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Portugal travel guide

Fatima

our lady of FatimaFatima is a place of pilgrimage for many Catholics in commemoration of the appearance of Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Fatima) to three young shepherds in Cova da Iria.

Location

The town of Fatima is located in the municipality of Ourém, at 187 km / 116miles south of Porto and 123 km / 76miles north of Lisbon.

Our Lady of Fatima

In 1917, three young shepherds –Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco- claimed to have seen the Virgin of the Rosary (Our Lady of Fatima), on the spot where now the Basilica stands. The Virgin of the Rosary appeared on the 13th day of six consecutive months, starting on 13 May.

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Featured Articles Portugal

Portugal’s Cork Industry

Cork forestPortugal is one of the world’s major cork growers; as much as one third of the total cork oak area is in Portugal, which accounts for about half of the cork harvested annually in the world.

Cork oak

The cork oak loves the western Mediterranean climate, which means the Algarve is the region where the best quality cork is obtained. Cork oak also grows in Alentejo.

Cork is a light, flexible, elastic material, impervious to moisture, to liquid and gaseous substances. Its qualities led to the industrial utilization of the material. With the invention of glass bottles, cork became important for the stopper industry.

Portuguese cork production is directed at big consumer markets such as USA, UK, Germany. The industry represents 16% of the total foreign income derived from trade.

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Featured Articles Portugal

Port – flagship wine of Portugal

Port winePort wine (Vinho do Porto) is a sweet, fortified Portuguese wine from the Douro Valley. Often it’s served as a dessert wine, along with cheese. Port wine is protected by the European Union guidelines, hence only the wine originating in Douro Valley may be called “Porto”, although similar wines are produced in several countries.

Douro Valley

The region located in Northern Portugal has a perfect microclimate for growing grapes, olives and almonds. This region is also known for its picturesque farms, “hanging” on the almost vertical slopes dropping down into the river.

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Featured Articles Portugal

Bacalhau – the national dish of Portugal

BacalhauBacalhau means “cod” in Portuguese but the word also refers to salted cod, the national dish of Portugal. Bachalhau is very popular in Portugal, as well as in Galicia (Spain). However, it’s not a staple dish in the former Portuguese colonies.

When is Bacalhau eaten?

Salted cod is considered a delicacy. It’s eaten on special days such as Christmas Day or during the Holy Week. It’s also a very common dish on Good Friday.

Bacalhau dishes

Some say there are 365 ways of cook bacalhau, one for each day of the week. Others say there are 101 ways to prepare it. No mater who you believe, there are a lot of recipe variations, depending both on the traditions and regions.

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Portugal travel guide Turkey

Turkey Entry Visa for Tourists

turkey visaBefore starting to plan your vacation in Turkey you should check if you need a tourist visa to entry the country. Then, you need to figure out if you can get the visa directly at the point of entry or need to apply at the consulate. Most likely you’ll need a single entry visa which means you can stay in Turkey for up to three months.

Need to know

E-consulate makes the job easy to figure out if you need a visa. However, the prices listed are those applied at the consulates and not at the point of entry.

Sticker-type entry visa upon arrival

Citizens of the following countries can get a sticker-type entry visa at the point of entry in Turkey: UK, US, Canada, Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal.

Citizens of these countries need to have a passport and pay the visa fee at the point of entry in Turkey.