Trace Elements
Condé Nast Traveler US|January - February 2024
In Lisbon and southern Portugal, Sarah Khan seeks out a palimpsest of the region's rich Islamic history
Trace Elements

THE MARIGOLD FAÇADE of the Pousada Convento in Tavira, a town on Portugal's southern coast, gleams in the late-afternoon sun. Refreshing as it is to sip chilled pineapple juice in the AIgarve heat, it's not the promise of shade that leads me into its cloisters. The tranquil courtyard, flanked by cheery yellow walls and weathered colonnades, is a portal to the 16th century, when the structure was built for an order of Augustinian nuns.

While transforming the convent into a hotel in 2006, developers began carving out a swimming pool. "A joke that archaeologists and historians make here is that if you dig a hole, you're going to find something," says João Pedro de Matos, a researcher with a postgraduate degree from Universidade de Évora. The excavations revealed vestiges of a medieval Muslim quarter dating back to the 13th century. The site is now a tiny museum under wthe hotel bar. The cost of my drink covers my entrance fee. The bartender points me toward a staircase with a tiny placard: AImohad (Islamic) Quarter.

Beginning in the eighth century, Arabs from North Africa reigned over much of the Iberian peninsula, until the Reconquista, a movement by Christian kingdoms to expel Muslims from the region, reclaimed Portugal in 1249 and Spain in 1492. "I like to say they brought the light to Europe," a driver in Lisbon tells me, describing how Muslim advancements in mathematics, medicine, engineering, and astronomy ushered the region out of the Dark Ages. In neighboring Spain, it's easy to trace the footsteps of the Moors in Andalusia, formerly the kingdom of AI-Andalus. But in Portugal you have to work a little harder to see what remains of this inheritance in AI-Gharb, modern-day AIgarve.

この記事は Condé Nast Traveler US の January - February 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Condé Nast Traveler US の January - February 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER USのその他の記事すべて表示
ANCIENT WAY
Condé Nast Traveler US

ANCIENT WAY

The vivid colors and patterns typical of robes in Benzilan A centuries-old trading route through China's Yunnan Province unlocks a land of rice paddies and teahouses where tradition persists in the face of modernity's relentless push

time-read
7 分  |
March 2025
ROLLING ON THE RIVER
Condé Nast Traveler US

ROLLING ON THE RIVER

With the launch of Viking Mississippi, American cruising enters its next chapter

time-read
1 min  |
March 2025
HOLD THAT THOUGHT
Condé Nast Traveler US

HOLD THAT THOUGHT

At a big-hearted temple retreat in rural Japan, Zen rituals fused with mindfulness practices teach Kate Crockett to be more present

time-read
4 分  |
March 2025
be cool
Condé Nast Traveler US

be cool

Outside the summer months, Lake Como hums with a slower, more local rhythm. Now travelers re getting wise to the appeal of the legendary Italian vacation spot in all seasons

time-read
9 分  |
March 2025
BLUE ORIGIN
Condé Nast Traveler US

BLUE ORIGIN

At a retreat on Costa Rica's Papagayo Peninsula, one of the world's longevity hot spots, Maria Yagoda remembers the importance of living well

time-read
7 分  |
March 2025
CITY OF DREAMS
Condé Nast Traveler US

CITY OF DREAMS

On the ever-shifting banks of the Mississippi River, French, Spanish, Haitian, and African influences have shaped the contours of modern New Orleans, that singular mecca of jazz, jambalaya, and Mardi Gras. Now, 20 years after the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Crescent City resident Leslie Pariseau finds a complex but resilient community where no idea is too far-fetched

time-read
10 分  |
March 2025
CUTE COUPLE
Condé Nast Traveler US

CUTE COUPLE

Japan's long-standing romance with Italian food is playing out in inventive ways all over Tokyo

time-read
3 分  |
March 2025
TECH SUPPORT
Condé Nast Traveler US

TECH SUPPORT

With cutting-edge treatments increasingly jostling for space with traditional therapies, Kelsey Eisen ponders our recent obsession with all things science-backed

time-read
3 分  |
March 2025
IN GOOD COMPANY
Condé Nast Traveler US

IN GOOD COMPANY

For Jen Murphy, a group hiking retreat in the California desert shows that community and connection are cornerstones of a healthy life

time-read
4 分  |
March 2025
IN BLOOM
Condé Nast Traveler US

IN BLOOM

Just off the beaches of southern Sri Lanka, a design-forward lifestyle district is flourishing Just off the beaches of southern Sri Lanka, a design-forward lifestyle district is flourishing

time-read
2 分  |
March 2025