This is not a pictures found in any Lisbon travel guide, but strolling downhill around in the many narrow streets and alleys on the way down from the Castelo, through Mouraria and Alfama towards the river Tejo, we passed many, many such sadly decayed , unkempt buildings.
And, when realizing that people are living behind many of these windows, the "have and have not" got uncomfortably close to a couple of tourists spending €140,- a day for their hotel room alone.
But how on earth and why could this decay happen?
This did not start yesterday... this building like thousands of others have not fallen into such serious state of decay and disrepair over night.
What is seen on this picture is the result of a total lack of maintenance over a hundred years or more... over generation.
A decay which started way back when Portugal still held colonies with natural resources of all kinds... and next to no cost labor, which could be and was exploited over centuries.
Where on earth did all the money go?
Why did the "capital", the owners, decide to abandon their investments... their property, and let it head into this state of disrepair?
And, when realizing that people are living behind many of these windows, the "have and have not" got uncomfortably close to a couple of tourists spending €140,- a day for their hotel room alone.
But how on earth and why could this decay happen?
This did not start yesterday... this building like thousands of others have not fallen into such serious state of decay and disrepair over night.
What is seen on this picture is the result of a total lack of maintenance over a hundred years or more... over generation.
A decay which started way back when Portugal still held colonies with natural resources of all kinds... and next to no cost labor, which could be and was exploited over centuries.
Where on earth did all the money go?
Why did the "capital", the owners, decide to abandon their investments... their property, and let it head into this state of disrepair?
Well, I guess I belong to the type of people who wonder what happened and why, and my opinion is that the picture of this building is a visualisation of exploitation and profit maximation... the darker side of a runaway capitalism.
The enormous past wealth, apparent behind these decayed fasades of Lisbon however, was the harvest of colonies being exploited rather than values created in Portugal. and that had to cause a galloping inflation.
And, inflaton means that everything gets more valuable except money itself, and hence money would inevitably start to move out of Lisbon, out of Portugal, to other places where its value was higher. The spiral of decay started.
Within the European Union, of which Portugal is a full member since 1986, the paradox is that Portugals anew suffer the free flow and disappearance of capital to new member countries within the EU, or elsewhere in the world, where money has a greater value. Not that a major "motor" in the EU like Germany (where I have my home) is not suffering the same fate, but to me it seems like Portugal is hit bloody hard in this respect.
The enormous past wealth, apparent behind these decayed fasades of Lisbon however, was the harvest of colonies being exploited rather than values created in Portugal. and that had to cause a galloping inflation.
And, inflaton means that everything gets more valuable except money itself, and hence money would inevitably start to move out of Lisbon, out of Portugal, to other places where its value was higher. The spiral of decay started.
Within the European Union, of which Portugal is a full member since 1986, the paradox is that Portugals anew suffer the free flow and disappearance of capital to new member countries within the EU, or elsewhere in the world, where money has a greater value. Not that a major "motor" in the EU like Germany (where I have my home) is not suffering the same fate, but to me it seems like Portugal is hit bloody hard in this respect.
As for Lisbons historic quarters, I'm afraid the
"could have been challenge" to Prague and Warzaw, will remain nothing but superlatives in rather biased tourist guides.... what?...
me?... no, I am as always nothing but absolutely objective
in everthing I say and write! :-)
"could have been challenge" to Prague and Warzaw, will remain nothing but superlatives in rather biased tourist guides.... what?...
me?... no, I am as always nothing but absolutely objective
in everthing I say and write! :-)
o