Portugal, Evora - Day 8

I've started to wonder if I've lost count of the days... is this really day 8? Well we will pretend like it is.  Our last night in the Algarve and I forgot to post the pictures of our last walk on the beach...

This morning we got up and drove to the town of Evora. It's the most inland we've been and man is this heatwave killer.  It got up to at least 95 today as we walked around.   The town is lovely but we happened to come on a festival day so almost everything was closed.  It made for some good photos though!  Evora was a medieval walled city and has a lot of amazing things to offer including an aqueduct dating from the 16th century.  

In the oldest part of the town, we headed for the Cathedral of Evora.  Never one to pass up a tower climb... you guessed it, we climbed to the top.  To be honest... the views were well worth it.  Built between 1280 and 1340 it is considered one of the most important Gothic buildings in Portugal.

Our next site were the ruins of a Roman temple.  I actually got a great look at it from the top of the cathedral.

This 1st century temple is thought to be part of the cult of the emperor.  It survived by being built into a building in medieval times.  It was reconstructed and returned to the state you see around 1869 as the surround structure was destroyed.

As we wandered the streets headed for our next church, we discovered theChurch of Nossa Senhora da Graça down an alleyway.  Built around 1511 it had a simple interior with an amazing facade.

At last we got to Igreja de São Francisco.  Though we couldn't really go too far inside as they were preparing for an organ concert that night.  However.... skip down to see the real reason for our visit.

Capela dos Ossos also known as the Chapel of Bones.  And it lived up to its name.  Over the entry way:

“We bones that here are, for yours await", or, more poetically, "We bones you see in this poor state for you and yours do sit and wait".  (yes that's a direct lift from wikipedia!) . Built in the 16th century by a Franciscan Friar, the whole point of the chapel was to push people to reflect on mortality.

For now that completes the sightseeing part of Evora.  We're currently sitting in the bar of our charming hotel, getting ready to head out to dinner.  Until tomorrow brings more photos!