Old Goa , Goa  (sightseeing)
 

Old Goa, nine km west of Panaji, half dozen imposing churches and cathedrals (among the largest in Asia) are all that remain of that remain of the Portuguese capital that was once said to rival Lisbon in magnificent.

Some of the old buildings have become museums and maintained by Archaeological Survey of India -- a maintenance is very necessary because if the lime plaster which protect the laterite structures is not renewed frequently, the monsoons will reduce the buildings to ruin.

Even before the arrival of the Portuguese, Old Goa was a thriving and prosperous city, and the second capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty Bijapur.

At the time, it was a fortress surrounded by wall, tower and moat, and contained temples, mosques and the large palace Adil Shah. Today, none of these structures remain expect for a fragment of the gate way  to the place. Under the Portuguese, the city grew rapidly in size and splendor, despite an epidemic in 1543 which wiped out a large percentage of the the population.

Many huge Churches  Monasteries and convent were erected by the various religion orders which came to Goa under royal mandates. The Franciscans were the first to arrive.

 
The city Muddled on into the early 19th century as the administrative capital of Portugal's eastern empire. In 1843, the capital was shifted to Panaji .It is also called Velha Goa.