Manila Cathedral
The church that stands the test of times, the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception or more commonly known as the Manila Cathedral is standing on its eight and present fortification. The Basilica has suffered from storms, earthquakes, fires and the two world wars and it is still standing up to now! Amazing isn’t?
si bie ko =’)
View from Plaza Mayor
The walk in front of the Manila Cathedral was brought about by my (our) intension to see the magnificent golden sunset of Manila Bay. Since we arrived in Manila earlier than the sunset we decided to walk around Intramuros before proceeding to our agenda. As I always say I am not a Catholic but I love vising old structures which are mostly houses of Catholic faith.
What did I wish for? hehe
Manila Cathedral is one of the most remarkable Basilica in the Philippines. Located inside the Walled City of Intramuros, the architecture of the church is notable to every traveler’s eye. It has a concave passes with very detailed works of art. It has a Latin inscription on the top of the door which reads:
Tibi cordi tuo immaculato concredimus nos ac consecramus
In English it reads: We consecrate to your immaculate heart and entrust to you (Mary) for safekeeping.
We weren’t able to enter the church because it was under renovation. I heard from the news before that all the wedding booking was cancelled due to the church renovation. And could you imagine you should have to book a year before your wedding date just to get married on this church. Surely that was a big headache for the engage couple.
Jherson & Phoebe
In front of the church is the Plaza Mayor where green and colonial period blending together. On the right side of the church is the Palacio del Gobernador which now houses the head office of the Commission on Election (COMELEC).
Walled City of Intramuros
As the sun warming the earth on its best we continued walking eastward and reach the Bahay Tsinoy. A museum dedicated to the Chinese root of the Filipino people. I am writing a separate post on this =’)
We continued to savor the colonial Manila. I’ve seen some renovation being done to preserve the history of each structure. Good enough, and maybe because Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church is within the vicinity, many historic houses are converted to fancy restaurants and venues for different events. There are some buildings converted into an office of marine services because of its proximity in the port area. There are I think 3-4 College institution inside Intramuros. And most of the major newspaper publishing in the Philippines is inside of the walled city.
These occupancy for me are better because we are still seeing some commerce going on inside the wall city. Although the government should not neglect the fact that Intramuros is supposed to showcase the history of the Filipino people during the Spanish Era. Thank God there are still museums inside like the Bahay Tsinoy, San Agustin Church Museum, Light and Sound Museum and the Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago (I don’t know if there are still other museums there).
San Agustin Church
We haven’t really walked on the whole of Intramuros as the clock is ticking on the sunset. After a quick walk in San Agustin Church, a UNSECO world heritage site and the oldest church in the Philippines, we took a taxi and hurried to Quirino Grand stand to start our walk towards Manila Bay.
The building adjacent to the church: It shouldn’t have been there =(
It was such a nice experience to walk inside Intramuros over and over again with Phoebe my girlfriend. This one activity that I will always do whenever there is opportunity. In case I have friends from the province or abroad, I will volunteer myself to tour them if they wanted to.
Happy Travels =)
