Barry Hatton > Quotes

“The Portuguese remind me of those ancient olive trees you come across around the country - bent out of shape by bigger forces, flawed and suffering, but robustly surviving with an unusual beauty.”
― Barry Hatton, Os Portugueses: A historia Moderna de Portugal. O verdadeiro retrato de um povo único, fascinante e contraditório.

“A saying still used in Portugal is Anda Mouro na costa (literally, “there are Moors off the coast”). It indicates that trouble is afoot,”
― Barry Hatton, Queen of the Sea: A History of Lisbon

“The castle overlooking Alfama and the rest of the city is perhaps Lisbon’s most emblematic landmark, and the view it offers is staggering. As the sun sets over the Atlantic—if you sailed that way, the first land mass you would come to is North America—the electric blue sky shifts through a kaleidoscope of colours. The sun fades to apricot, followed by more delicate hues: candy-pink and lilac, before a triumphant dying blast of violet, magenta and crimson.”
― Barry Hatton, Queen of the Sea: A History of Lisbon

“King Afonso III finally cleared out the Muslims in 1249 when he took Faro, their last Algarve stronghold.”
― Barry Hatton, Queen of the Sea: A History of Lisbon