The Convent of Christ

As a reward for regaining  territories seized by the Muslims, the Templars were offered a vast territory dominated by their newly built castle. Following the extinction of the Templars, the Portuguese king founded the Order of Christ. Later, Manuel I and his son Joao III ordered the construction of the convent and the six Renaissance cloisters built around the original Temple chapel shown below

This many-sided tower  looks stark and forbidding, but hides within it a treasure chest. 

Called the Charola, the round church built by the Knights Templar in the C12th was a conscious imitation of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. From the outside, the church is a 16-sided polygonal structure. Inside, the round church has a central octagonal design, connected by arches to a surrounding gallery or ambulatory. 

Legend has it that its distinctive shape allowed knights to attend Mass on horseback. In those early days, worship would have been stern but devout. By the end of the Renaissance, everything had changed. 

Now you find yourself  in a religious kaleidoscope of colour, ornamentation and gilt; your eye is drawn up to the crucified Christ and then upwards to the ceiling and a riot of colour. It’s in marked contrast to the stark but tasteful simplicity of the rest of the convent, most of it Renaissance added onto the original, less ornate church of the Templars. No apologies for the profusion of photos. They are worth 'blowing up' and exploring. 

 

The capitals on the central columns and the painting on stone alluding to St Christopher date to the early Templar period.

Four chapels on the ambulatory walls were built. They faced northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest respectively. 

The Portocarreiros Chapel. 

I couldn't record all I saw in the chapel but for those interested

the decorative details - especially the wonderful tiles see  here

Castle and  convent are now  surrounded by the convent wall, an area with 34 hectares of flower and vegetable gardens, and beyond, the great forest Mata dos Sete Montes. Water was supplied via a masterpiece of engineering, a 6km aqueduct extending through the valley of Pegoes. 

Some of the six cloisters for walking in prayer and peace. I found it peaceful but couldn't avoid the irreverent comparison with Gormenghast. 

The Main Cloister was built during the C16th and inspired by Italian architecture.  In the early C17th (1619) the fountain was connected to the Aqueduct. 

Then there are the endless corridors

You wonder who the mysterious figure in the distance is. As a monk, you'd know and likely be contemplating your sins as you approached.

The Suffering Christ

 I loved the way the window frames the garden like a painting.

The Crossing is in the geometric centre of the Convent, where the three corridors that make up the main dormitory meet

You can see the dormitory cells lining the walls. In the half light, it's easy to imagine tourists as monks.

One of the many dormitory cells.

The Refectory

We argued whether these were toilets or washing up facilities. 

And then of course there were steps, lots of them in every shape and form. These monks were fit—
 

—but enjoyed wonderful views between Heaven and Earth