Convents, monasteries, cathedrals, Cistercians, Dominicans. It’s almost like being back in England. But in Portugal, absent Henry VIII, many of the convents and monasteries haven’t been left in ruins. Take the Convent at Tomar, for example. It began as a crusader fortress where the Knights Templar sallied out against the infidel Moors. After the Reconquista it grew to what it remains today, an incredible, nearly intact monument to the Middle Ages.
Batalha Monastery
The Dominican monastery at Batalha is even more impressive. It is immense and comes complete with wonderful stained glass and the mosaics of color they cast on the stone floors. The funerary chapel contains the tombs of Dom João I and his wife, Queen Philippa of Lancaster whose. marriage united Portugal and England.
Stained glass patterns
Seeing these ancient buildings in their entirety rather than as rubble gives one a good idea of what life was like in the Middle Ages. But somehow I miss imagining the ghosts that haunted the English ruins.
