What historical art taught you something important?
Azulejo tiles have been a part of Portugal’s history since the 8th century. The word originates from Arabic al zulaycha, which means polished stone. The Portuguese combine these tiles to form artwork, decorate buildings, or even use them in flooring. We saw them everywhere and on everything. Portuguese create art from combining individually painted tiles.
The São Bento Railway Station was a lot more than just a train stop. It has so much historical importance. We went on a walking tour in Porto, Portugal and this was one of the most interesting stops. The elaborate tile work in the main entryway tells the story of Portugal. Inside there are over 20,000 azulejo glazed ceramic tiles.
Azulejo tiles show up in all kinds of random places as well. We saw them attached to rocks, and most commonly on the sides of buildings. In shops, they even sold them as coasters for your coffee or tea. It was hard to avoid the Azulejo tiles but very fun to find the artwork they were a part of. The blue colors were the most common, but we found them with many patterns and colors all over the city.
Aaron waited impatiently for over twenty minutes before the selfie crowds left to get this shot. The results were worth it.
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