins, maybe not as exciting as the Chapel of Bones, as well as quite small. It was nice to see something different that the monasteries around Portugal. We had time to explore the town on our own – we did some shopping, looked around, had a coffee break, and then met our tour guide to head back to Lisbon.
Roman Ruins
