Philippines Day 4 - Manila City Tour Park 2 (Fort Santiago & Manila Cathedral)

Date of Visit: 23rd March 2012

Done with one of the top tourist attractions in city of Manila, Rizal Park, Abel then brought us to Intramuros which located on the north of Rizal Park. Intramuros, known as "The Walled City" is the historic centre and oldest district of Manila. This area was built by the Spaniards in the late 16th, hence all the architectures of the buildings here were heavily influenced by Spanish.

There are many things you can see and do in Intramuros and after did a research, my friends and I requested Abel to bring us to the following places (which I did mentioned in my previous post) :

• Fort Santiago
• Manila Cathedral
• San Agustin Church
• Casa Manila

And for this post, I will share about Fort Santiago and Manila Cathedral which both of these located not far away from each other. 

#1: Known as calesa and this is one of the way to get around Intramuros. But for this one is freaking unique. Don't you think like the Cinderella's pumpkin carriage?

#2: Main gate of Fort Santiago

Fort Santiago is our second pit stop. This fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila which it's also including part of the Dr. Jose Rizal's history, Phillippines' national hero where he was imprisoned here before the execution took place. At the first glance of this fort, somehow it looks similar to our Malaysia's A' Farmosa Fortress in Malacca but this one was more wider and well preserved and taken care of. 

#3: Rizal Shrine 

The Rizal Shrine is dedicated to Dr. Jose Rizal. It is a modern museum which houses the building where the national hero spend his last night and where his famous poem Mi último adiós (My Last Farewell) was found concealed in an oil lamp by his family later. 

Hours of Operation of Rizal Shrine:
Tuesdays to Sundays: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Mondays: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

#4: A statue of Dr. Jose Rizal 

#5: It's kinda huge and we took more than an hour wandered around here

The admission fee for adult is P75 whereas for the children and for those who has valid student id, the fee would be P50. I stumbled upon a souvenir shop nearby Fort Santiago which selling postcards and stamps as well. Because we didn't had the time to the post office, so I just directly bought from there. 

Walking few blocks away, we saw this magnificent Manila Cathedral and it was truly amazed us. This church somehow remind me of the few churches I visited when I went Europe for 20 days few years back. 

#6: Imagine this cathedral was damaged and destroyed several times but until today, it still stay strong and well-maintained. 

#7: Façade of Manila Cathedral and a view of the dome

#8: Inscription on the triangular decorative wall on the top of the main door of the basilica

My friends and I kept on searching the way to enter into this church until we realised it was closed on that day for certain unknown reason. Looks like it's not our lucky day that day. Somehow, if you interested to know more about this Manila Cathedral, I am highly recommended to read this blog - Foong PC's blog where most of my research are found from his blog. His travelogues especially on South East Asia countries or in short known as ASEAN countries are so detailed and informative.