Lisbon, Portugal

The entrance to Commerce Square in Lisbon is guarded by a triumphal arch, Arco da Rua Augusta. Building gateway arches was one way in which the cities of Europe competed with each other (a) to see who could have the most majestic and (b) to put them in the same frame as ancient Rome which used them as marks of wealth and power. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Merry Christmas! Maybe you've never been to Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, but you still recognize the scene portrayed in its Gothic embellishments. You find it all over the world. It's a ubiquitous emblem of the Christian faith. If you had to boil Christianity down to only 12 iconic images (for the 12 days of Christmas) which ones would you choose? [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Sixty trams serve Lisbon. This one serves the tourist destinations, of which there are many in this former imperial capital. It almost looks as if it goes back to the early 1900s when fixed-rail transit first arrived in the city. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon's trams run on the electricity provided by overhead lines, so don't think that EVs, or electric vehicles, are something new. Line 15 trams are modern and air-conditioned, while other lines resemble trams of yesteryear. [2009] 

Lisbon, Portugal

Crowded bus stops, lifespan diversity on city streets, elevated (really elevated) highways soaring over 6-story buildings, no private automobiles in sight, plus a small fleet of night buses materializing after dark: Rarely do you see such scenes in American cities. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Built on a near-shore island at the mouth of the Tagus River, the Belem Tower has marked the gateway to Lisbon since the Portuguese inaugurated the Age of Discovery in the 1500s. Backing up the tower is a magisterial landscape that honors the first world-class capital city. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Rossio Square has served as a commons for the people of Lisbon since the Middle Ages. It has invigilated Portugal's rise to power and has become the capital's equivalent of Madrid's Plaza Mayor. But, while Spain has chosen an absolute monarch to dominate its signature plaza, Portugal has chosen a modernist king, Dom Pedro IV. There he is atop the column. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

At 4:28 pm GMT today, just as the sun is setting over Lisbon, the winter train will pull into the Gare do Oriente, Portugal's busiest (and prettiest) station. It's the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

In the foreground is the Alfama quarter, the place where the city of Lisbon got started as a Phoenician trading post three thousand years ago. In the background is the open ocean: an invitation to close the book on Mediterranean history and begin the preface to the book on globalization that continues to be written today. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

A castle has dominated the mouth of the Tagus River since Roman times, but the fortification seen here dates from the era of Portugal's post-Reconquista king Fernando I. The medieval period was an era when the map of power (political geography) was tightly coupled with the contours of the land (physical geography). [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Winston Smith says: 'Just say NO' to everything that threatens privacy. We now have the technology to watch and record everything everywhere, and we can store all that information forever. It's time to read (or re-read) the most prescient book of the 20th century, Nineteen Eighty Four. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Remember the TV show from the 1960s?  "My Three Sons."  Here they are, in Lisbon, enjoying their summer holiday. Just look at the enthusiasm on their faces. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

What does delivering the daily news have to do with a lighthouse? To geographers, it's all about reading the landscape. Lighthouses tell pilots how to wisely navigate turbulent waters. Newspapers tell patrons how to wisely navigate turbulent times. Thank you to Lisbons's Diário de Notícias. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

No wasted space here. Whether land or water, the lure of geography has assured intensive use of this site for centuries. Every yacht that leaves the Doca de Bélem turns back the clock to the 1400s, when da Gama and Diaz used the mouth of the Tagus River to open up the world ocean. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Every waterfront tourist precinct needs a lighthouse, especially Belém, historic home of the Portuguese royals. One of those royals, a Portuguese Prince, led Europe onto the world ocean in the 1400s, shining the light of discovery on shores near and far. The knowledge acquired illuminated the home continent. Feel free to provide a post-colonial critique. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Walking down many a street in Lisbon is like walking through an art gallery. The facade of almost every building is unique because it is clad with comely azulejos. They add color and symmetry to the urban landscape. Could they be yet another contribution of the Moors? [2009]

Faro, Portugal

Portugal sent Lusophonia to Brazil, and Brazil sent Bougainvillea to Portugal (albeit via the French, and not until the 18th century). Bougainvillea enjoys the sun and doesn't mind a little dryness. It seems perfectly suited to the Mediterranean climate of the Algarve and its climatic companion in North America, California. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

Every city of southern Europe, Lisbon included, has its patron saint, many of them martyrs like St. Vincent. Just as St. Vincent's body was protected from wild animals by the ravens (see them?), St. Vincent will protect Lisbon. The name of the 17th century monastery in the background? The Monastery of São Vicente, of course. [2009]

Lisbon, Portugal

The Kingdom of Portugal led Europe onto the Atlantic beginning in the 1400s. Much of the credit goes to Prince Henry the Navigator. Here he leads the pack of European explorers from the bow of a monumental caravel rising above the Tagus River in Belem, the royal heart of Lisbon. [2009]