Coimbra 3 -- The Dog Killers

[April 5, Coimbra}

Descending from the university we pass

the old cathedral, built while the Moors were still making nuisances of themselves in the neighborhood, looks (and is) a fortress.



  But its interior designers have updated the original Romanesque interior over the centuries. 

Continuing our walk, we come to

the "Street of Broken Ribs", so named for the high frequency of on-the-job accidents prior to installation of OSAH-approved steps

on this very steep street.

    We pass pleasant houses along the way until we leave by

the arch that separates and guards the old town.

  The arch is conveniently provided with rectangular openings through which boiling oil could be poured to discourage unwelcome guests. Though our European cousins value mult-culturalism and now recognize that Islam is the Religion of Peace, it was not always so. The openings go by the politically incorrect name of "dog killers", as in "die, you Moorish dogs!"