Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger version of the photo. Return to this page by using your browser's "Back" button.
Cartagena contains one of the best preserved examples of the Spanish colonial period in South America, and its parks, forts, and monuments have been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The city was founded by Pedro de Heredia in 1533, and the old town is surrounded on three sides by the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena was one of the principal points from which treasure was shipped from America to Spain, and as such was heavily protected by a chain of forts at the approach to its harbor. Nevertheless, the city was successfully attacked by the British in 1586, and by the French in 1697. Today it is a pleasant place to enjoy the area's fine food, the rich musical traditions, or just for a leisurely stroll.
View from the Castillo San Felipe, one of the old Spanish forts which protect the entrance to the harbor. |
View of the walls which surround the old town. Some of these walls were razed years ago, but the section along the coast still stand. |
||
The Cathedral, begun in 1575 but not completed until 1612. |
View of the Plaza de Bolívar in front of the Cathedral, looking toward the Church and Monastery of Santo Domingo (1579). |
||
View along the seawall, looking toward Playa Marbella. |
A small plazuela next to the Church of Santo Domingo, the perfect retreat from the tropical heat. |
||
Plaza de la Aduana, with a statue of Columbus. |
Another view of the Plaza de la Aduana. |
||
The Griffons, famous statues at the bridge between the La Matuna and Getsémani neighborhoods.
|
The Church and Convent of Santa Teresa, from atop the city walls. |
||
|
 |
 |
 |
| Four scenes (above) in the old town. Most of the houses are just one or two floors, and were occupied by the nobility. Today the old town is a center tourists, many of whom visit Cartagena on cruise ships. | |||
Inside the Church of San Pedro Claver, built 1603 by the Jesuits and named after a monk who was canonized in 1889. Here a priest intervenes as a Spaniard is preparing to beat a slave. |
Another painting in the same series. Through media such as this, Catholicism was explained and held an appeal to the masses of slaves and indigenous people in much of Latin America. |
||
Local children dance the cumbia, a musical style unique to this part of Colombia which is heavily indebted to its African roots. |
The boys and girls at first dance separately, then form a circle. The boys will hold white candles known as "esperma" (sperm), signifying fertility and life. |
||
At the end of the dance, both the girls and boys dance with their candles. |
Las Bóvedas, part of the city's fortifications completed in 1799. Underneath the walls are small shops selling crafts and similar items. |
||
A view from the balcony of one of the houses in the old town. |
A colorful street market in La Matuna. |
||
View toward Bocagrande, the main resort area which is effectively a suburb of Cartagena. |
On Bocagrande Beach (NB: cumbia lovers may be reminded of "La Zenaida"). |
||
Getting ready for another day on Bocagrande. |
Map courtesy of Mapquest. |
||
