Macau #1

Monte Fort, built in 1617-26, occupies a hilltop to the east of the ruins of St. Paul's. It was constructed by the Jesuits as part of a complex which also included the college and church of St. Paul's. The canons were used only once, when the Dutch invaded Macau in 1622. This was also the first residence of the governors of Macau. Over the following decades trees grew from the platform of the fort, which was transformed into a public park where residents and visitors came to enjoy the views. The only building was an office of the Meteorological Department until 1998 when the three-level Macau Museum, focusing on the history of Macau, was built into the fortress hill.

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2. The hike wasn't too bad. It was a surprisingly hot October afternoon. It's hard to believe the mercury hit 30C. A few weeks prior I had to turn off the air conditioning at night in Seoul and put on a jacket when I ventured outside at 4am thanks to jet lag.



3. Macau has quite a lot of gritty areas!







6. Thanks to a drink complements of fellow forumer amtrak, I had the energy to finish off my memory card with even more pictures.





8. All that remains of the greatest of Macau's churches is its magnificent stone facade and grand staircase. The church was built in 1602 adjoining the Jesuit College of St. Paul's, the first Western college in the Far East where missionaries such as Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall studied Chinese before serving at the Ming Court in Beijing as astronomers and mathematicians. The church, made of taipa and wood, was brilliantly decorated and furnished, according to early travelers. The facade of carved stone was built in 1620-27 by Japanese Christian exiles and local craftsmen under the direction of Italian Jesuit Carlo Spinola.



9. After the expulsion of the Jesuits, the college was used as an army barracks and in 1835 a fire started in the kitchens and destroyed the college and the body of the church.





11. While our feet were tired and needed a break, my hands were busy snapping more photos of the area.



12. There is a Chinese temple right next to St. Paul's to compete for worship.





14. Where are we?



15. Taipa is an island located south of the main historic part of Macau, but it is only 5 minutes from the ferry terminal by bus. Macau is quite a small place actually. In this picture, the Macau Dome is still under construction.



16. [B]amtrak[/B] and I took a morning hike up this hill for a panoramic view of Macau.















23. All the gamblers have gone inside Sands Casino.