Silves — Ibn Qasi's Lost Manuscript

Your quest for the manuscript begins at the Porta de Silves, also known as the Arco da Defesa. This medieval city gate, built in the 12th century during the Islamic period, served as the main entrance to the fortified city of Silves. Restored in the 20th century, it retains its characteristic ogival arches of Almohad architecture, immediately transporting you to the past of this former capital of the Algarve. You will then cross the Ponte Romana de Silves, a 1st-century bridge 90 meters long with 8 arches, which was reused in the Islamic era for access to Silves. This National Monument, classified in 1935, crossing the Arade River, is a silent witness to the successive passages of civilizations.

Continuing your investigation in the historic heart of Silves, you will reach the Sé Catedral de Silves. Built between 1189 and 1244 on the ruins of an ancient mosque after the Christian reconquest by D. Paio Peres Correia, this Gothic cathedral with Romanesque elements, whose central nave is 30 meters long, is a key site of the Islamic-Christian transition in the 13th century. The stones of Rua da Sé, which you will then walk, resonate with decisions made and destinies sealed, bringing you closer to the traces left by Ibn Qasi and the events that marked the city.

The path then leads you to Castelo de Silves, the imposing Moorish castle from the 8th-12th centuries, classified as a National Monument in 1910. Its walls, 1.5 km in perimeter, and its 7 towers dominate the city, offering a strategic view of the Algarve. It was here that Ibn Qasi likely resided during his ascent as lord of Silves around 1144-1151, transforming this site into a center of power and Sufi thought. The remains of the Palácio do Xarajibe, an Arab palace, bear witness to the past splendor of this fortress, which was the heart of the Algarve under the Almoravids.

Beneath the castle's foundations, you will discover the Cisterna Moura, a 12th-century Islamic cistern, carved into the rock to a depth of 20 meters with an estimated capacity of 6000 m³. It supplied the population during the long Almohad sieges and is linked to the defensive fortifications against post-Ibn Qasi attacks in 1151. A little further on, the Pelourinho de Silves, a 16th-century pillory 5 meters high, moved to Praça do Município in 1924, will remind you of municipal power after the reconquest, a witness to medieval public executions in the historic center of Silves.

Your quest concludes at the Museu Municipal de Arqueologia de Silves, opened in 1990 in an 18th-century building, 200 meters from the starting point. This museum houses Islamic artifacts from the 10th-13th centuries, including ceramics and inscriptions directly related to Ibn Qasi's period and the Muridism movement he initiated. It is here, among the relics of the past, that the final pieces of the puzzle will come together. This thematic circuit in Silves will have allowed you to delve into the historical heritage of the Algarve, understand the history of Silves through its monuments, and solve the mystery of the lost manuscript, a true exploration of medieval Portugal.