The Knights Templar

7-Oct-23

My only reference for the Knights Templar is "Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade" (lol) but apparently there's more to the story than a booby-trapped Petra!

Perimeter Wall

The small town of Tomar became the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal in the 12th century. And what an awesome HQ it must have been! Combined, the Tomar Castle & Convent of Christ are a labyrinth of Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, & Renaissance style add-ons made over the course of 400 years. I definitely got lost more than once but was still totally gobsmacked at how lavish & stunningly ornate everything was!

Inside the Charola (Templar round church)

Outside of Charola

Manuel 1 Chapter House (Manueline nave, early 16th century)

Chapter Window

Main Cloister

Store Room

Kitchen

Dining Hall

Dormitory

Mink's cell in dormitory

The day we were there just so happened to be a Templar-Fan Celebration (like a Trekkie convention almost), where people dressed up from the time period, role played, did archery, performed music on old-timey instruments, hosted a crafts fair, etc.