During the times of Moorish domination, Alfama made up the whole of Lisbon until  the city  spread west to the Baixa neighbourhood.  The mediaeval Castle of Sao Jorge was the royal residence until the early 16th century and overlooks the Alfama.  The castle is where we started our walk.   20140922_Ecuador_0083 I came across this scene during my walk.

20140922_Ecuador_0084 A close up of one of the dogs.

20140922_Ecuador_0085 A close up view of the man and his other dog.

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We walked through the narrow, cobblestoned streets. 

20140922_Ecuador_0086 It was a very interesting neighbourhood to walk around in.   Alfama became inhabited by the fisherman and the poor and its condition as the neighbourhood of the poor continues today.  Lately the neighbourhood has been invigorated with the renovation of the old houses.  

20140922_Ecuador_0089 A poor and colourful district.  Actually many of the buildings both abandoned and lived in reminded me of Cuba.

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This is another scene that reminded me of Cuba.  

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Some of the scenes reminded me of San Francisco.  Both cities are situated on a southwestern coast at the same latitude.  They are both built on seven hills and each city is known for its distinctive boroughs, colourful architecture, beautiful panoramas and progressive attitudes.   Another similarity is that both cities were devastated by earthquakes. They  each have a  golden coloured bridge crossing their oceanic entrances and are also known for their art, coffee and wine cultures.  Of course if you add some vintage cable cars you are pretty much left with twin cities.  

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20140922_Ecuador_0095 The Alfama district is spread on the slope between the Sao Jorge Castle and the Tejo river.  We had started at the Castle and worked our way down.

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20140922_Ecuador_0096 A reflection I saw on the walk.

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20140922_Ecuador_0099 In the slopes of Alfama there are terraces that gave us a pretty good view of the city.

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20140922_Ecuador_0102 As you can tell I really enjoyed the views.