The Torre de Belem was commissioned by Manuel I and was built as a fortress in the middle of the river in the 1500's. In the age of discoveries, when navigators would set out on discoveries, they would set sail from here. The outside hand work and Moorish architecture are amazing, it is incredible to think that they were able to build such an incredible building in the middle of the river 500 years ago. The stone is shaped very artistically on the outer walls and towers, including a sculpture depicting the Catholic Lady of Safe Homecoming which faces the sea. After visiting the tower, we also walked past a harbor with some boats in it, as well as the oldest lighthouse in all of Portugal. When Camilia came we went inside the tower and up to the top, which had quite a good view as well.
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