Quirksand

View of the castle from the west side The Torre Real ('Royal Tower') as seen from the wall near the castle entrance. The National Palace of Sintra, as seen from the castle View toward the west. On the lower right is the Quinta da Regaleira, a 19th-Century palace The Alcáçova, the keep of the castle The Praça de Armas, a flat area used for assembling soldiers. The plants to the left of the stairs are representative of the former garden planted there. The Torre Real from below Pena Palace. This viewpoint was a favorite of Ferdinand II, who rebuilt the castle in the 19th Century (and also remodeled Pena Palace). These holes were part of the bath house used by the Muslim founders of the castle. Covering over the cistern The large cistern The walls above the castle's main entrance Originally occupied by Islamic settlers, this lower area later became a Christian cemetery in the Medieval period The Atlantic Ocean out to the west