Fort Santiago

Manila cathedral

My leave was nearing it's end so I instead of hazarding a 3h car ride from Calatagan in the middle of the night we went a day earlier to Manila and ended up bouncing about malls and tourist venues for almost the same cost the taxi would have been.

Although having stayed before in Intramuros I hadn't seen all the 'spots' there so ended up going around the Manila Cathedral and then Fort Santiago that was behind it on the bank of Pasig river. The current cathedral is the 8th that was constructed in 1958 (the 1st was built in 1571) after the previous ones had succumbed to natural disasters or war. It was officially elevated by the Pope to basilica minore in 1981 and officially named Basilica of Immaculate Conception.

Inside the Cathedral

Outside the cathedral was a slew of touts advertising tours on horse driven carriage but I declined it considering the poor animal. I continued ambling on and ended up behind the basilica where the Fort Santiago is. It is the oldest fortification in Manila that also has been mowed over seevral times by natural disasters and war, latest was during 2nd WW in 1945. After that it was declared the Shrine of Freedom in 1950. Restoration and maintenance began in 1951 and in 1992 the management was turned over to Intramuros administration.

Ramparts

Rizal statue

Old structures held up by steel beams

Illegal buildings outside of the ramparts, looks like an ex golf club

Water basins inside the fort next to Pasig river

Views back to towards the Basilica

The modern city looms in the background

Views over the Fort

Tiles around the Fort of various donors to the restoration projects

Pasig river

Pasig river from the ramparts

Some basins inside from the Pasig river

Fort resident

Ramparts

Fort resident

Pasig river

The dungeons of Fort Santiago where many met their maker at the hands of their captors

From Feb 3rd to March 3rd Manila became an urban battlefield when the Allied liberated the city from the Japanese forces. They opted for going scorched earth and an estimated of 100.000 civilians died in the process of the fires and allied bombings, half of Manila had been destroyed. The dungeons displays some gruesome pictures of the aftermath that was discovered after the smoke cleared.

Lego miniatures on display

Lego miniatures on display

Some passageways up to the ramparts

On the rampart

Plaza de Armas

Exit from the fort