Tavira’s secret doors
By our collegue Filipe
As summer approaches, we are having beautiful days with mild temperatures in the South of Portugal, so our colleague Filipe Campos will take you on a stroll through Tavira.
Tavira’s narrow streets invite you to walk slowly, to truly appreciate its cultural beauty, traditions, and history. A detail that will catch your attention, and will make you wonder, the same way it made me wonder too, “Why do the centenary houses here, have such an elaborate door?” The reason behind it is very simple, these are the famous “Reixa” Doors from the Moorish Era in the Algarve. These doors have overlapped wooden slats formed of multiple designs and generally highly crafted. Their main purpose was to cool the interior of the houses during the summer. However, these doors were also the manner of young ladies to see the outside world without being seen, as they couldn’t leave the house… Subsequently, it was also a romantic manner for them to date without the knowledge of their parents!
You can appreciate these doors in the ancient quarter of Tavira and let your mind loose, imagining what it was like to live in this era as a woman. This is the secular secret of this beautiful town of the Algarve that Filipe calls home!