Red walls
Square towers.
M920416 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lídia Maria Faria — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lídia Maria Faria — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lídia Maria Faria — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lídia Maria Faria — CC BY-SA 4.0
Silves Castle is a red sandstone castle on a hill above the town of Silves in the Algarve, southern Portugal, about 49 km in a straight line north-west of Faro. It is the largest castle in the Algarve and one of the best-preserved fortresses from the Islamic period in Portugal. The first fortification here is thought to predate the Romans, but the castle took its present shape between the 8th and 13th centuries, when Silves, known in Arabic as Shilb, was a thriving Andalusian city and regional capital, famed for its poets and scholars, among them the poet-prince al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, who governed it in his youth. It was classified as a National Monument in 1910. Visitors walk the red walls between square towers and see, inside, the remains of dwellings and a large cistern from the Islamic period. From the walls there are views over the town, the Arade river, orange groves and the surrounding hills. The lanes of the old town run down below the castle. A small entry fee is charged. The town usually holds a medieval-style fair in summer, and the visit is best in the morning before the midday heat.
Square towers.
From the Islamic period.
Over the Arade river.
Silves, Algarve, Portugal
Shilb.
About 49 km in a straight line.