Roxas Boulevard is one of the main arteries that stretch across the sprawling concrete masses that is Metro Manila. As a car heads south in the direction of Pasay City, one the right , one is hit by the salt air that gets blown in from the expanse of Manila Bay. Yet, if one is to look on his or her left, something rahter out of place in this part of the world stands out amongst low rise buildings and office towers, a seemingly greyish mass of brick wall, overshot by the spires of Manila Cathedral, a structure which reminds more of the Vatican then an atypical Asian city. Its unasianness would suggest that it is as if a chunk of a fortified town in 16th century Spain was dugged with all its entirety out of the ground and airlifted to the Philippines. True enough and more or less so, this unique fortified city was created by the colonising Spaniards 400 over years ago and stand as on of the last legacies of Spanish Influence and of surviving colonial elements in the Philippine Capital.
Lets take a more personal look at this living monument. On a more personal perspective, I think that it is my favourite place in Manila, at least for the moment, since I have not been to the equally enchanting historic town of Vigan in Ilocos Norte, not to mention all the other quaint monuments scattered all over. First of all, i would like to point out that old whilst it might be, it is not a dead monument and its dynamism is highlighted by the fact that people continue to live within Intramuros and many of these structures are still functioning though much restoration has since taken place. Well, i shall not hold you back with too much mingboggling facts and let you proceed forward to see what the walled city that is Intramuros....
More pictures and photos coming your way.... |
