Go To Visit MANILA
Vast, chaotic, in a heady flux of never-ending motion – this is a city that does nothing in half
measures.
Most visitors’ first contact with the Philippines’ will be through its chaotic capital. Manila is undeniably a congested, somewhat daunting city that is not easy to get to grips with – or to get around, which leads to many negative first impressions. But for those who are willing to take the time to explore, it has a lot to offer. It can’t compete with most other Asian cities when it comes to modern public transport, parks and other civic amenities, but it is undeniably rich is history and at the same time bursting with Filipino energy and vitality.
In common with many Southeast Asian mega-cities, sprawling Metro Manila has no true city centre, but is rather a diverse collection of areas. Because it is difficult to traverse quickly, particularly during the working week, visitors should choose their hotels in proximity to the sites they want to visit.
Old Manila, including Intramuros and the Ermita/Malate area has most of the interesting historical sights, while the Binondo/Chinatown area presents an intense immersion in Filipino/Chinese culture. The business centre of Makati is home to the embassies and many top hotels and restaurants, while neighbouring Fort Bonifacio which used to be a military base but is now a booming commercial area offers high-end retail shops, mixed with historical markers such as an impressive American
military cemetery. Ortigas is a centre for malls and shopping, and is one of the quietest and safest neighbourhoods in the city, but has almost no nightlife after 9pm.
Intramuros
What is commonly called Metro Manila is bisected by the Pasig River. The Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in the area in 1571. After a battle, he took over the ruins of the ruler’s fortress at the mouth of the Pasig. According to legend, the ruler, Sulayman, razed his palace in the face of his impending defeat to Legazpi. Legazpi founded Spanish Manila that same year, and began the construction of a medieval fortified town (Fort Santiago) that was to become Spain’s most
durable monument in Asia.
The city fortress was an expanded version of the original Fort Santiago, defended by moats and walls 10 metres (30ft) thick, equipped with well-positioned batteries. It was called Intramuros or ‘Within the Walls’. Fort Santiago A [map] (daily 8am–6pm; charge) is situated close to where the Pasig empties into Manila Bay. On this site four centuries ago stood the bamboo fortress of Rajah Sulayman, the young warrior who ruled the palisaded city-state of about 2,000 inhabitants before
losing it to Legazpi. Four gates connected Intramuros to the outlying boroughs, where lived the indios (as the Spaniards called the natives), mestizos (people of mixed blood), Chinese, Indians and other foreigners, including a number of Spanish commoners. Trade and commerce flourished to such an extent that these suburbs soon outstripped the city proper in area and population.
Though Intramuros is very different from its former state – Manila having been heavily bombed during World War II, portions of the old city have been restored, including the Ayuntamiento (Municipal Hall), once the grandest structure here. Part of the continuing restoration plan is to replicate eight houses to illustrate different styles of local architecture. A few are already open to the public, including the splendid Casa Manila (Tue–Sun 9am–6pm; charge), a restored Spanish merchant’s house from the late 1800s.
From Fort Santiago, cross over to the Manila Cathedral B [map], an imposing Romanesque structure that would not look out of place in Madrid or Seville. A plaque on its facade tells of a phoenix-like cycle that holds true for most old churches in the country beginning in this case in 1571 – of construction and reconstruction after the repeated ravages of fire, typhoons, earthquakes and war.
Fronting the cathedral is Plaza Roma, where Spanish bullfighters performed in the 18th century. Colonial soldiers once drilled in the plaza, originally called Plaza de Armas. Later the Spanish rechristened it Plaza Mayor when it became the centre of government. It was also briefly known as Plaza McKinley during the American occupation at the end of World War II.
If you stand here facing Manila Cathedral, imagine the former Intramuros laid out as a rough pentagon or triangle. The perimeter measured nearly 4.5km (3 miles). Following Legazpi’s blueprint for the capital, succeeding Spanish governors constructed 18 churches and chapels, convents, schools, a hospital, publishing house, university (as early as 1611), palaces for the governor-general and the archbishop, soldiers’ barracks, and houses for the assorted elite.
Modern Manila’s skyline as seen from the old Spanish fortress district of Intramuros.
Chris Stowers/Apa Pub lications
columns and the evident absence of its original left tower, victim to the violent earthquakes of 1863 and 1889. The remarkable main door is carved out of a Philippine hardwood called molave, and it is divided into four panels depicting Augustinian symbols and the figures of St Augustine and his mother, Santa Monica.
From San Agustin Church, there are several options. Turn right at Calle Real and explore the remainder of Intramuros until reaching Muralla Street. Here, follow the walls or pass through one of the restored gates leading back to the Pasig River, or to a plaza, Liwasang Bonifacio. On this busy square is a statue of the revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio, with the Central Post Office just to the north.
Between these two landmarks is a system of overpasses and underpasses handling, at all hours, the great bulk of Manila’s traffic. The left lane leads to Jones Bridge, the centre lane to MacArthur Bridge, and the right one to Quezon Bridge. These three bridges are the major thoroughfares across the river, leading to the half of Manila north of the Pasig.
Quiapo
The district of Quiapo lies immediately north of the Pasig. Recto Avenue is marked by a stretch of small shops selling new and second-hand schoolbooks for the university belt, an area that begins right after Recto Avenue’s juncture with Quezon Boulevard. Quiapo is saturated with colleges, offering degrees in just about everything education having long held a high status in Philippine society. Turning left at Quezon Boulevard leads to Central Market, really more of a textile emporium, and
eventually to España, which leads northeast to the vast residential and governmental area of Quezon City.
Turning right at Quezon Boulevard from Recto Avenue will take you to Quiapo Church . The area beside the church is the terminal for most public road transport plying north–south routes of the metropolis. Teeming with people, it has long been considered the heart (some say the armpit) of downtown Manila. Close to where Recto Avenue becomes Mendiola Street is the San Sabastion Church, reputedly the only prefabricated steel church in the world.
Stocking up on produce at a market.
Chris Stowers/Apa Pub lications
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