In Portugal, the city of Silves is positioned inland, and around 15 minutes from the Algarve coast. It is pretty much in the centre of the Algarve. Once it was recognised as the capital of the region. It was being referred to as the Kingdom of the Algarve, up until the 19th century. The origin of Silves is linked as far back as 1000bc, when it is thought to have been a place inhabited by the Romans.
It became of further significance during the Moorish occupancy. This was in the 11th century, and the Moorish referred to it as Xelb. It is credited of being the cultural centre of learning, and this was for the entire Iberian Peninsular. It was ruled by Al-Mutamid, of Seville notoriety. It is a place with bloody history, as Silves became the stomping ground for Christians and Muslims in their battles of the 12th and 13th centuries. It was 1189 that saw Silves being retaken by its own, as Portugal’s own King Sancho came along with a team of Anglo-Saxon Crusaders and took it back.
After that it grew in importance as it became a trade route. This was up until the 15th century, when a massive influx of silt blocked the River Arade, and Silves no longer were linked to the sea. It is a city that sits on the top of a hill, and the remains of the castle overlook the river and the city. It is thought that the castle was cited right on top of a late Roman Visigothic Fortification, that dates back to the 4th century, The castle was actually begun by the Moors in 715. The city also has an old roman bridge which is named Ponte Romana. The bridge crosses the river. There is a gothic cathedral in the city, know as Se Velha. It was constructed in the 13th century, on top of where a Mosque was, and in the 15th century, it had an extension in the shape of the Chapel of Joao do Rego. The city is built on top of a really sizeable underground aquifer, which goes by the name of the Querença-Silves aquifer. It is the largest orange producer in the whole of the country. The Moors introduced oranges, here.
That is that with the history lesson, so what is modern Silves like? If you are from any big city or town in the world, then you will be quite within your right to class Silves as more of a village. It is considered to be lost in some kind of time warp. The shops shut for 2 hours at lunch, half day on a Saturday and all day on a Sunday. It has a plethora of small business that offer a broad range of products. Tobacconists and book shops, with shoe shops and those offering haberdashery. There are shops that do not have any real set theme. They sell products varying from blue tooth dongles, to garden gnomes! These shops are called Drogarias. As well as the aforementioned, there are lots of cafes.
The streets of Silves are paved with smooth shiny Calcada. This is a bad thing when combined with the steepness of the hills. The summer excursions can be made really slow and laborious because of this. And in the sweltering summer heat it is terrible. It is very much a place that has very little to offer by way of nightlife. If you are prepared to do some scouring then you may come across the occasional late night bar, but anyway, all of this is more than compensated for by the abundance of excellent restaurants. There is a seafood restaurant that everyone adores and it is called Rui’s Marisqueira. Others are Recantos dos Mouros (very good black pig; "porco preto"), Casa Velha, and café Ingles that does really good pizzas and pasta.
