The Tower of Bellam

 The Tower of Bellam was built between 1514 and 1520 in what was to become the Manueline style by the Portuguese architect and sculptor Francisco de Arruda. The word Bellam means Bethlehem and is taken from  a chapel dedicated to St. Mary of Bethlehem near the river's edge.

 There was quite a line to get in, but a violinist serenaded us with magnificent music including a vigorous rendition of Happy Birthday!

Notice the Manueline features of sculpted rope-like circles and domes with chess-like pieces sitting on top.

View of the nave and one of the windows.

There were 93 steps up to the top. The final ones were spiral and seemed to go on forever.

View through a doorway of the drawbridge and turrets. Another view through a different opening of the shoreline.

Once outside, we crossed the street through an underground connector to get to the Monument of Discovery.

I thought the "track" on the right was used as a gutter. Gates said it was for bikes. Much more logical!

The Monument of Discovery symbolizes a caravel and celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery. It is located along the Tagus River where ships departed for exploration. Among the 32 carved statues are Prince Henry the Navigator (seen at the front of the line in the bottom or left photo), King Alfonso V and Vasco da Gama.