Old Goa and Churches

The Tupperware class get everywhere but this one is a bit up market.

Every so often a Royal Enfield turns up.  Lots of them all over and sounding brilliant.

Windows without glass but using shells

Panjim

Spent a day at the old Portuguese centre of Goa.  Their influence is very evident.  One of the main things I noticed was that the small alleys that would be full of filth in Delhi  here even though they are leaving building rubble outside a house the area looks decent.

There are a number of houses with odd style windows and the reason being is that there are a number of lines of thin shells to keep out the strong sunlight with tiny window in the middle to look out of if needed.

The small windows with shells for glass can be seen in the middle of these windows.

Even the small alleyways are tidier here than in Delhi.

The guide doing the guiding bit.

First stop the Oldest of the Churches. Built of the local rock which has lots of ironstone in it it is quite wear resistant.  However it is not the ort of rock you need for fine detail.  The buildings then are rather heavy in style but suited for the country.

St Xavier

One of the oldest has little by way of decoration just the whitewash interior with extra decoration provided by the altars and pulpit.

Off to one side here though is the body of St Xavior who died in China and can be seen through the glass in the coffin.  He is displayed every ten years.  Another of those that had a body that did not decay after death.  I would say that most likely it was the heat that dried him out over the years.  He looks no worse than the pharaohs.

Lovely doors

A painting of the coffin with St F in it

Bishops Palace.

The ancient wall paintings are slowly disappearing. You can see Adam and Eve at the bottom of the pic.  What I want to know is why have they got a belly button if they are the first.

This once had two towers but the one on the right collapsed.

The Viceroys Gate. The first entrance into Goa with the muslim palace on the left

Some of the last church is based on St Peters on Rome.

On the way to the temples for comparisons in styles we pass the original small chapel built by the Portuguese.

Just up the hill from it there is the massive remains of another church that would dwarf the others. Oddly no mention had been made of it.  Must do a google on it.

Over to the temples.

One temple we are allowed inside and at both we can only photograph the outside.

 like this one.  A Turtle with four animals on its back.  Pity they arent elephants as I would then know where Terry Pratchett got the idea. :-)