‘We were the inventors of bad policy to buy and sell free and peaceful men as if buying and selling beasts’ ( Padre Fernando Oliveira, 1555 ) During the Moorish occupation (8th – 12th century) Jews, Muslims and Mozarabs (as Christians were called) in Lisbon lived peacefully together. The three religions were socially integrated and […]
The Chinese leaf that conquered the world There are roughly two ways to say tea in the world. One is like the English expression – thee in Dutch, tee in German or thé in French. The other is a variation of cha – chay in Russian, chai in Swahili or shay in Arabic. Both variations […]
In the heart of Lisbon – on the Santana hill between the Travessa da Pena and the Beco de São Luis – used to be the clothing manufactory of Ramiro Leão. A textile factory of fabrics and shirts – surrounded by barracks for dying, laundry and ironing – build on top of a poor man’s cemetery […]
What has Great Britain’s national dish to do with Portugal? A dish whose ingredients Winston Churchill called the nation’s ‘good companions.’ A dish described by George Orwell as the ‘chief comfort of the working class’. It all began hundreds of years ago (www.eatmyglobe.com). During the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula Jews, Muslims and Christians […]
When you enter a hospital at night and hear a sick man groan, approach his bed, and if you have nothing left to give him, give him a smile – Dr Sousa Martins After climbing Lisbon’s second hilltop, you will encounter a curious phenomenon. In a cosy little park called Campo Santana arises, amidst sturdy crowing […]
Het overleg is nog maar net begonnen of ik hoor links van me een zachte plop, gulzige slikgeluiden en een inpandige boer. Weeïge, zure lucht. Als het lege, roomwitte plastic bio bakje wordt teruggezet, knijpt de vlezige voorzitter aan de overkant van de tafel haar diepliggende varkensoogjes even helemaal dicht, neemt een ferme slok uit […]
‘There is no planet B’ Portugal prepares to vote in Sunday’s general election. With thousands of youngsters filling the streets at Lisbon’s Global Climate strike, one wonders how ‘green’ in fact its political parties are? The centre-right Social Democrat party (PSD) recognizes ‘the state of emergency the planet is in’ but only presents measures enhancing […]
‘They sat down, lit their cigars, were about to discuss a business deal involving cork or canned fish, we would know for certain except that Ricardo Reis is now leaving’ (José Saramago, 1992. The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis) Prepared in azeite (olive oil) or tomato sauce, canned fish – the country’s original […]
Contrary to what was hoped for, global CO2 emissions actually increased in 2018. Every major city in Europe is warmer in the 21st century than it was in the 20th. In December 2015, 195 member states of the UN agreed in the Paris Agreement to limit the temperature increase to 1.5⁰C above preindustrial levels. For […]
‘It is not just about administering methadone, you have to maintain a relationship’ In 2001 Portugal became – under the leadership of prime minister António Guterres, nowadays UN’s Secretary-General – the first country to ‘decriminalize’ the possession and consumption of illicit substances, even heroin, and cocaine. Despite predictions at the time of an increase in […]