A History Lesson

     Last night Santa Clause came.  When I awoke, there was a present beside my bed.  Inside the nicely packaged bag was a jewlry box made of coconut.  It was gorgeous.
     Today was filled with history and bargaining.  It began with another great breakfast at a restaraunt called, Bizu.  I had a fantastic, classic Philappeano breakfast.  It included garlic rice, scrambled eggs, and longaniza (which is a classic sausage).  I washed it all down with a hot English Breakfast tea.  It was the start to a great day.

     After a quick Skype session home, I jumped into the SUV and I was on my way to a great lesson in history.
     Our day was spent at Fort Santiago.  Situated at the mouth of the Pasig River, which runs into Manila Bay it is the ideal place to put fortifications to ensure the safety of the area and to defend against the pirates and marauders which frequented the area.

      We decided to take a self guided tour and walk through the inside of the fort.  I crossed a moat full of water lillies, that were soon to bloom.    The center of the fort is an open, bare space.  We decided to start at the left and walk counter clockwise around the inside of the fort.  Parts of the fort need some restoration, but overall, it was in great condition.

 
     Originally the site of Rajah Sulayman’s settlement prior to Spanish occupation and rule. The Spanish defeated the Muslim-Filipino leader, Rajah Sulayman in the 1500’s. He was the last ruler, of the now Metro Manila area, before the Spanish took control.

     Once the Spanish had defeated Rajah Sulayman they rebuilt his settlement into a fort, referred to as Fort Santiago. In 1590 the Spanish rebuilt the wooden structures of the original settlement and re-constructed the fort with stone, making Fort Santiago a highly intimidating and imposing structure.

     Fort Santiago was used by the Spanish as it’s base of power, which it wielded unforgivingly. It housed the Military, Spanish officials and dignitaries and also served as a formidable prison with infamous dungeons where torture was not uncommon. The prison in Fort Santiago also held until his execution, Fort Santiago’s most famous prisoner.

Built in 1593, the structure was a barracks building for Spanish soldiers.
During the American period, army officers and their families live here. 
The buildings were eventually destroyed during World War II.

     Among the other sites that were interesting, was a cross that marked the burial site of approximately 600 Filipinos and Americans who were victims of atrocities during the last days of February 1945.  The appearance of their bodies suggested starvation and possible suffocation.  They were found inside a nearby dungeon, which had inner doors made of massive iron bars.  The outer doors were made of iron plated on wood. 
      From atop the fort, you are able to look down into some of the prisoner cells.  The other, torture chambers, are under the ground.  This is where the American and Pilippeano soldiers were tortured by the Japanese. 
     Although, it started to get quite hot, I was able to walk along the upper part of the wall.  It was serene and I was able to see the advantage to building this walled fort in its present location.  I was also able to view the city from across the water.  The present day Manilla is quite different from the past.



    


     As we stepped onto the main grounds, we followed the bronze footsteps that were inlaid into the ground.  This was the final footsteps Rizal took in his walk of death, from the prison cell leading to his execution by firing squad in 1896.  Also within the compound, is the Rizal shrine in memory of the great national hero of the Philippines. 




     After we left Fort Santiago, We hopped onto a horse and carriage, for a lesson in history.  I recommend this form of transportation to tour the remaining parts of the walled city.  It was refreshing to feel a light breeze and to travel back into history with the mode of transportation appropriate to the time. 

     The walled city is also referred to as, Intramuros, which means "within the walls". Intramuros served as the colonial outpost in Asia for the Spanish for 400 years. Intramous was created by a Spanish conquistador known as Miguel Lopez de Legapsi in the year 1571. The streets of this new city was placed according to urbanization rules during 1573. This lead to the creation of parallel and straight streets; Ultimately producing city blocks of identical sizes. Then a moat along with a stone wall was constructed in order to guard the city and its dwellers from any unwanted intruders.

  

Plaza San Luis

 Inside the city named after one of the old barrios of old Intramuros, is a complex currently composed of five houses - Casa Manila, Casa Urdaneta, Casa Blanca, Los Hidalgos and El Hogar Filipino. There are specialty shops, a hotel, and a museum at Casa Manila.                                                                               

Casa Manila

      Next, we crossed the street to visit the the historic San Agustin Church.  The first San Agustin Church was the first religious structure constructed by the Spaniards on the island of Luzon. The original church was contructed of bamboo and nipa.  The final construction was completed in 1571, but destroyed by fire in December, 1574 during the attempted invasion of Manila by the forces of Limahong. A second church was then constructed, but destroyed in February 1583, from a fire that started from a candle.

San Agustin Church

     San Agustin is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines; no other surviving building in the Philippines has been claimed to pre-date San Agustin Church.  As you walk through the corriders of the church, you cannot help but to feel at peace.  It is quite and serene.  The corriders are open and you can look down onto the courtyard. 

                        We were free to walk around the church and look at the artifacts that are located in various wings of the building.    We even wandered up into the organ room.  It is located up a few stairs in the back of the church.  The organ was overpowering.  It was very big, and I could not resist temptation.  Of course, I had to sit and pose for a pic.  It was hard to be quite, when the bench squeeked and echoed throughout the silent church!

The size of the music sheets display how large the 18th century pipe organ was.  The choir loft also has hand-carved 17th Century seats made from molave hardwood that match perfectly with the 18th Century pipe organ.

     The majestic church has stood for more than three centuries in the walled-city of Intramuros in Manila. It has survived two earthquakes in 1863 and 1889 and the ravages of Japanese occupation. Today, San Agustin Church is a fully functioning Roman Catholic Church under the auspices of the Order of St. Augustine, and is also the home to an important Catholic icon – the image of Our Lady of Consolation. 

     It was clear when I stood in the cathedral, how magnificent this building is.  Its ceiling is very colorful and breathtaking.  It is nice to enjoy the view from the pews in the church.  The trompe l’oeil ceiling painting was done in 1875 by Italian artists Cesare Alberoni and Giovanni Dibella. 

The "kadangyan" or rich man of the cordillera is determined not only by how much land and animals he owns but more so by the kind and quantity of is jars.

     It was a wonderful, unexpected day of tourism.  Prior to coming here, I did not know much about the history of Manila.  This tour and experience created a compassion to research the history further.