Intramuros

Intramuros, also known as the "Walled City" is located along the southern bank of the Pasig River. It was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century and is the oldest district of the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Its name, in Latin, intramuros, literally "within the walls", meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats.

Today I was feeling kind of wistful about the city of Manila. I'm sure we all remember the time where we used to be required to read about Jose Rizal's works Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which featured Intramuros quite prominently. During the Spanish era, Intramuros is known as Manila, the capital of the country itself. That explains the whole wall thing, of course to protect the capital of the country.

The walled city is like a silent witness to everything that's happened in the country. For sure when something changes or shakes the country, expect it to happen in Manila. Sometimes I wish to be transported back to a time where Intramuros is still where the powerful live, where Escolta is the coolest place to hang out for its shopping centers and Ermita is like the Forbes Park of society.

As of now, Intramuros is still considered fairly clean and safe because of important historical structures and landmarks within it like the San Agustin Church, Manila Cathedral, the places of knowledge like Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, the Lyceum of the Philippines, Mapua Institute of Technology, Fort Santiago, the DOLE and gardens and clubhouses like Casa Manila,  a golf course, and the like.

However because of the residential areas, the walled city is littered with garbage and general untidiness. But, we cannot do anything about it because some houses and residents have history there since Intramuros was built

However, should you want to visit Intramuros, don't hesitate. Experience history through the walls and through the landmarks within the walls. There are also still a lot of many different clean and well-maintained parks inside Intramuros. There's Baluarte, and Asian Garden near Mapua and the Lyceum of the Philippines. I hope to explore the other parks in Intramuros soon.

This is my entry to this month's PTB Blog Carnival with a theme of "Manila in Focus" hosted by Angel Juarez ofLakwatsero.com

To read more of the PTB Blog Carnival's past entries, clickhere.