ENPI UMAYYAD
PROJECT
The Umayyad Route in the Algarve is part of the
international “Umayyad” project. Umayyad is a project
co-funded by the European Neighbourhood and
Partnership Instrument (ENPI) program in the area of
Cross Border Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CBC
Med), aimed at encouraging multilateral cooperation
between Europe and other countries located along the
Mediterranean coast.
Led by the “El legado andalusí” public foundation
(Spain), its partners in Portugal include the Algarve
Regional Cultural Office and the Algarve Regional
Tourism Entity, together with entities from five other
Mediterranean basin countries: Italy, Tunisia, Egypt,
Lebanon and Jordan.
The purpose of the project is to create a major crossborder tourist route – the Umayyad Route – subdivided
into national routes in each partner country. The
collection of routes have the common denominator of the
rich heritage handed down by the Umayyad dynasty
during its period of 8th-century Mediterranean
expansion.
The “Umayyad” project's plan includes coordinated
activities in each of the seven member countries, such as
action plans to structure and enhance the route,
awareness and training initiatives targeting local tourism
and cultural agents, and actions to publicize and promote
the route among local and international tourism
ALGARVE TOURIST OFFICES
Aeroporto Internacional de Faro
8001 – 701 Faro
Tel.: 289 818 582
[email protected]
Albufeira
Rua 5 de Outubro
8200 – 109 Albufeira
Tel.: 289 585 279
[email protected]
Alcoutim
Rua 1.º de Maio
8970 – 059 Alcoutim
Tel.: 281 546 179
[email protected]
Aljezur
Rua 25 de Abril, n.º 62
8670 – 054 Aljezur
Tel.: 282 998 229
[email protected]
Alvor
Rua Dr. Afonso Costa, n.º 51
8500 – 016 Alvor
Tel.: 282 457 540
[email protected]
Monchique
Largo S. Sebastião
8550 – 000 Monchique
Tel.: 282 911 189
[email protected]
Monte Gordo
Avenida Marginal
8900 - 000 Monte Gordo
Tel.: 281 544 495
[email protected]
Olhão
Largo Sebastião Martins
Mestre, n.º 8 A
8700 – 349 Olhão
Tel.: 289 713 936
[email protected]
Ponte Internacional do Guadiana
A22 – Monte Francisco
8950 - 206 Castro Marim
Tel.: 281 531 800
[email protected]
Praia da Rocha
Avenida Tomás Cabreira
8500 – 802 Praia da Rocha
Tel.: 282 419 132
[email protected]
Armação de Pêra
Avenida Marginal
8365 - 101 Armação de Pêra
Quarteira
Tel.: 282 312 145
Praça do Mar
[email protected] 8125 - 193 Quarteira
Tel.: 289 389 209
Carvoeiro
[email protected]
Praia do Carvoeiro
8400 – 517 Lagoa
Sagres
Tel.: 282 357 728
Rua Comandante Matoso
[email protected]
8650 – 357 Sagres
Tel.: 282 624 873
Castro Marim
[email protected]
Rua José Alves Moreira n.º 2 – 4
8950 – 138 Castro Marim
São Brás de Alportel
Tel.: 281 531 232
Largo de São Sebastião, n.º 23
[email protected]
8150 – 107 São Brás de Alportel
Tel. 289 843 165
Faro
[email protected]
Rua da Misericórdia, n.º 8 – 11
8000– 269 Faro
Silves
Tel.: 289 803 604
E. N. 124 (Parque das Merendas)
[email protected]
8300 – 000 Silves
Tel.: 282 098 927
Lagos
[email protected]
Praça Gil Eanes (Antigos Paços do Concelho)
8600 - 668 Lagos
Tavira
Tel.: 282 763 031
Praça da República, n.º 5
[email protected]
8800 – 329 Tavira
Tel.: 281 322 511
Loulé
[email protected]
Avenida 25 de Abril, n.º 9
8100 – 506 Loulé
Tel.: 289 463 900
[email protected]
operators.
These project activities are aimed at creating greater
territorial consistency through a sustainable and
responsible tourism and cultural route which optimizes
accessibility and relationships between Mediterranean
basin countries.
THE UMAYYAD ROUTE IN THE ALGARVE
This cultural and tourist route seeks to impart the
There are also a number of memorial locations which,
Along this route, travellers will enjoy a wide diversity
deep human, cultural, artistic and scientific
lacking a physical record, clearly stand out as
of landscapes in an area with three different
relationship established between the East and West,
intangible heritage. In addition, archaeological
geomorphological zones: mountains, Algarve
and the handover of the Greco-Roman legacy to
remains are displayed in museums, or at museum
barrocal and coastline, with areas of reserves,
Europe through Al-Andalus.
hubs, throughout the entire region.
natural parks and protected landscapes, together
The Portuguese territory of the Algarve has the
The Umayyad route in the Algarve is a trip along the
longest-standing Muslim diachrony, with the name
region's ancient pathways, with several of the
"Algarve" originating from the Arabic term al-Gharb
Algarve's most authentic, archetypal locales in terms
(west), an example of etymology speaking directly to
of landscape and culture.
with countless classified sites that will delight nature
lovers. The local cuisine and age-old traditions still
found in today's Algarve help to round out an
enriching – and certainly unforgettable – cultural
journey.
us about a region's past.
The Algarve's geographic boundary corresponds to
the area which once belonged to the Visigothic
provincial diocese in the 6th century, and later to the
UMAYYAD ROUTE MAP IN THE ALGARVE
kūra, the Islamic province of Ossonoba, in the 8th to
Alcoutim
13th centuries.
The Visigothic diocese of Ossonoba was conquered in
Martinlongo
the early 8th century (713) for the Umayyad
caliphate of Damascus, by the troops of 'Abd al-'Azīz,
son of Mūsa, governor of Ifrīqiya (modern-day
Aljezur
Monchique
Tunisia).
The Umayyad realm in the Mediterranean and the
Algarve was an important time of economic and
Vila Real de
Santo António
Silves
Cacela Velha
cultural prosperity that left an indelible trace on
São Brás de Alportel
Alvor
Portuguese culture.
Tavira
Vila do Bispo
Estói
The Algarve's Umayyad legacy highlights the
Vilamoura
vestiges of urban walls and of husun, fortified
Faro
palatine clusters owned by clan groups who
dominated a territory and its natural resources.
FINANCED BY:
PROMOTED BY:
ALCOUTIM
SÃO BRÁS DE ALPORTEL
CACELA-VELHA
Nestled in a small valley between two waterways, the Cadavais
This village is located next to one of the
This typical Algarve mountain town has streets of low
Stream and the Guadiana River, Alcoutim stands out for the
most important wetlands of
whitewashed houses attached to buildings with façades adorned
harmony of its whitewashed houses with the river and
Europe, the Ria Formosa.
with tile, fine stonework and iron balconies.
surrounding highlands.
Cacela-Velha, the Islamic
São Brás de Alportel is surrounded by hills abounding in rockroses,
In this pleasant border town, there is a small Umayyad estate
Qast'alla, is a settlement
cork oaks and strawberry trees. In Islamic times, it was likely a
built of schist and graywacke. Its
overlooking the sea, and
fortified settlement.
archaeological evidence traces it
well-defended by a
back to the 9th century,
fortress.
SILVES
although there are no
known
medieval
documents
with
references to this
magnificent structure.
The town's castle was
During Umayyad times,
from the 10th to 11th
right bank of the Arade River, protected by the surrounding
centuries, it would become an
highlands. Silves, with its powerful defences, river port, rich
urban hub of some importance, ruling
bazaar, abundant woodlands and gardens, and a population
over a territory roughly the same as that of the ancient Roman
originating from Yemen speaking the purest Arabic, began to
city of Balsa.
defence and the integrity of the
national territory, and houses the world's largest known
collection of Umayyad-period board games.
dominate the Algarve in the second half of the 10th century,
sometimes even with an autonomous kingdom, and always with a
erected during the 14th
century for reasons of strategic
The Islamic medina, much like the modern city, overlooked the
Cacela-Velha likely rose to the status of the main Eastern
Umayyad iqlim (administrative zone), with a territory
extending from the coastal lands to the Guadiana River.
consecrated intellectual centre. The court of governor and poet AlMu'tamid, the future Abbadid king of Seville, represents the city's
union of economic pomp and intellectual splendour at the time.
Also in the 10th century, the Mozarabic Bishop of Ossonoba,
TAVIRA
Julian, was entombed here, as attested by a tombstone,
ALJEZUR
Aljezur, a name of Arabic origin (al-Jazīra, the island), reveals
denoting the continuity of the Christian cult under Umayyad
rule.
important maritime trading post.
the fact that the foundation area on the castle hill was once
ESTÓI
surrounded by water. The castle may have started as a rustic
home with a defensive tower, or just a rural fence at the highest
part of the hilltop, built during Umayyad times. The castle
overlooks the wetlands irrigated by the Aljezur Stream, the
urban expansion around the new church (late 18th century),
the Espinhaço de Cão Mountains and the Atlantic Coast.
In Arrifana, visit the Ribate da Arrifana archaeological site, the
monastery/fortress where Sufi master Ibn Qasī from Silves
wrote a major portion of his mystical work during a spiritual
Starting in the early 12th century, Muslim Tavira became an
Two factors made its port one of the Algarve's most defensible: the
bar at the time was located near the fortress settlement of Cacela,
Estói is located on a hillside in the transition zone between the
at the end of a long stretch of water
coast and the Algarve barrocal. The scale of human occupation
which ships had to traverse
has remained controlled and contained. Its buildings have
before firing weapons near
characteristics of the late 18th, late 19th and early 20th
the city walls; also, its
centuries with stonework, platband and mass features.
strategic position gave it
command of one of the
The Roman ruins of Milreu remained occupied during Umayyad
Algarve's oldest bridges,
times, including a large-sized manor house, farming facilities,
which in this case crossed
bathhouse and temple.
over the Gilão River and
retreat.
ALVOR
Little is known of the Islamic city of Al-Būr, an Arabic name
The palace of Estói, with its gardens, fountains and statues, is a
gave continuity to the
noteworthy example of architectural heritage of marked
east/west road from Seville
eclecticism, and the most significant expression of
to Silves, bypassing the
Romanticism in the Algarve.
impassible mountain lands.
which replaced the Latinized name of Ipsa (Ipses).
against incoming enemies from the beach. The castle's origin
may be tied to the late Umayyad emirate or early Umayyad
caliphate, due to the square layout of the property and the
apparatus used. The people of Al-Būr enjoyed the productivity
The richness and prosperity of the Islamic city of Faro were
leveraged by the navigability of its port and the productivity of
its surroundings.
of the Alvor Ria, a humid area formed by the merging
The port extended over the entire current square facing Vila-a-
waterways from the southern slopes of the Monchique
Dentro, with the waters of spring tides
Mountains. Here, the ria cuts the coastal landscape, marked by
bathing the city walls and creating
the shapes and colours of the seacliffs.
a swamp area, in large part
today's yard of São
CABO DE SÃO VICENTE
VILA REAL DE SANTO ANTÓNIO
FARO
In the Castle Square, a small hisn protects the fishing village
Francisco and Manuel
Bívar garden.
Cape St. Vincent is the westernmost point of continental
Europe. The landscape has a steep coastline, covered in rough
The city's entryway, for
vegetation, punctuated by capes and rock constantly battered
those coming from the
by the wind, in a natural setting of rare beauty and quality.
port of refuge, was
Built in 1774 in the desert sands near the mouth of the Guadiana
River to control Algarve fishing, it is a compelling example of the
rationality of enlightened urbanism and the only case of an “ex
novo” city from the time of the Marquis of Pombal.
Once travellers cross the border, they will find near the Guadiana
River the salt flats of the Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo
António Marsh Natural Reserve, and can choose to start the
Umayyad Route by following the course of the river.
Over the course of their journey, they will discover castles and
fortresses which arose during the territorial battles to establish
the Portuguese/Spanish border (Castelo de Castro Marim, Forte
de São Sebastião), along with rustic villages.
VILAMOURA
through a right-angle door
Age-old tradition associates this point with the tomb of St.
where, encrusted in an 18th-
Vilamoura, born half a century ago out of the old Quinta do
Vincent Martyr, rescued, on the coast, in the 4th century, after a
century building, the Algarve's
Morgado in Quarteira, has risen to become Europe's largest luxury
tormented journey from the place of his martyrdom. The body
only in situ horseshoe arch, attributed to
tourist complex, holding within the memories of its distant past.
was laid to rest at the Church of Corvo, which al-Idrisi (12th
the 11th century, can still be found.
century) called Kaniçat al-Ghurab.
The wall's path is entirely individual, in the current city setting,
The church, during Umayyad times, quickly became a major
despite restorations and adaptations.
Mozarabic Christian and even Muslim
while a tractor was working the fields.
In Umayyad times, the residential, port and agricultural
pilgrimage centre. Today, it is
MONCHIQUE
merely a place of memory,
without vestiges.
The archaeological site of Cerro da Vila is located before the
modern and lively Vilamoura Marina, and was discovered in 1963
structures of the ancient Roman villa were occupied by people
who divided their time between seafaring
Near Monchique, the Alferce Castle is a Bronze-Age settlement
and agricultural pursuits.
which continued to be occupied at least until the end of the
Travellers can feel the
mystical force still
emanating today from
Umayyad emirate era, which served as a hisn or refuge in the
8th century. The site was most likely abandoned in the 11th
residential complex was
century.
finally abandoned, due to
parts of the cape in places
such as the Fortresses of
In the mid-11th century, the
maritime piracy and to the
Protected by the surrounding hills, the Alferce Castle covers an
Sagres, St. Vincent Cape and
extensive area from a high hilltop in the eastern Picota
Beliche, or even in a foray
Mountains. It offers a broad panoramic view all the way to the
through the territory's impressive
coast.
port's progressive
siltation.
Vilamoura also serves as a
collection of menhirs which date from the early Neolithic
starting point for discovering
period, the sixth century before the Christian era.
Loulé and its Almohad walls and
baths.