Travel-World Photography   

Silves

Silves (pronounced without the "e") is an old city with about 11.000 inhabitants, located 15 km inland. It is an historical city, dating back to the Stone Age. The Romans eastblished a trading post here, made possible by the navigatable river Arade. Moors conquered the city in 713, and held the area until it was re-conquered by king Sancho, with the help from Nothern European crusaders. Later, it became the capital of "The Kingdom of Algarve" (1249–1910). The river is one of the reasons the town propered later on. Today, the city is the center of an agriculture area, with wine, oranges (actually introduced by the Moors), and cork as important crop. A noatable feature if the medivial castle on top of the hill.