Alfama

Alfama was settled by the Romans and Visigoths. The Moors gave it the atmosphere and the name. In a reference to the hot springs found in the area, the name Alfama comes from alhama which means "hot baths" in Arab.

25 de Abril Bridge (also in a foggy day)

In 1953 a government commission started working in a proposal to build a bridge over the Tagus River. The process went ahead and the winner of the international bid was a consortium headed by the United States Steel Export Company. The construction began on 5th November 1962 and 45 months later, on the 6th August 1966, the bridge was inaugurated. The bridge was built by the American Bridge Company (part of the winning consortium) and eleven local companies. At the time of its completion, the bridge was the world's largest suspended bridge outside the USA and had the world's longest continuous truss and deepest foundation. The 25 de Abril Bridge is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco because it was built by the same company and because it is located near a tectonic fault in an area with a long history of earthquakes.




For the sharp eye...



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Vasco da Gama Bridge (in a foggy day)

The Vasco da Gama Bridge enables north-south traffic to bypass Lisbon. It was inaugurated on the 4th of April 1998 and is the longest bridge in Europe with its 17,2 Km (10.7 mi), 10 Km (6.2 mi) of which over the Tagus River. It got its name on the year of 500th anniversary of the discovery (by Vasco da Gama) of the sea route from Europe to India. The bridge was designed to hold up to an earthquake 4.5 times stronger than the 1755 Lisbon earthquake (estimated at 8.7 on the Richter scale) that devastated Lisbon.



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Bairro Alto - Rua Serpa Pinto

This is a view of the Serpa Pinto Street in the Bairro Alto area, one of the oldest districts of Lisbon. Serpa Pinto (1846-1900) was a explorer of the southern Africa and a colonial administrator. The Angolan village of Menongue was previously called Serpa Pinto.


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Lisbon, World

Dear Friends,
When I started this blog on the 27th July I wasn't sure it would last long. I stated several times my skills with the camera were limited but it didn’t worry me because I just wanted to show a bit of Lisbon. Along these past 5 months I learned I knew nothing about my city, and finally understood why so many people from all over the world visit it. I met people, I made a few good friends, I saw great pictures from wonderful places (some of them so close like Sintra or Porto), etc.
I whish a great year of 2007 to the world in general but particularly to all the 2006 visitors I'm able to identify: Analia from Uruguay, Aphotoaday from Lisbon, Portugal, Jennifer Schaeffer from Lincoln, Nebraska, Jenny from Sharon, Connecticut, João Proença from Sintra, Portugal, José Carvalho from Portugal, LP from Portugal, Manuel Tendero from Spain, Marjan Hols-Reis from Holland (living in Portugal), Meg and Ben Nakagawa from Nelson, New Zealand, Mile Stone from UK (living in Portugal), Nuno from Porto, Portugal, Paul (Nikon) from Providence, Rhode Island, Photo-effe from Switzerland, Portellini from Portugal, Spartacus O'Neal from San Francisco, California and Thiên from Seguin, Texas.


Photo by Nick Yee