Show OLD WORLD CITY OF MUCH CHARM sunny sonny oporto draws tourists to portugal al few people realize that portugal the most ancient ot of the actu actual al colonizing countries of europe L still rules the third largest colonial empire only england and france possess more outlying domain to call attention to the resources and development of gals als 1 square miles of colonies in africa and asia a national colonial exhibition hibi tion nas held la in oporto from june until september Alt although hougil second in population and importance to lisbon the capital oporto Is 13 the best known city of portugal to outsiders because it has given its name to port wine one of the nations chief exports says a bulletin from the washington headquarters of tile the national geographic society oporto means the harbor arbor lI in portuguese but its the II Il arbor in portuguese but to its residents the city Is simply torto porto Op ortos rainbow tinted tile roofed buildings terrace the slopes of a cliff on one side ot of the douro r river gorge on the opposite side of the canyon Is the town of villa nova de gala where the port wine warehouses are located two magnificent bridges span the deep gorge there are three rival views one Is from tile dom bulz bridge looking up at the city on the heights and down on the busy waterfront vater front by the chocolate colored river where quaint sailing bailing craft and modern freighter meet another view is from the heights down anthe on the granite gorge of the douro A third from the or river road has an unbelievably liev ably picturesque bacig background ground of steep streets and tall narrow houses with projecting gables and colored tile facades bulit into the wall at the foot of the cliff are all manner of little booths patronized by longshoremen the river road which Is always thronged thron ged Is the photographers mee ca here are tile the bullock carts awaiting their loads here the human carriers men hearing bearing burdens in boat shaped baskets on their shoulders t and women carrying everything imaginable on their heads bonds from a load of slate slabs or a basket piled high with codfish to a baby asleep in a cradle the load Is balanced on a little circular pad resembling a hard pincushion in lisbon the ox os cart has practically disappeared but in oporto it holds its own beside the automobile and the electric tram the rural singing carts whose creaking Is heard from afar however are unknown in the cities where such sounds are unlawful and the wheels are arc kept well oiled on street corners women sell freshly boiled shellfish which ore are as popular as peanuts with us the bright handkerchief worn over the womans comans wo mans head bead in the ilinko district Is here replaced by a small flat circular black velvet hat men llen with baskets slung from the ends of poles trot the streets selling fruit and vegetables the homes of the middle class are one floor apartments in tall downtown houses bouses but the wealthy cita zens live in the suburbs where their ornate homes are halt half hidden behind trees and flowering shrubs the gardens enclosed within high stone walls in no other city save rio de janeiro Is there such a satisfactory sightseeing sight tight seeing tram system twenty different lines come into the da liberdade Liber dade kach each car bears a number and a little book with a map gives its itinerary you can ride to the rivers mouth up the coast to LeIx oes where the ocean liners dock and back to town through the residential section or across the bridge over the douro to villa noya nova de gala in tile the bus business IDess district there are shop windows filled with the attractive gold and silver filigree jewelry manufactured in and near oporto the finest example of the silver maths art la Is in a chapel of the old cathedral where the altar tabernacle and plate are entirely of silver a cent work ork of portuguese artists the inner walls of the railroad station nation are covered with historic paintings in blue and white glazed tiles to follow these pictures in sequence equen ce is to know the outstanding events in the cites varied history through roman and rule down to that red letter day in 1286 when king joao I 1 rode through the northern gate beside his fair english bride philippa of lancaster daughter of john of gaunt A warm friendship during the world war has ever since existed between england and portugal among the five sons born to jono joao and philippa was the prince known as denry the navigator christopher columbus studied navigation in oporto on his big way from spanish chere here his boyhood was spent to lisbon but he was little known in those days and Is not in the tile picture the vines which produce the port wine grapes are not grown near oporto but about sixty miles up tile the douro valley the sailing boats which brin bring the hie barrels of nine mine downstream to warehouses in fit villa nova do de gala arc hat flat bottomed to pass over shoals and around sandbars they are most picturesque with a spoon shaped prow and one huge lo square quare sail bellying in the wind like those used on the earliest type of phoenician craft when the boats are bound upstream long ions heavy poles p oles are employed and progress against the current is achieved by main strength reside beside the wine carriers on the lower douro are gondola like boats with graceful lateen sails an inheritance from the moors and narrow boats high in prow and stern like the ancient grecian galleys A boot book could be written on the strange craft to be seen in portuguese wa 11 |