An unexpected treat
Driving west from Lisbon, Portugal, our next stop was for lunch at Evora. Along the route I began seeing signs for monuments popping up, so we decided to turn off and follow a little dirt road to the megalithic site of Recinto Megalitico Dos Almendres. There is a good-sized parking lot but no entrance fee and no trail to follow. It was a thrill to wander through this large grouping of stones, wherever my eye took me.
Megalith means big-stone, and they are believed to be connected to Neolithic communities that thrived all over western Europe from 6,000 to 4,000 bc.
The signage was quite informative. While some of the stones are thought to confirm orientations relating to the seasons, the great cycles of the sun and moon, there is no doubt that these stones represent sacred places, and places of celebration.
Unlike dolmens, which are funerary structures, what we saw are called menhir, or men-stones, stones placed upright by men. Some are single solitary stones, while others are in groups.
Another site nearby had a single upright stone. I am amazed at the power and awe they invoke.
The last two photos above are of a standing stone surrounded by a ring of stones, just outside of Monsaraz Castle. It was next to the little highway and quite easily spotted on the road leaving the hill castle.
I had not realized there were old standing stones in Portugal, so it was an electrifying surprise to find that there were numerous sites one could visit. Sadly, we had not planned for it, but did what we could to incorporate them into our itinerary. I could spend an entire trip in Portugal doing nothing but visiting these sites.
Thanks for reading this post. Please follow me at 
and comment below.
and comment below.