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#TravelInFashion: Lisbon — opening the gates

русская версия | english version

30 августа 2023

#TravelInFashion: Lisbon — opening the gates

Ignatious Joseph

“Observe in Ceylon, a mountain so high
It tops the clouds and eludes sight;
It is believed sacred, for there
On a rock is the footprint of a man.”

So wrote Luís Vaz de Camoes about that distant island from whence I came to see that adventurer’s origins at the mouth of the wide Tagus.

“Such are the new regions of the East
You Portuguese are adding to the world,
Opening the gates to that vast ocean
Which you navigate with such courage.
But it is fitting you glance westwards
To observe the exploit of a Portuguese
Who, believing himself snubbed by his king,
Made another voyage beyond imagining.”
The Lusíads, Luis Vaz de Camoes (1572), translated by Landeg White (1997)

So I arrived at this city, Lisbon, once demolished (1755) by quake of Earth and swell of Sea, then burned as if the waves bore brimstone. I did not go to the monument erected to the master of Portugal’s restoration, Marquis of Pombal, who rebuilt the capital and established the Douro vineyards. Instead, I wandered through his geometric grid in Baixa district before ascending to the memorial to the author of those lines, the mariner who once tread the shores of my native land.

Whether he breakfasted on custard tarts and coffee, I very much doubt. However I am certain he tasted the fruits of Sri Lanka. Today the Portuguese capital is a beloved tourist destination. South Asians, Chinese, and visitors from the Western hemisphere mix with travellers from throughout the European Union. One can recognise the imitations of other capitals. The boulevard leading from the old centre is lined like the Champs Elysée with hotels and luxury purveyors. At the same time Portugal is at least as nationalistic in the kitchen as France. “International” restaurants are far from defeating the vigorous native cuisine. Coffee here is about the best in the West and a fraction of the cost of its nearest competitors in the Latin peninsula.

Unlike Portugal’s second city to the north, Lisbon was shaped by the same Umayad caliphate that dominated most of the Iberian peninsula, called Al-Andalus, a name that survives for Andalusia region of Spain. In 750 the Abassid caliphate established Islam throughout Iberia and North Africa. Gharb Al-Andalus extended from the Algarve to the River Montego, on the banks of which the ancient university of Coimbra was established. By the 13th century armed force from the north had succeeded in pushing the borders of the caliphate south, hence centuries after the expulsion the Portuguese realm would be called the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarve. In his History of the Siege of Lisbon, Nobel laureate Jose Saramago wrote a romantic counter-history based on the idea that the Christian crusaders had failed to drive the Islamic rulers from the city. One can imagine this story with a visit to the Castelodistrict and Mouraria.

Fado, one of the three Portuguese sanctities (along with football and Fatima), is a clear derivative of the same lyric style found in Flamenco and both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar. It is rooted in Lisbon with the most famous fado houses (casa do fado) in the Alfama district. Football can be found in the grand stadium in Bonfica, from whence the eponymous club nicknamed the “Encarnados” originates. I had no time for song or dance on this visit, but both are worth mentioning to travellers with a musical or sporting sensibility.

Instead I went from a light breakfast at Nicola, one of the city’s oldest cafes, with its Art Deco interior and terrace view of the Rossio Square to Chiado to browse in Bertrand’s, its oldest bookstore. Passing the country’s only opera house, Teatro San Carlos— where in 1958 Maria Callas rendered a rare, unforgettable Traviata performance—I arrived at the monument to my old friend Camoes, visible from my seat taking a coffee and custard tart in the Cafe Brasiliero. The trolley bells echoed as tourists and locals alike scaled one of Lisbon’s hills by rail.

Although even Lisboetas, the city’s natives, have been heard to praise the cuisine of Porto and Minho. That does not mean the capital lacks anything in culinary quality. Fish and seafood are more prevalent. Portugal as a whole supports a very self-conscious national style of cooking for which even Spaniards are known to cross the border. Unlike gastronomy in the wealthy EU member-states, even the potatoes are washed and cut in the kitchens of most restaurants. Prepackaged “system” products are limited to those ingredients the country does not produce. As a predominantly agricultural— if no longer peasant— country, Portuguese food even in the capital, is cooked for hearty appetites and not for decoration. The country’s wine selection is enormous in proportion to its size, with grape varieties unknown elsewhere. Wines in the south, Alentejo, Setubal and around Lisbon tend to be stronger than those from Douro or Minho simply because they get much more intense sun. The sparkling wines from Bairrada, including the rare but delicious brut red sparkling (espumante bruto tinto), compare favorably with the renowned sparkling wines of the Crimea or Champagne. In short, Lisbon— like the rest of Portugal— has everything a connoiseur of national cuisine might desire.

Lisbon, Lisboa in Portuguese, derives from the Arabic meaning “port of enchantment”. Whoever has visited this city will be unable to avoid the impression that Lisboa could also be called “Luz boa”— beautiful light. On a clear day the city’s natural illumination is as distinct as that of the Cote d’Azur. The breadth of the Tagus (Tejo) captures the sun unlike that of the river in any other Western capital. Lisbon’s light shines on some five hundred years as a hub in the trade between East and West that animates style and elegance to this day.

Photo: Mr Christian Baes

30 августа 2023

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