Azulejos

Aveiro- train station (photo)

Azulejos showing the lighthouse(photo)

One of the postcards which made my day today! Actually I recieved 3 postcerds from Portugal, 4 from Scotland and 1 from the Phillipines with a letter...That was a good day ;) Coming back to postcard... It shows azulejos- thin ceramic tiles very popular in Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries. Nowaday is one of the characteristical features of Portugal and that's where I fall in love with them! In Aveiro where I used to live there is an old train station covered with blue and white tiles- it looks amazing!  I've attached 2 photos of that building :)

Anyway the art of azulejos has been being developed for over 500 years. It was the cheapest way to make the buildings look more aesthetical and unique. Tiles are also very higyenic and they are used indoors in kitchens, bathrooms...everywhere where humidity may be a problem.

There are two theories about the origin of the term 'azulejo'.  Because it was the Moors that brought azulejos to the Iberian Peninsula it is said that the term comes from arrabic al azzelij which means 'little, smooth stone' and which was used to name the middle-easter mosaics. The second theory is that the name comes from Portuguese/Spanish word 'azul' meaning 'blue' and it reffers to the traditional blue ornaments on the white tiles. More informations soon as I'm hopefully going to recieve more postcards showing beautiful azulejos!