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Açôr |
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Aldeia Velha sits high on the side of the Ceira valley. At 800m above sea level, it is the second highest village in the Góis region. Around the village there are stunning views to the Serra do Caramulo and the Serra da Estrela. A narrow cobbled street leads down from the village, with several narrow lanes between the houses. The older buildings in the village are constructed from the local stone and clay. The roofs are covered with stone slabs, also quarried from the local stone. Down one of the streets a wall has been constructed using large slabs of xisto stone. Below the village the valley has been terraced. Some of the terraces are over 3m in height. The land around the village is still cultivated, and around the fields and terraces the villagers have hung plastic bags, old sheets and clothes to deter the ‘javali’ (wild boar) from damaging the crops.
Aldeia Velha has a modern chapel at the top of the village, dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Liberamento. An old wash-house stands behind the chapel, the large concrete wash-basins have sunk into the floor of the wash-house, leaving the wash-basins at odd angles. An old story tells how the village got its name. The story goes that there were once two tailors, mother and daughter, both with the name of Alda. They were known as ‘Alda Nova’ (young Alda) and ‘Alda Velha’ (old Alda). People from the neighbouring villages came to this village to have their clothes made, and some people chose to give the work to the ‘Alda Velha’ and some to the ‘Alda Nova’. Thus the place got the name Aldeia Velha. (This is a much more creative explanation than the prosaic fact that ‘aldeia ‘ in Portuguese means ‘village’!) |
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| Updated 9 June, 2008 | |||||||||||||||