History

A Spanish fort and the original Spanish walled city are close to the Immigration office.  Joan wanted to see them, so we walked over and had a look.  They have some guides in what looks to me like Spanish American War era Spanish Cavalry Uniforms at the entrances to the old walled city.

History lesson, boys and girls.  The island of Luzon, which is where Manila is located, was originally the home of an Islamic kingdom.  (This bit of information makes the current religious and political tension between Catholic Majority and Islamic Minority make a lot more sense.)  The Spanish defeated Rajah Sulayman in the late 1500s, razed his palace and capital, and built a wooden defensive fort.  Around 1570, work was begun to replace the wooden fort with stone fortifications.  This fort is still standing.  You can see where the cannon would have been.  The walls are quite tall, and about 8 meters thick.  In 1593, the old walled city that became the Spanish Colonial capital was built.  A large part of the walls are still standing today.


We took a different route to the Immigration office today, which makes sense, since we don't live in Pateros any more.  I think it is probably more difficult to get from Pateros to anyplace in Manila than from anywhere else.  The trip was more pleasant because we got an airport cab, which was nearly new.  The shocks were in good shape, and the air con worked great.  We went past the Manilla Yacht Club on the way to and from.  It was nice to see masts swaying against the sky.  On the way back, I saw the US Embassy.  It is truly impressive.  It is right on the ocean, so the water and anchored ships made a great back drop.