Holiday apartments in Alvor
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The Carthaginians are the creators of Alvor, and the story of Alvor is very captivating. Romans had given it the name of Ipses, back then it was considered an important port and allowed to issue its own money. The long history of Alvor is clear from the discovery on Vila Velha hill (which overlooks the Ria de Alvor) of a Neolithic village retaining traces of subsequent Roman settlement.
Alvor is a river inlet, a picturesque fishing village fixed in between Lagos and Portimao in the western Algarve. The Romans gave it the name Ipses and it was used as a place for boat docking by them for 600 years, there are the ruins of a Roman villa positioned a little inland from the village. The Moors then arrived in the Algarve in 716 AD, and Alvor which they named Albur would again have been used both as a harbor and as a part of their coastal defences during the 500 years of their control of the Algarve.
In 1242 the Moors were finally defeated at Silves and left the Algarve completely; sadly any remnants of the Moors' town were destroyed by both the earthquakes of 1532 and 1755. King Dom Joao II, who is reported in Portuguese history as one of Portugal's most outstanding kings died in Alvor during 1495 following a long illness.
The authentic 16th Century Parish Church in Alvor was repaired after the earthquake of 1755 and still has a perfect example in its main doorway of the first-class craftsmanship of the Manueline era of architecture. It was the only construction that more or less survived from the earthquake.
Almost 20 years ago Alvor was a very small fishing village, since then there has been a substantial amount of building of hotels and apartment buildings and several golf courses nearby. The waterfront until about 2000 was what you would expect of a small fishing village, since then there have been new snack bars and cafe bars constructed along a new road, the old fishermen's huts have been cleared away and new wooden buildings constructed for them on the south east side of the lagoon.
Alvor is also well known for its attractively colored small fishing boats, the boats are still very much about, but the fishermen now tend to use the much easier to look after modern fiberglass boats, and you can still see the fishermen preparing their catch, down by the fisherman's shelter on the jetty, ready to provide the restaurants. A very recent developement is the creation of a man made lagoon with four islands in the south eastern corner of the lagoon. Portugal is very strong on conserving the natural habitat for wildlife and it had become clear that with the Alvor estuary becoming popular for visiting yachts, kite sufing, water skiing, diving and pleasure boating
They also boast new concrete pier with a crane for small boats plus two concrete slipways and a new marina. The marina is small with just three pontoons and is completely full with local boats, most of them used for fishing. Whilst rafting is not commonplace in Portugal it has become the norm at Alvor for the larger fishing boats.
Alvor with around 150 restaurants and bars, has possibly the most accumulation of places to eat in the Algarve, you can try anything from charmingly cooked fresh fish, grilled sardines served with home made bread or boiled potatoes being a specialty to chicken piri-piri, and lots of other customary Portuguese meals, or you could visit one of the excellent Chinese or Indian restaurants, with so much to choose from where do you start!
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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