Colombia (February-March 2018): Cartagena
Return to main Colombia 2018 page
Cartagena de Indias was founded in 1533 by Pedro de Heredia. It quickly flourished as the main port for trade between Spain and its American empire. Because of its wealth, it became the target of numerous pirate attacks. In response to these attacks, the Spaniards erected large fortifications, a process that lasted over two centuries, almost until the army of Simon Bolivar defeated the Spaniards in 1821. Most of these fortifications still remain; they are the largest in the former Spanish colonial empire. Today, Cartagena is the main touristic destination in Colombia. Nevertheless, the old town keeps much character and strolling its narrow streets remains a pleasant experience, especially in the early morning and late afternoon (when swarms of tourists from cruise ships aren′t there).
Views of the city:
The modern part of the city seen from Baluarte de Santo Domingo at the northwest corner of Murallas (the fortification walls surrounding the old town).
The modern part of the city seen from Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas.
Portion of the old part of the city seen from Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas at sunset.
Castillo de San Felipe
de Barajas:
View from the base:
Bell tower at the top of the castle.
|
|
|
Turrets, walls, and tunnel (used to move troops and ammunition inside the castle).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Old Town:
Baluarte de San Ignacio at the southwest corner of the Murallas.
Puerte (and Torre) del Reloj, the main gate into the walled city.
Torre del Reloj. (Obviously, the clock was not working!)
|
|
|
Iglesia de San Pedro Claver seen from outside the Murallas.
Main facade of Iglesia de San
Pedro Claver.
|
|
|
Side facade and interior of Iglesia de San Pedro Claver.
|
|
|
Paintings of bishops in Claustro de San Pedro Claver.
Cathedral:
- Interior.
- Rear facade and bell tower at night.
|
|
|
Iglesia de Santo Domingo: interior and buttresses on lateral wall.
|
|
|
Interior and Moorish-style wooden ceiling of Iglesia de Santo Toribio de Mangrovejo.
|
|
|
Palacio de la Inquisicion:
- Baroque stone entrance gate and Ventana de la Denuncia, a small window in a side wall where citizens could anonymously denounce other people for heretic behavior.
|
|
|
- Views of the inner courtyard.
|
|
|
The Bovedas, a series of 23 vaults built in the late 18th century to store food and ammunition. The vaults now host small shops, most selling cheap handcrafts.
Teatro Colon in Getsemani.
Streets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Doors of old mansions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beautiful door knockers, which have their roots in colonial time when their sizes and motifs reflected the status and activity of the families living behind the doors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People enjoying the shade of a banyan tree on a hot afternoon.
A few of the many street vendors.
|
|
|
|
|
[Man selling hormigas culonas (″big-bottomed ants″), a regional delicacy for several centuries.] |
|
|
[The women in colorful dresses in the three photos above are Palenqueras. They originally come from San Basillo de Palenque, a village some 50km southeast of Cartagena, which was founded in colonial times by runaway slaves.]
|
|
|
Murals.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Left: Man washing a bronze statue of Fernando Botero in Plaza de Santo Domingo. Right: Bronze statues celebrating Pedro Romero and the ″Lanceros de Getsemani″, heroes of Cartagena′s independence, in Plaza de la Trinidad.
|
|
|
Statue of India Catalina, an indigenous woman born in 1495, abducted in 1509 by the Spaniards, transferred to Santo Domingo where she learned Spanish, and finally used as an interpreter to help the Spaniards pacify the Indian populations around what is now Cartagena.
|
|
|
A few of the metal sculptures dotting various parts of the old town.
|
|
|
|
The odd KGB bar at a corner of Plaza Fernandez de Madrid.
Mercado de Bazurto:
This ″real Cartagenero″ market is a large labyrinth of covered and non-covered alleys. It is a vibrant escape from the polished streets of the old town. Its people are more authentically friendly, as they do not even try to sell you anything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
