2. The small city of Sintra is truly one of Portugal’s gems. It is located about ½ hour from Lisbon and can be easily reached by train or road. It has a lot of wonders to see and its position between woodlands and the sea made it the favorite summer retreat of Moorish Lords and the kings of Portugal. Several palaces are located in the city and its surrounding areas. This presentation shows pictures of the city and the Royal Palace. Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira palace are shown in separate presentations.

3. CITY HALL BUILT IN 1906 IN NEO-GOTHIC STYLE

5. INTERESTING SCULPTURE ON THE STREET IN FRONT OF THE PARK FRONT VIEW SIDE VIEW

6. WOMEN ON POLES I do not know why they climbed there

8. ARTIST STUDIO

9. PEDRO TEIXEIRA SCULPTURE IN FRONT OF THE STUDIO

10. The Sintra National Palace is located in the center of the town. It is the best preserved medieval Royal Palace in Portugal, having been inhabited more or less continuously at least from the early 15 th, up to the late 19th century. The palace was originally the residence of the Moorish rulers of the region and later become the summer retreat of the kings of Portugal. Today is open to the public.

11. Aerial view of the palace. The conical chimneys were in use for the palace's big kitchen.

12. MAIN ENTRANCE Do you see the Princess?

14. WINDOWS WITH MOORISH STYLE DECORATIONS

15. BEAUTIFUL VAULTED CORRIDOR WITH SHIP PAINTINGS

16. Coats-of-Arms Room (Sala dos Brasões) (1515-1518), has a magnificent wooden coffered domed ceiling decorated with 72 coats-of-arms of the King and the main Portuguese noble families. The walls are decorated with beautiful tile panels.

24. Nice pieces of original furniture (not from the 16 th century) are decorating the rooms

29. Each swan is different

30. VERY ORNATE CHAPEL

31. Pegas' Room with magpies (pegas) painted on the ceiling. The story is that King John was caught in the act of kissing a lady-in-waiting by his Queen. To make fun of the gossiping ladies of the court, he had the room decorated with as many magpies as were women in the Queen's entourage.

33. PATIO SCULPTURE

34. WILD FLOWERS CAN GROW ANYWHERE!

35. I FOUND THE DEVIL ON THE STREETS OF SINTRA AND I DARED TO TOUCH HIM! SEE YOU SOON IN OTHER PLACES Presentation and pictures by Dan Calistrat dcalistrat@aol.com