Faro, Portugal ; A must visit place

Faro is a city in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region. The Algarve and Faro district cover the same territory.

With the advent of Moorish rule in the 8th century, Ossonoba retained its status as the most important town in the southwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula. In the 9th century, it became the capital of a short-lived princedom and was fortified with a ring of defensive walls. At this time, the name Santa Maria began to be used instead of Ossonoba.

Later on, the town was known as Harun (from a local Muslim chieftain), hence its current name, Faro. During the 500 years of Moorish rule there were some Jewish inhabitants in Faro who wrote copies of the Old Testament. One of Faro's historical names in Arabic is أخشونبة. The Moors were defeated by the forces of the Portuguese King Afonso III in 1249. With the decline of the importance of the city of Silves, Faro took over the role of administration of the Algarve area.

The Earl of Essex sacked the town in 1596 and seized the library of the Bishop of Faro. These books were later donated to the University of Oxford, becoming part of the Bodleian Library.