PORTUGAL – BEIRAS – OUREM – FATIMA – MANOR HOUSE
Accommodation at Quinta da Alcaidaria-Mor.

Quinta da Alcaidaria-Mor, a beautiful house belonging to the same family since the 17th Century, is located in Ourem which is a one and a half hour drive from Lisbon. The Quinta is approximately 15 kilometers from Fatima, one of the most important centres of pilgrimage in the Catholic world.

The Beiras region is one of the most interesting places to visit in Portugal, with some of the most notable monuments in the country.

Within an hour’s drive there are many places to visit.

The Fatima Sanctuary is one of the most important centres of pilgrimage in the world, and its importance is due to series of six apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three children. The first apparition was on May 13, 1917 and followed at monthly intervals for the next six months

When the assassination attempt was made on the life of Pope John Paul II, he prayed to Our Lady of Fatima and on his recovery (1982) he visited Fatima sanctuary to give thanks. He left the bullet, which has been kept in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima since that time.

On his pilgrimage he also visited Santiago de Compostela, in the region of Spain, which is 5 hours drive away along the motorway. In the middle ages Santiago de Compostela was the third most visited Christian pilgrimage site after Rome and Jerusalem.

Santiago, of course, means Saint James and the apostle’s coffin is visible underneath the altar of the Cathedral.

Ourem Castle, conquered from the Moors by King Afonso Henriques in 1135, is another interesting place to visit. Nearby Tomar, one of the oldest and most charming towns in Portugal, has the Templar’s Castle and is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The Castelo de Bode dam, a large reservoir used for water sports, is twenty eight kilometres from Quinta da Alcaidaria-Mor. Batalha has a fourteenth century monastery, the national monument of Portugal, and is thirty two kilometres away.

The fishing town of Nazare, with a wide selection of seafood restaurants, has marvelous sea views and sandy beaches, is an hour’s drive from Quinta da Alcaidaria -Mor.

Quinta da Alcaidaria-Mor was recently completely restored and decorated in a charming classic style.

The house has seven double bedrooms, all with ensuite bathrooms and central heating, prettily decorated with beautiful antique beds and fine pieces of furniture.

Inside the house there is plenty of room to relax in the spacious public areas which include reading and sitting rooms.

The former estate workers cottages have been fully restored and equipped to provide self catering accommodation.

On the terrace is an old wishing well. Guests can enjoy the gardens, sitting under plane trees.

The water supply to the house comes from a private spring, without the need for added chemicals.

There is a modern swimming pool for the use of the guests.

In the garden there is the old chapel where Nuno Alvares Pereira, the commander and one of the famous Portuguese Discoverers, is said to have prayed on his way to the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385.