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ABW Dec 2017

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of Spanish rule in the country<br />

until the government moved to<br />

Manila in 1571. The fort was<br />

also a stronghold for Filipino<br />

revolutionaries in the closing<br />

stages of the 19th Century.<br />

The fort is handily located in<br />

the Plaza Independencia, near<br />

the Port of Cebu, and contains<br />

artefacts from Spanish times<br />

including documents, paintings<br />

and sculpture.<br />

History of<br />

Fort San Pedro<br />

The conquistador, Miguel Lopez De Legaspi,<br />

was responsible for the construction of the fort<br />

and there is evidence that the ground breaking<br />

took place as early as<br />

1565. Originally this<br />

Fort San Pedro was<br />

rebuilt in stone during<br />

the 1730s, with walls<br />

6 meters tall and 2.4<br />

meters thick.<br />

sturdy little fort was<br />

built of mud and timber,<br />

but was rebuilt in stone<br />

during the 1730s, with<br />

walls 6 meters tall and<br />

2.4 meters thick. The<br />

towers rise to a height of<br />

7 meters. The land area<br />

of the fort is about 2025<br />

square meters. Fort San Pedro was neglected for<br />

many years and at one stage faced demolition.<br />

Wiser heads prevailed and the fort has largely<br />

been restored to something like its original<br />

state. It’s now administered by the City of Cebu<br />

and serves as an historical park. There’s a statue<br />

of Miguel Lopez De Legaspi outside the gates to<br />

the fort.<br />

Taoist Temple Cebu<br />

Taoist Temple Cebu<br />

The Cebu Taoist Temple is an imposing multitiered,<br />

variegated oasis of calm built in 1972,<br />

at an elevation of 300m above sea level, by the<br />

city’s substantial Chinese community. Located in<br />

the decidedly upmarket Beverly Hills region of<br />

Cebu, the temple is reached by three separate,<br />

circuitous pathways, with the entrance way<br />

through a pseudo Great Wall of China. The<br />

teachings of the 600 B.C.E. Chinese philosopher<br />

Lao-Tse are preserved in the temple.<br />

Twice a week Taoists can climb the 81 steps of<br />

the Temple with each step representing one of<br />

Fort San Pedro<br />

CEBU<br />

54

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