Tim Worstall

Portugal Notes

One of the things you commonly see here in Portugal is a little sign as you leave a town or city: "Thanks for your visit, come back soon!" (Obrigado pela sua visita etc).

The one just down the road here, in Silves (which I now see because I’ve been sensible and dumped the €50 bicycle and got a €300 one that actually works) has one, and as is usual, it’s translated into several languages. What makes it different though is that this one, uniquely as far as I know, has it in Arabic as well as German, English, French etc.

The Arabs (Moors around here) were thrown out of Silves in 1242.

Thanks for the visit? Come back soon?

In

5 responses

  1. Bob B Avatar
    Bob B

    I see that Silves “was occupied by the Moors in 713”.
    Which compares with the First Crusade in 1095:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Crusade
    So much for all the claims about the war-mongering Christian infidels compared with the benign, peace-loving followers of Islam.

    Reply
  2. pedant2007 Avatar
    pedant2007

    Were the Moors Arabs? I had thought they were Berbers.
    Tim adds: Good point. Around here (The Al-Garve) it means those Muslim guys that used to rule the place, so is a catch all for Berbers, Arabs and Africans.

    Reply
  3. Tom Kratman Avatar
    Tom Kratman

    How is the Moslem situation in Portugal, Tim? I was shocked to see so many Moslems in Panama last January. Seems like every town on the InterAmericana has a mosque now.
    Tim adds: The town I was making fun of (Silves) has a mosque, funded by Saudi Arabia I think. Thus the real reason for the Arabic on that sign. Other than that, can’t recall anything to do with the “situation” but then I’m not the most observant of people. I think the big trade around here is hashish with Morocco rather than anything else.

    Reply
  4. Andrew Duffin Avatar
    Andrew Duffin

    In Scotland the equivalent signs say “Haste Ye Back”, which is pretty high on my list of cringe-worthy public statements…

    Reply
  5. JPC Avatar
    JPC

    As a portuguese and as far as I can tell, we don’t really have a “moslem situation”. At least not for a thousand years, more or less, since the mooorish ocupation of the iberian peninsula. And, all things balanced, it was a pretty interesting and positive “situation” for us, we gained a lot with theyr presence. Back then, before the islamic dark ages that still goes on, moslem culture and science was very rich and we had all sorts of benefits from it, from agriculture techniques to literature. But nowadays moslems constitute a small and peacefull minority in Portugal. Most of them came in the seventies, due to the independence of african colonies, mostly from Mozambique. As for younger generations, they mostly concentrate in Lisbon and the surrounding suburban areas and there’s no record of any incidents.

    Reply

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