Silves
Information on Silves
Silves was once the capital of the whole of the district of the Algarve, previously called Xelb, and was still referred to in the beginning of the 19th Century as the “Kingdom of the Algarve”.
Once a rich and powerful city, Silves today is an enchanting and sleepy town lying in the foothills of the Serra de Monchique Mountains. Silves is a beautiful area littered with orange and lemon trees, sitting on the banks of the Rio Arade. Property in this tranquil area is available for rent or sale and comes in the form of town houses, villas or apartments. The vast triangle defined by Silves is a land of fruit trees and vegetable gardens, of small villages where the houses have whitewashed walls, with doors and windows picked out in blue, and ornate chimneys that resemble a more solid version of lace. A walk through this region is a chance to appreciate the glowing colours of oranges, the green foliage of almond trees, the broad crowns of carob trees and the fig trees that are often bent right to the ground.
To the north lie the hills, smooth and round as pebbles covered with typically Mediterranean vegetation consisting of evergreen oaks, arbutus-berry trees, oaks, cistus and gorse. In a landscape of heat and light, the Arade and Funcho dams open like cool windows and the scattered white houses of villages offer welcome relief the near desert conditions in the hills. The area as a whole is home to a variety of animal life, including approximately 80 species of nesting birds.
Silves has a very pretty central square, Praça do Municipio, with palms and flowers, beautiful gardens, and a newly paved river front which leads you to the communal swimming pool and beyond. The municipal market building is on the main street opposite the river, and along this same street are numerous cafès with outside seating offering lovely river views. Within the town, there are cobbled streets, cafés and shops, some beautiful buildings from the times when Silves was a rich merchant’s town and remnants of the old walls, including the tower which now houses the municipal library.
History is rife in Silves, reminding you of its affluent and bold past as a Moorish capital named Xelb, capital of Al-faghar, the Moorish province of the Algarve. Its population of 30,000 spoke pure Arabic, according to the Arab chronicler Idrisi. The importance of Silves lay in the fact that it was the main access to the inland areas of the Algarve because of its river location. Ample history exists about Silves and its surrounding area. Standing proudly on a hill Silves can be traced back to existing some 1,000 BC. Evidence shows that it was already a place of note in Roman times but it became a really important place during its occupation in the early 11th Century by the Moors. Silves was packed with lavish palaces and created a cultural centre of learning for the whole Iberian Peninsular.
The Moors imported lions and other wild animals that are reputed to have roamed freely through exotic gardens in palaces under its Seville based powerful ruler Al-Mutamid. Born in Beja in 1040, he became the ruler of Silves at the tender age of thirteen. It is recorded that in 1189 there were over 15,000 inhabitants when the Knights of Santiago sacked the city with the assistance of the Anglo-Norman Crusaders. Two years later it was retaken by the Caliph Ben Yussef. It was only in 1242 that it was again under the control of the Portuguese Kings. From 1250 until 1267 the Algarve became a battle ground for its ownership between the Portuguese King Afonso III and the King of Castile. The matter was settled in the favour of the Portuguese by the Treaty of Badajoz.
Most of the town and nearly all its ancient buildings were destroyed by the earthquake of 1755. The impressive remains of the castle date back to the Moors and there is a remarkable underground water reservoir that is still used by the city today. It has the romantic name of “Cistern of the Enchanted Moorish Girl” and was said to be a principal factor in the fall of the town during its siege. The Museu Arqueológico has been constructed above the cistern and here a visitor will find exhibits of locally found objects including items from the Stone Age.
As a reminder of the Romans occupation is the Ponte Romana, a fine strong bridge over the Rio Arade below the city walls and rebuilt from the original in the 15th Century. The city’s earlier 13th Century Cathedral was built on the site of a Mosque and has suffered considerable alteration over the centuries. To the southwest side of the town is a modern statue celebrating the siege of 1189 in an appropriately named square, Largo dos Mártires, where it is suggested that the defending Moors were buried. Just to the northeast of the city is fascinating 16th Century granite cross that is located beside the road to the north. The most prominent monument is Castelo de Silves, which is now the best preserved castle in the Algarve. The castle and the Cathedral beside it are the first buildings you see as you approach Silves, as they sit on the hilltop above the town. The castle offers spectacular views from the battlements. It has eleven towers, two of which are barbicans, and thick walls that enclose an area of 12,000m². The castle once sheltered the old Moorish ‘alcáçova’ which was the residence of the lord of the city. Not much remains of the defensive walls and towers which protected Silves, but one of the four gates remains and is the ‘Torreão da Porta da Cidade’ (The turret of the City Gate). Inside the tower are two rooms and annexes which now house the Municipal Library.Sé de Silves (Cathedral of Silves) one of the Algarve’s few remaining gothic monuments with ancient tombs, sits alongside the castle and a network of narrow, cobbled streets take you down into the town. Another impressive sight is the ‘Cruz de Portugal’ (the Cross of Portugal), a 3m tall limestone cross dating from the 15th or 16th century, just to the right of the roundabout that leads to the castle at the eastern end of the river front. There is also a regional history museum Musueu Municipal de Arquelóagia (Municipal Archaeological Museum).
Silves is a compact town built on a series of terraces between the River Arade and the Silves Castle. First settled by Phoenician traders their riverside colony grew to become the Roman city of Sibilis, and then, from the 8th century, the Moorish city of Xelb. The Christians finally gained control in 1242. Much of this magnificent city was badly damaged by the 1755 earthquake. But reminders of its powerful past can be seen in the sandstone walls of the impressive Castle, which provides fantastic views from its battlements over the surrounding countryside.
The castle, where excavations have turned up relics from the Iron Age, the main Cathedral or Sé and the Archaeological Museum are all worth exploring. So too are the narrow, winding streets whose white-washed houses are the perfect background for the colourful bougainvillea, for the glimpses between houses of the River Arade, and the rolling hills of orange and lemon groves.
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