There are guards outside of the Belem National Palace (where the President of Portugal lives) and gargoyles on the monastery. The monastery is just down the street from the palace. These two gargoyles are just two of many other ones, even uglier than these, if you can believe it.
These gargoyles have holes for their mouths which makes me think that their purpose here was what many gargoyles were used for - as water spouts for the runoff of rain on the roofs to go out away from the building walls and foundation. One common belief also, is that they kept evil away from the building and its occupants, watching from high above.
In thinking about that as we explored the chapel in the monastery, I couldn't help but thank the Lord that He is with us at all times, in every situation, serving as our loving protector. In this city that is still a little strange to me, where we don't know the language and just walking across a street or trying to get out of the subway car before the doors close can be an adventure, our loving heavenly Father walks with us.
By the way, did you notice that even guards (human ones that is) sometimes need to wear sunglasses in Lisbon?
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