Moura lies in the Baixo Alentejo, on the left bank of the Guadiana, not far from the Spanish border. Its name is linked to a legend: the Moorish princess Salúquia, lady of the castle, was to marry the lord of a nearby castle, but Christian knights killed the groom and his retinue, dressed in their clothes and had the gates opened to them. Seeing the town lost, Salúquia threw herself from the tower. Ever since, the story goes, the town has been called "land of the Moorish woman", and the princess appears on its coat of arms.
What to see
The castle, Arab in origin and rebuilt after the reconquest, keeps its keep and the remains of an Almohad tower; nearby is the church of São João Baptista, with a Manueline portal and sixteenth-century Sevillian azulejos. The Mouraria quarter, where Muslims were confined after the reconquest, has lanes of white houses with distinctive chimneys and a small house-museum devoted to the Islamic period. Moura also once had a Jewish community, recalled by some houses of the old Jewish quarter.
Olive oil and waters
Moura is one of the capitals of Portuguese olive oil: azeite de Moura has protected designation of origin, and the town has an olive oil museum in an old mill. It is also known for its waters: the old baths stand in the spa garden, a fine nineteenth-century park in the centre, and Pisões-Moura mineral water is bottled a few kilometres away.
Surroundings
Moura is close to Lake Alqueva, with river beaches and the great dam, which can be visited. In the municipality, near Amareleja, is one of Portugal's largest solar photovoltaic plants: the area is among the hottest and sunniest in Europe, and summer temperatures often exceed 40 degrees. Moura is under an hour by car from Beja or Serpa, and about two and a half hours from Lisbon.