Barcelos – A Living museum of traditions and popular art.

One of the main activities in Barcelos is handicrafts. Here is the main centre of Portugal’s craftsmanship. The most authentic, rich and varied masterpieces are created in the hands of the people of Barcelos.
Any person that visits Barcelos will notice the influence of this kind of art. All the area is enriched with workshops where people can see and buy different craftworks. The umber of visitors is uncountable. The come to these places to see the craftspeople that create a fine piece of workmanship with unique beauty in a few moments.
In ceramic (one of these kinds of art), figures are modelled by hand, painted with lively colours and glazed. It’s considered one of the special expressions of the Portuguese popular creativity. The craftsman tries to transpose daily tasks into the clay and this art has acquired a social satirical function.
Pieces with ornament and figurative painting, representing a part of the history of Barcelos can strike you. The greatest example of this is the Barcelos cockerel that became not only the symbol of Barcelos, but also of Portugal. All over the city we can find different examples of this cockerel, each one painted in a different way, making the city more beautiful and the result of our history and traditions.
Besides ceramic there are also metal works, weaving and wooden ware.
The weekly street market that takes pace on Thursdays and the yearly handcrafts fair are a mirror of this colourful universe of fantasy and popular imagination.

The Barcelos Cockerel.

Metal works.

Typical mat.

Wooden ware.

Ceramics.

Posted by: Filipa

Barcelos: Church of the Good Jesus of the Cross

This church, built in Barcelos, had its origin because of the miraculous appearance of a cross made of black soil in the clay ground of the Market Place, in 1504. In the place where the cross appeared a chapel was built in 1505 with an image of The Lord of the Cross.
The construction of the current church began in 1698 and it was opened in 1710. It is a baroque building, with a dome, an inside in the shape of a Latin cross, and walls with blue and white tiles.
The image of The Good Lord Jesus of the Cross is an almost real size sculpture made of oak.
This structure was classified as Public interest property in 1958 and it’s one of the most visited places in Barcelos.

text and photos by: Diana Gonçalves, Magda Silva and Vânia Ferreira

Elazığ..

GEOGRAPHY

The province of Elaziğ is situated on the upper part of the Fırat River in Eastern Anatolia. It is one of our well planned cities established towards the end of the 19.th century, on the Elaziğ plain. The province is 1067 meters above see level and occupies an area of 9153 square meters. It is bordered with Malatya from the west,Bingöl on the east, Erzincan on the west and Diyarbakır on the South. The provınce is in the shape of peninsula. An inland climate dominates it. It is circled with the Keban and Karakaya dam lakes and the natural wonder Hazar. This layout has caused dramatic changes to the province’s climate. The Hazarbaba mountain stands at an altitude of 2347 meters. The Mastar Mountains rises to a hate of 2171 meters. Both are extensions of the Taurus mountains . important river such as the Fırat, Murat, Dicle and Karasu flow through the province.




A General Photo Of ELAZIĞ


GENERAL INFORMATION

Elaziğ is an East Anatolian city placed at the upper Euphrates Section of the Euphrates Basin. The Elaziğ province is composed bye 11 townships,573 villages,709 hamlats and in accordance with the provinsional results of 2000 censusu, the total populations of the province is 569.616 composing 265.000 people living in the provincial center along with the others living in the rural areas.





A General Photo Of Centrıum..

Posted By Yunus Çİftçi (Türkiye)

Barcelos: A council with deep roots in the past

Barcelos is the council with the largest number of villages in Portugal: 89. However, in most of them, traditional agriculture is still an important economic activity. For some farmers it is not only about subsisting but the delight that working the land gives them.
Peeling the leaves off the cob is a traditional farming activity. The neighbours meet on a large threshing floor where they peel the leaves off the cobs of the corn that they have cultivated. After that process has been completed, the men beat the cobs to strip the corn grains off the cobs, while the women sweep the scattered grains and pick it up into containers. Throughout all this process, they sing, dance, tell stories and also gossip… There is a funny custom in this operation: the young man or woman who peels the leaves off the red corn cob can kiss every single girl or boy in there. In the end they all have a common meal with roasted corn, home-made cakes and grills.
The modern-day recovery of the traditional stripping process is a good idea for the people who want to keep the past alive.

Red corn cobs

Women stripping the corn off the cobs

The final product

The community meal

Everybody joins the traditional spirit

Text and photos by Flávia Martins (Portugal)