portuguese azulejos

Azulejo is a form of Portuguese and Spanish painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. The word is derived from the Arabic zellige, meaning “polished stone.”  The original idea was to imitate Byzantine and Roman mosaics.  There are Persian influences here in the interlocking curvilinear, geometric or floral motifs.

Azulejos are found on the interiors and exteriors of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and even restaurants, bars, railways or subway stations.   They are applied on walls, floors and even ceilings. Many azulejos chronicle major historical and cultural aspects of Portuguese history.

These techniques were introduced into Portugal by king Manuel I after a visit to Seville in 1503. The Portuguese adopted the Moorish tradition of horror vacui (“fear of empty spaces”) and covered the walls completely with azulejos (source: Wikipedia: Azulejo).

*********************

“PHOTOGRAPHY” INVITATION:  I invite you to create a photography intention and then create a blog post for a place you have visited. Alternately, you can post a thematic post about a place, photos of whatever you discovered that set your heart afire. You can also do a thematic post of something you have found throughout all your travels: churches, doors, people reading, people hiking, mountains, patterns, all black & white, whatever!

In my case, my intention was to look for thematic possibilities during my trip to Morocco and was enticed by all the colorful markets (and the goods!).

You probably have your own ideas about this, but in case you’d like some ideas, you can visit my page: photography inspiration.

I challenge you to post no more than 20-25 photos (I have more here!) and to write less than 1,500 words about any travel-related photography intention you set for yourself. Include the link in the comments below by Wednesday, October 16 at 1:00 p.m. EST.  When I write my post in response to this challenge on Thursday, October 17, I’ll include your links in that post.

This will be an ongoing invitation, every first, second, and third (& 5th, if there is one) Thursday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂

I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!