Welcome to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon. It is one of the most densely populated cities on Earth, and the Pasig River flows right through its middle. By 1258 a fortified Tagalog polity called Maynila stood here. In 1571 the Spanish began building the walled city of Intramuros, and Manila became the hub of the galleon trade, whose routes across the Pacific linked Asia with the Spanish Americas. For the first time, an unbroken chain of trade routes circled the planet. Let us step inside the old walls.
Intramuros
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsYou are now within the walls of Intramuros, whose name means inside the walls. In Spanish times, this small fortified district of about two thirds of a square kilometre was the whole City of Manila, while the towns outside were called extramuros. From 1571 it was the seat of the colonial government and the religious and educational centre of the Spanish East Indies, as well as the Asian hub of the galleon trade with Acapulco. The Battle of Manila in 1945 flattened Intramuros almost entirely, and many of its landmarks have never returned.
Fort Santiago
Photo: Elmer B. Domingo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsPass through the gate of Fort Santiago, the citadel built in 1571 by Miguel López de Legazpi to guard the new city of Manila. It is one of the most important historical sites in the city, and a sombre one: many people died in its prisons, both under Spanish rule and during the Second World War. The national hero José Rizal was held here before his execution in 1896. Look down at the ground, where bronze footprints trace his final walk from his cell to the place of his execution.
Rizal Park
Photo: Ernest Malsin · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsStretching beside Manila Bay is Rizal Park, also called Luneta, one of the largest urban parks in the country at 58 hectares. In Spanish times this ground was known as Bagumbayan. Here, on 30 December 1896, the patriot José Rizal was executed, an event that helped rally support for the Philippine Revolution. The park now bears his name, and the monument that holds his remains is its heart. On 4 July 1946, the United States formally recognised Philippine independence on this very spot.
Manila Cathedral
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsIn front of you stands the Manila Cathedral, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, the principal patroness of the Philippines. It began in 1571 as a parish under the Archdiocese of Mexico and became the seat of the Diocese of Manila in 1579. The building has had to rise again and again: the present cathedral is its eighth reconstruction, completed in 1958. In 1981 it was made a minor basilica, and it has welcomed three popes on apostolic visits.
San Agustin Church
Photo: Johngaje92 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsStep into San Agustin Church, run by the Order of Saint Augustine inside the walls of Intramuros. Completed in 1607, it is the oldest stone church in the Philippines. In 1993 it became one of four churches from the Spanish colonial period to be listed together by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, under the title Baroque Churches of the Philippines. Its thick stone walls have watched over the walled city for more than four centuries.
Binondo
Photo: Ralff Nestor Nacor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsCross the Pasig River into Binondo, Manila's Chinatown and the oldest Chinatown in the world. The Spanish established it in 1594 as a settlement for Catholic Chinese, placed just across the river from Intramuros so the colonial authorities could keep a close eye on it. Yet Chinese merchants were trading here even before the Spanish arrived. Binondo remains the centre of Manila's commerce, where businesses run by Chinese Filipinos thrive. Among its noted residents was Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino martyr.
Lomakuume
