Moura and the legend of Salúquia

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In Roman times Moura was probably called Aruci Novum, and Roman villas and Romanised hillforts are recorded across the municipality; some of its altars and funerary cupae are kept in the Municipal Museum. Under Muslim rule it was known as Al-Manijah, and its present name is linked to the legend of the Moorish princess Salúquia. The castle, on the highest point of the city, has been occupied since at least the Iron Age and keeps an Almohad rammed-earth tower. Christian rule took hold in 1232, after which the Mouraria quarter grew up outside the walls. Dinis granted the first charter in 1295 and a fair charter in 1302, Manuel I a new charter in 1512, and in 1554 Moura received the title of "Notável Vila". The Carmo convent here was the first Carmelite convent in Portugal and the whole Iberian Peninsula, and the parish church of São João Baptista, built on Manuel I's orders in the early 16th century, has been a national monument since 1932. In 1707 the Spanish general the Duke of Osuna occupied the town and had its Restoration-era walls razed. Two springs inside the castle still feed the Três Bicas and Santa Comba fountains. Moura became a city on 1 February 1988, and its municipal holiday is 24 June. Places to visit include the Mouraria, the Núcleo Árabe, the armoury in the keep, the Museum of Sacred Art in the Church of São Pedro, the Alberto Gordillo Museum of Contemporary Jewellery and the olive oil museum at the Lagar de Varas do Fojo; olive groves are the hallmark of the municipality, whose landscapes also include the great Alqueva lake.

Craft beer in Moura is a rare find, so treat any local pour as a bonus after a walk through the Mouraria.