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| Lisbon at dusk |
Lisbon is an amazing city with loads of history and incredible sights. Ancient Lisbon was originally built by native peoples on two hills overlooking a sheltered bay leading the Tagus River out to the Atlantic. Lisbon became a trading port with the Phoenicians and Greeks and it Greek it was known as Olissipo. Later, in Roman times, Lisbon was part of the Carthaginian empire and after the defeat of Hannibal in the Punic Wars, the Iberian Peninsula became a Roman Territory. After the fall of Rome, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by Germanic tribes and controlled Lisbon until the Moors invaded in 711 from North Africa. In 1147, the Moors were expelled from Lisbon and it was returned to Christian rule. In the Middle Ages, Portugal began to explore and in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries Lisbon was a major center for the Age of Discovery expeditions. As a premier nautical power and pioneer in the world Portugal and Lisbon were the beneficiaries of this exploration and much of Lisbon's art and architecture reflects this golden age of the Renaissance.
