Algoz () is a town and the seat of the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of
Algoz e Tunes in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Silves, in
Algarve
The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese).
The region has it ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. It has about 3000 inhabitants.
History
According to some theories, the name of the town has its origins in the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
word ''Al-Gûzz'' or ''Al-Gozz'' which derives from the name of the
Turkic Oghuz people (modern-day
Turkmens
Turkmens ( tk, , , , ; historically "the Turkmen"), sometimes referred to as Turkmen Turks ( tk, , ), are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-weste ...
), whose members settled in the area in the 12th century.
In Portuguese, the word ''algoz'' means executioner or torturer because formal executioners and torturers recruited by the ''de jure''
Islamic authorities of the region under Muslim rule, after the
Muslim invasion of Iberia, were Oghuz. Other sources cite an unnamed
Castilian king arrived to the area to fight the
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
as the origin of the name. According to this source, this king used the expression "''algo és''" (Portuguese) or "''algo es''" (Spanish) which means "is something" referring to the small village when told about the little importance of the locality. The
Kingdom of Portugal permanently
reconquered all of the Algarve in the 13th century and after that the
Kingdom of the Algarve became a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal. The patron saint of Algoz is
Our Lady of Mercy. To the south of the town on a hill is the Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Pilar,
from here there are fine views across the surroundings. On the eastern slopes of this hill there is a
meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...
called Amoreira. There have been many
archaeological findings there revealing much about Algoz past. There are also two other chapels in the area. The one in the west is dedicated to
Saint Sebastian
Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocle ...
and one in the east dedicated to
Saint Joseph.
Formerly a village, Algoz was upgraded to town status on July 12, 2001. In 2013, the civil parish of Algoz merged into the new civil parish of
Algoz e Tunes and the town of Algoz became the seat of the new civil parish.
Geography
The town of Algoz, in
Silves municipality, is in an area of the Algarve called the Barrocal or
gulley region.
[Silves, Tourist Guide to the town and Borough, By J.D. Garcia Domingues,: Empresa Litográfica Do Sul, S.A.] It is south east of the city of
Silves and it is south south east of
Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. The settlement stretches along an open valley, bounded on the south by a mountain and on the west by further highlands. The parish is bordered to the north by
São Bartolomeu de Messines
São Bartolomeu de Messines, also referred to as Messines, is a town and civil parish in the municipality of Silves, in Algarve region, Portugal. The population of the civil parish in 2011 was 8,430, in an area of 239.87 km2.
History
Traces o ...
, to the east is
Tunes and
Pêra on the southwest.
Algoz is very close to the neighboring civil parish of
Guia, in the municipality of
Albufeira
Albufeira () is a city and seat of its own municipality in the district of Faro, in the southernmost Portuguese region of Algarve. The municipality population in 2021 was 44,158, in an area of . The city proper had a population of 28,645 in 2021 ...
, whose the seat (the town of Guia proper) is located 4.6 kilometers to the south of the town of Algoz by road.
A stream also called the Algoz runs to the north of the town of Algoz from an easterly direction, and from the north west a tributary called Barranco Longo joins the stream.
Part of the Algoz river runs underground for below the ''Rua do Ribeiro'' street in Algoz.
Further on the stream flows under the
Alcantarilha
Alcantarilha () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Silves, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Alcantarilha e Pêra. With an area of the population of 2347 inhabitants (based on the 2001 census) is dispersed th ...
bridge and the name of the stream changes to the Enxurrada or the Alcantarilha stream. This watercourse finally flows into the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
between
Pêra and
Armação de Pêra
Armação de Pêra is a town (''vila'') and Portuguese parish (''freguesia'') in the municipality of Silves.Detail Regional Map, Algarve- Southern Portugal, The population in 2011 was 4,867, in an area of 7.99 km². The village used to be ca ...
.
The town of Algoz proper is about 40 meters high above sea level and about 9 kilometres from the coast.
Economy
The economy of Algoz relies on
agribusiness from
fruticulture-related, including
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
s, to
olive and
winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...
-related,
logistics
Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
including
package delivery
Package delivery or parcel delivery is the delivery of shipping containers, parcels, or high value mail as single shipments. The service is provided by most postal systems, express mail, private courier companies, and less than truckload shi ...
,
waste management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...
and
wholesaler
Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
s. Unlike many of the most renowned places in the region, Algoz isn't on the
seaside of Algarve, but even so,
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
is also important since the town is well-connected to the rest of Algarve which is one of the most reputed travel destinations in Europe. The town counts a
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
, primary, preparatory and a
secondary school among its largest state-run employers. There are also offices for the local authorities of the ''
freguesia
''Freguesia'' (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Por ...
'', the civil parish, which is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, services like
soliciter, bank branch, a diversity of local shops and
workshop
Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the on ...
s, small local supermarket,
café
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non ...
s and a number of restaurants. There is a daily fresh produce market for local small-time farmers and a larger and more diversified market is held on the second Monday of every month as well as a fair which is held twice a year on 10 August, the day of
Saint Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
(''São Miguel''), and on the day of
Saint Louis (''São Luís'') on the last Sunday in September. The lands around the town of Algoz are used for agricultural production. The produce includes
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
almonds,
fig
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
s and
olive oil. There are also
vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...
s and
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
orchards. Many
greenhouses for growing
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es,
cauliflowers,
strawberries and other early fruits which are sent to larger markets are found in the area. There are also
flourmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
ls and
olive pressing plants in the parish. The area also has manufacturing plants that produce
bricks,
tile
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
s and other
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
items. A couple of plants specialize in
reinforced concrete products.
Transportation
Not far from the town center there is a small railway station, the
Algoz halt of the ''
Linha do Algarve'' railway line. The town is served by local bus services,
ride-hailing
A ridesharing company (also known as a transportation network company, ride-hailing service; the vehicles are called app-taxis or e-taxis) is a company that, via websites and mobile apps, matches passengers with drivers of vehicles for hire tha ...
services and taxis.
Faro Airport
Faro Airport ( pt, Aeroporto de Faro, ), officially Gago Coutinho Airport (''Aeroporto Gago Coutinho''), is located westAI of Faro in Portugal. The airport opened in July 1965 being the main gateway to the year-round resort region of the Al ...
is about 45 kilometers from Algoz.
Education
Algoz has a state-run
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
as well as primary, preparatory and
lower secondary school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
which provide education services from the 1st grade to the 9th grade. Further education from the 10th grade to the 12th grade and beyond are attained in the neighboring city of
Silves which is the seat of the municipality as well as in the rest of the region of Algarve which has a major state-run university, the
University of Algarve
The University of Algarve (UAlg), founded in 1979, is a Portuguese public higher education institution located in the southernmost region of mainland Portugal, the Algarve, having its headquarters and two out of its three campuses in Faro (name ...
headquartered in
Faro (40 kilometers away) with a branch in
Portimão
Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...
(28 kilometers away).
Sports
Algoz has a sports club called Sport Algoz e Benfica which is named after one of the biggest Portuguese football clubs, the
Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.
Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...
from
Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. It has football,
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
and
zumba
Zumba is a fitness program that involves cardio and Latin-inspired dance. It was founded by Colombian dancer and choreographer Beto Pérez in 2001, and by 2012, it had 110,000 locations and 12 million people taking classes weekly. Zumba is a ...
fitness departments. Sport Algoz e Benfica was founded on the July 1st, 1938 as an affiliated club of Sport Lisboa e Benfica.
[Sport Algoz e Benfica, Sport Lisboa e Benfica website https://www.slbenfica.pt/pt-pt/agora/media-list/gallery/2020/setembro/04/clube-postal-da-semana-filial-sport-algoz-e-benfica]
References
External links
Official site of Algoz (in Portuguese)
{{Coord, 37, 10, N, 8, 18, W, region:PT_type:city, display=title
Former parishes of Silves, Portugal