Alfama. Have you ever heard this name? If you live in Portugal, certainly yes. If you have already visited the country, too. If you study history, arts or architecture, for example, too. Alfama is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Lisbon and is considered one of the 25 oldest neighborhoods cool of the world. The neighborhood is known for its narrow, centuries-old streets, with buildings so old that they tell stories of those who passed by them. But the question now is: what is the origin of the name of one of the most famous neighborhoods in the world?
The existence of Alfama dates back to Moorish times, and in this Muslim period there were hot springs, called “al-hammã” in Arabic. This is where the name Alfama derives from. Currently, they are no longer found in the region, which is a great shame. But if you want to go to the place where it is known for sure where some of them were, be sure to go to the Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, where there were three of these sources.
The Arabic influence on the Portuguese and Spanish languages is quite visible and left a considerable legacy for these languages, if we take as an example the many words that begin with the suffix “al” such as lettuce, village, tailor and… Alfama, among others. But do you know why some words start like that, with “al”? Because the fixed “al” at the beginning of words represents the definite article in the Arabic language! The “al” accompanies any noun, masculine or feminine, singular or plural.