Lisbon is located on the Tagus River, which provides an world class harbor that is protected from the sea storms. It also makes for a fantastic setting to have a city with high hills going up from each side of the river. It is a very modern and hustling seaport today. I really enjoyed taking pictures of both the historical and modern aspects of the river.

The Belém Tower guarded the entry into the harbor. There were cannon there to be used to fire on ships. It is in a very nice state of repair. It used to be sort of in the middle of the river, but land has shifted a bit.

You can see that it is pretty close to the land now. Actually, I think the city built up the area out to the tower and installed some protected anchorage for yachts and sailboats.

This is me from the top of the Monument to the Discoveries. The monument was built by the folks of South Africa to honor the death of Prince Henry the Navigator.

 

Looking down from the top of the tower you can see a map of the world in recognition that the Portugeuese were major explorers of the entire world and once were the only navigators who knew how to make the trip around Africa and on to the Orient. It's big, as you can see by the size of the people standing on the surface. That's someone standing about where Rio de Janeiro is located.

 

Another view of the yacht basin.

 

A luxury cruise ship getting under way after making a port call.

 

This is a container vessle. That's a Christ statue on the far shore.

 

A three masted sailing ship with the harbor bridge in the background.