A Spiritual Journey to Ard Al-Awliyaa Wa Ard Ashuhadaa

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After breakfast, we transfer to the beautiful Moorish mountain city of Sintra. The city's rich Islamic heritage made it one of the greatest cities in the western world during medieval times. We visit the millennium-old Moorish Castle, founded under Islamic rule, which occupied a strategic position for defending the surrounding territory and maritime access routes to Lisbon. The Muslims lived here almost 500 years from 714 through to 1147. We explore the Islamic Quarter, the archaeological sites, and the Historical Interpretation Centre of the Moorish Castle, installed in the Church of Sao Pedro de Canaferrim, most probably built on the foundations of a Muslim Mosque. In 1995, UNESCO classified the Sintra Cultural Landscape as World Heritage with the Moorish Castle as a fundamental component. In the afternoon we depart to the beautiful coastal city of Cascais for a panoramic tour of Marina de Cascais, Fortaleza da Cidadela, and Boca do Inferno, with free time for shopping. Overnight and dinner in Lisbon.

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After breakfast we visit the coastal village of Faro with its gleaming Muslim Moorish-style white houses and minaret-like chimneys cascading down to the Atlantic waters. We explore the town's Muslim Moorish charm, its labyrinthine narrow streets and structures with an oriental aura. Afterwards we continue our discovery tour to Tavira, where beneath the old 16th-century Convento da Graca, excavations uncovered a cobbled street and foundations of a dozen homes built more than 700 years ago by the Arab Muslims. We visit the small museum under the hotel bar with walkways above the medieval Moorish neighborhood remains. We explore the Alcazar royal palace ruins of the Emir Palace of Tavira, the old historical main central Mosque of Tavira (converted to a church during the inquisition), and Pego do Inferno, a small lagoon with green Mediterranean water. Free afternoon for shopping and leisure. Overnight and dinner in Tavira surroundings.

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After breakfast we start our discovery tour of the Islamic Kingdom City of Mertola, one of the least populated municipalities of Portugal, sitting atop a hill above the Guadiana river. We visit the former masjid, a rectangular white building with Roman foundations whose main architectural layout is retained from its time as a mosque built in the mid 8th and 9th centuries. It remained as a mosque for approximately 500 years, and even when converted into a church, the Mihrab was not destroyed. We explore the horseshoe arched doorways typical of Moorish architecture and visit the dedicated museum on Islamic art, housing locally unearthed artefacts such as pottery, jewellery and funerary stones with Arabic inscriptions. We visit the Alcacova (Alcazaba) and the replica of the Almohad Neighbourhood showing how people lived during the Muslim period. The Islamic heritage in Portugal left decisive marks on the country's development, from architecture to town planning, toponymy, language, culture and legends. Afterwards we transfer to Lisbon for prayers, a meet and greet with the local Muslim community, and dinner at the Grand Islamic Center of Portugal. Overnight in Lisbon.