~ Sights Around Manila ~

Rizal Park - April 2003

Jose Rizal is the hero of the Philippines who advocated peaceful demonstrations and overthrow of the Spanish government.  We walked by the memorial on the spot where he was executed by firing squad.  It was next to the memorial detailing the deaths of several other troublemakers by strangulation chair.

We'll have more photos of Rizal Park as we go back.  When we went on Good Friday everything was shut down.  This is a view of the Rizal Monument with honor guard.  Along either side of the park are plenty of trees and among the trees are a Japanese Garden, a Chinese Garden, a chess plaza, a dinosaur theme playground, the National Museum of the Philippines and at the back end right in the middle is a huge relief of the Philippines Islands.  I was running out of space on the camera card, so this is the only photo so far.  We did go to the National Museum on May 10th, but weren't allowed to take any photos.  It's a great morning trip though and there was enough to keep both us and the kids interested.  We didn't burn out as we do at the Smithsonian and we saw the whole place. 

Intramuros - April 2003  The old walled part of the city. The Spanish built it up as a fortress in the 1500s.  We visited the Manila Cathedral (under Cardinal Sin since 1974) which has been rebuilt 5 times.  We also visited San Augustin down the street, one of the oldest stone churches in the Philippines, surviving through all the problems that the Cathedral caved under.

Manila Cathedral, take 6. After being destroyed 5 times by earthquakes, fires, typhoons, and bombings, I'm sure the city is hoping this one stands.	In the gardens of the San Augustin museum with fish in the ponds.
	Part of what's left of the old wall. We didn't take any photos inside the museum as it was poorly cared for and not climate controlled.  Some of the paintings were black with age and disrepair.  The artifacts didn't need any more abuse from a camera flash.