In
literary terms Ilheus, Amado's birthplace, is the
best-known town in Brazil, the setting for his most famous novel,
Gabriela, Cravo e Canela, translated into English as "Gabriela,
Clove and Cinnamon" - by far the most renowned Brazilian
novel internationally. If you haven't heard of it before visiting
Ilhéus, you soon will; it seems that every other bar,
hotel and restaurant is either named after the novel or one
of its characters.
The town is on the coast 400km south of Salvador, where the
local coastline is broken up by five rivers and a series
of lagoons, bays and waterways. Much of it is modern but it's
still an attractive place, with the heart of Ilhéus
perched on a small hill that overlooks one of the largest and
finest-looking beaches in Bahia. Before you head for the beaches
however, take time to look around the town. The modern cathedral,
built in the 1930s with extravagant Gothic towers and pinnacles,
is a useful landmark. Nearby, the oldest church in the city,
the Igreja Matriz de São Jorge , on Praça Rui
Barbosa, finished in 1556, has a religious art museum, while
the domed roof and towers of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora
de Lourdes dominate the shoreline nearest to the centre.
Domes
are rare in church architecture in Brazil, and this combination
of dome and towers is unique. Hostels in Ilheus |
ROOMS BRAZIL
