Castle of the Moors The Castle of the Moors ( ) is a hilltop medieval castle located in the central Portuguese civil parish of Santa Maria e São Miguel , in the municipality of Sintra . Taken by Christian forces from the Moors after the fall of Lisbon , it was an important strategic point during the Reconquista , and classified as a National Monument , part of the Sintra Cultural Landscape , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . History . The castle was constructed during the 8th to 9th century , during the period of Arab occupation of the Iberian peninsula , as the central place in an territory that was immeniently agricultural , and which was necessary to protect its population In 1031 , after the loss of Córdoba to the Almoravid dynasty , the king of Badajoz opted to transfer to Alfonso VI of León and Castile , a few territories on the Iberian peninsula ( among them Sintra ) in order to gain an alliance with the Christian king . This transfer did not result in any security , and the castle was lost to the invading Almovorid . After the conquest of Lisbon ( 1147 ) by forces loyal to Afonso Henriques , the castle surrendered voluntarily to Christian forces . Afonso Henriques confided the castle ' s security to 30 inhabitants , conceding them privileges across the foral ( " charter " ) signed by the monarch in 1154 . The charter suggested the that settlers should occupy and inhabit the castle , as a mechanism for guaranteeing the regions security and development . During the second half of the 12th century , the chapel constructed within the walls of castle became the parish seat . This was followed by the remodeling and construction under the initiative of King Sancho I of Portugal . In 1375 , King Ferdinand I of Portugal , under the counsel of João Annes de Almada , ordered the rebuilding of the castle . While the structure was well fortified by 1383 , its military importance was progressively diminishing , as more and more , the inhabitants were abandoning the castle for the old village of Sintra . While the chapel was still being used a centre of religious activities at the beginning of the 15th century , by 1493 , this chapel was abandoned and later only used by the small Jewish community of the parish . This was followed in the 16th century by the transfer of the ecclesiastical parish of São Pedro , from the castle to the new parochial church in the village . The Jews occupying and using the structures in the castle were expelled by Manuel I of Portugal , and the castles was completely abandoned . The 1755 Lisbon earthquake caused considerable damage to the chapel and affected the stability of the castle . Visiting the chapel , Francisco de Almeida Jordão described the chapel ( in 1768 ) as having a " " principal door in the east , and in the south another smaller door , and a window . . . An addition to a painted image on the altar , there was another of rock which , already exists in the hermitage of Santa Eufémia , where they took it " " . A 1830 lithograph by Burnett immortalized the chapels place in the Castle . By 1838 , the towers were already in ruins , when in 1840 Ferdinand II of Portugal took up the task of conserving and improving the condition of the castle , in which he committed 240 réis annually . He consolidated the walls , reforested the spaces , created nooks and manicured spaces and conserved the chapel . Along the south flank of the chapel he built a monument to collect the bones discovered during the public works , planting a tree in the central nave of the chapel . These reforms in the enclosure were oriented by Baron von Eschewege , but likely made the archaeological recuperation of the territory considerably difficult . At the end of the 19th century , the administrator of the Forestry Service , Carlos de Nogueira , authorized several projects in the castle and chapel . In 1939 , the DGEMN becomes involved in the reconstruction of the castle walls , in addition to the lateral door of the chapel . With an eye towards a fledgling tourist market , in 1954 a few of the cliffs were cleared to establish a picnic area near the castle , and in 1965 , a transformer was installed to provide illumination . In 1979 archaeological excavations in the Chapel of São Pedro begin by the cultural services of Portugal , which discovered the existence of medieval funerary tombs , dating to the end of the 12th , beginning of the 13th , centuries . A dispatch by the Ministry of Culture , on 26 June 1996 , declared the area of the Castle as a zone of special interest ( ) . During the summer of 1986 , scouts were involved in projects to consolidate the walls with cement and clean the grounds , supported by the CMS . In 2001 there are various interventions associated with cleaning the property , clearing undergrowth and forest overgrowth , and the installation of an electrical box along one of the walls . Architecture . It is situated on the top of the Sintra Mountains , where it has a panoramic view of the municipality of Sintra , and on a clear day Mafra and Ericeira . It is accessible from Santa Maria e São Miguel by a protected gate and turnstile , or across a road accessway to the Palace of Pena . The castle is located in the limits of the Sintra - Cascais Nature Park , in the north flank of the Sintra Mountains , where the slopes are at most 40 % gradients , with accented or moderate variation . The " Serra da Sintra " , known locally , consists of an eruptive massif with an abundance of granite , sienitos , gabros and dioritos rock formations , with soils consisting of litólicos , húmicos , câmbicos , normais , de granito ( Mng ) . The climate is characterized by low temperatures and elevated precipatation , due to its proximity to the sea , its relief and dense vegetation . The local vegetation is dense and diverse , with a large percentage exotics introduced during the 16th century by D . João de Castro , and in the 19th century by Ferdinand II and Francis Cook . Further , the fauna is characterized by a similar diversity , and was integrated into the royal estates and hunting grounds , including the Tapada dos Bichos , Tapada do Inhaca , Tapada do Borges , Pinhal do Prior and Tapada do Forjaz , Pinhal do Sereno , Pinhal do Tomado and Pinhal do Vale dos Anjos . Within the proximity of the castle are many other sites , including the Garden of Pena ( ) , the Estate of Penha Verde ( ) , the Estate of Regaleira ( ) , the Estate of Relógio ( ) and the Park of Monserrate ( ) , among others . The Moorish Castle and other properties in the region act as a principal focus of tourism , the principal activity in this region . Castle . The castle is an irregularly planned military outpost that follows a 450 metre perimeter on top of a mountainous cliff , oriented southwest to northwest . It consists of a double line of military walls that meanders over the granite terrain of the promontory . Its place on the hilltop , surrounded by and including the natural and exotic vegetation , accentuates the Romantic character of the place . The Moorish Castle , due to its geographic place and design , was considered , along with Santarém , one of the principal points of the military plan of Belata ( the Muslim province which corresponds to the Ribatejo and Estremadura ) . The property was remodelled and expanded over time , resulting in a Romantic - era ruins , that included damage caused over time and the public works of Ferdinand II . The towers , which initially included two floors , has a modified appearance , without many of the internal divisions or roofing typical of the period . However , the location of the turrets seem to coincide with the design represented in the engravings of Duarte de Armas . The outer walls open near Abelheira ( west of Tapada dos Bichos ) , from a main access door , where several paths wind around the hilltop of the castle . A second ring of walls reinforces the castle with both circular and square turrets , thick wall battlements and railings , and crowned with pyramid - shaped merlons . At this second wall is the main entrance to the castle , protected by two turrets and battlements . Near these secondary walls and entrance are the main ruins of the old buildings , corresponding to the cellars , animal pens and cistern . The subterranean cistern , accessible from a three metre accessway , is 18 metres long by 6 metres wide , and 6 metres in height , where water was collected from openings on its " roof " . The interior walls are punctuated by five rectangular towers and one circular tower , surmounted by pyramidal merlons , while surrounding these structures are remnants of older constructions . A small door , normally covered in underbrush , opens to the northern façade of the castle , corresponding to the " Traitors Gate " , accessing the main " military square " with the structure . In the southwest corner is the highest tower , known as the " royal tower " . Along the perimeter of the castle exist various bins or silos , originating from the Arab occupation , many of which are plant covered . Chapel . A chapel with rectangular nave and narrow , lower presbytery lies outside the secondary wall , not too far from the entrance . These ruins were constructed of limestone and masonry , and the interior is accessible from the western or southern façades . The southern wall is highlighted by an arched doorway , supported by colonnades and decorative capitals , with vegetation or fantastical animal motifs ( gryphons and basilisk s ) . The northern façade , with a 1 - 5 metre opening , corresponds to a primitive door , elevated owing to the accentuated terrain . A triumphal arch based on double columns , based on the similar portal in the south , includes carved capitals with phytomorphic bezels and vestiges of a door . The main chapel has a cradle vault with remains of frescoes , representing a halo in the sky with a figure corresponding to the patron saint , surrounded by floral and geometric motifs , all surrounded by a frieze with geometric designs . Alongside the area designated for the oratory , is a small rectangular niche for religious equipment . The fact that the chapel was located within the walls of the castle led to the tradition that the structure served as mosque prior to the Reconquista . Although it is likely that there may have existed a place of worship for the Muslim population , there is no specific association with this building .