Mertola Attractions 
Mértola (altitude:85m/280ft) is picturesquely set on the slopes above the left bank of the Guadana, joined here by its tributary the Oreias, about 70km/43mi northwest of the coastal border town of Vila Real de Santo António. In Roman times the site was occupied by the town of Mirtilis, mentioned by the Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy (second C. A.D.), which later had to give way to a Moorish stronghold.
Townscape
With its narrow and twisting alleys Mértola is still rather Moorish in appearance. From the main square its narrow streets, lined with little white houses, lead uphill to the parish church and then on up to the castle.
Townscape
With its narrow and twisting alleys Mértola is still rather Moorish in appearance. From the main square its narrow streets, lined with little white houses, lead uphill to the parish church and then on up to the castle.
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Castelo dos Mouros
It is a short distance from the parish church up to the old Moorish castle, the Castelo dos Mouros, which was considerably enlarged in the late 13th C. From the keep there is a magnificent view of the town and the River Guadiana, which is navigable below this point.
Igreja Matriz
The fortified Romanesque parish church, Igreja Matriz, with crenellated walls and a handsome Renaissance doorway, was converted in the 16th C. from an earlier mosque an origin revealed by the square ground plan, the arrangement of the clustered columns, the mihrab, or Islamic prayer niche, behind the high altar, and the horseshoe arch above the sacristy door.
