Fort Santiago: a Philippine relic.

In my previous blog, I talked about The Oscars and some of my favorite vintage movies and you can take a look at that in here. For this blog, I'm gonna talk about something educational, I'm gonna take you to a fragment from the Philippine History, back in a time when the Philippines was under the tyrannical rule of the Spaniards for 333 years, since they landed in the Philippine shores in 1521 (thanks, Leah); back in a time when the Japanese bombarded Manila during the World War II and with it the once magnificent Fort Santiago, Rajah Sulayman's Fort during the Pre-Spanish times, fortified by the Spaniards when they conquered the Philippines, was also bombed and mercilessly destroyed.

Recently, I went to Fort Santiago for my school project; this is the first time in a long time I visited one of the country's historical tourist spots. Here are some pretty amateur photos only taken by a PSP cam as I have no professional camera but planning to buy one in the future lol.

Took this photo while inside a Taxi. You can see a Jeepney, a kind of public transportation (which originated from leftovers of US Military Jeeps in World War II) and Jollibee on the right side (a fast food chain which also originated from the Philippines and is currently expanding in the US).
Taken from a moving Taxi. This is the infamous Jose Rizal (our national hero) Monument, in where he was shot by the Spaniards for fighting for his country.
Manila Metropolitan Church. Again taken from a moving Taxi LOL.
This is a kalesa, a carriage, used in the old times, most especially by the rich Filipino Families and the Spaniards.

This is the moat surrounding the fort. Note the buildings at the far back. Irony LOL.
This is a painting by someone whose name I forgot lol. This is Jose Rizal, our national hero, getting shot by Filipino soldiers and in the back of these Filipino Soldiers were Spanish soldiers ready to shoot them if they hesitate to shoot the hero.
Sorry for the quality. People are not allowed to enter this door. This was the room Jose Rizal stayed, awaiting his death.Too much greenery lol. Just outside the Jose Rizal Shrine.
Stone Walls (note the Romanesque Architecture) and a pathway leading somewhere lol. Photo was taken behind bars as this place seemed restricted.On this site lies the mortal remains of approximately 600 Filipino and American Soldiers who were victims of the Japanese invasion of the fort.Looking up, I saw the sun shining amidst the tree branches.
Steps leading down to the dungeon. This was actually a vault for storing weapons and ammunition then later converted to a prison cell. I can't bear to go further as it felt really creepy and cold LOL.
The infamous Ilog Pasig or the Pasig River, the longest river in the Philippines, connecting several places. There was a time when people bathe, wash their clothes and drink water from the river but now it's impossible as the water is now murky, muddy and grimy LOL. There are now cleaning campaigns, though.
Is it just me or the subject is really beautiful LOL.The park that will welcome you once you go inside Fort Santiago. I think these were used by the Filipino and American soldiers or maybe the Japanese LOL. A close-up of the kalesa. After I took this photo, the guy behind the reins
wanted to do a re-take with him smiling LOL.

Phew, done! LOL. As I made my way home, I imagined how the Filipinos lived during the old times, just being bullied and discriminated by the Spaniards and how we are ultimately looked down as people who are illiterate and stupid and useless. Then came the Japanese who treated Filipinos, especially women, like pigs. Filipinos are always the underdogs, always falling servants and slaves to any race in the world. We are literally free as a state but are slaves to foreign products and practices. Most Filipinos actually adopt the style of the foreigners and forgetting their roots.

Much Love and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did working on it. Do give feedbacks! :)