This door you can find on a house in Faro in the south in Portugal. Faro is the Algarve's capital and these days a gateway to the heavily-touristed southern coast of Portugal and also a thriving commercial centre, but surprisingly pleasant for all that. This is due to the fact that Faro has a rich history. It once was a trading post used by both Phoenicians and Carthaginians and became a major port under the Romans, who named it Ossonoba. Under the Moors, it became the cultured capital of a short-lived 11th-century principality founded by Mohammed ben Said ben Hárun, from whose name 'Faro' is said to have evolved. The town had it's share of destruction too. It was plundered and burnt down by the troops under the Earl of Essex, and the rebuilt Faro was shattered by an earthquake in 1722 and, except for its sturdy old centre, flattened by another the big quake in 1755. So the present city is mainly dated from the post-quake rebuilding. (Photo by Francisco Ourique)