SALVADOR
- BAHIA
General
Info
Telephone
code: 071/
Climate
:Salvador
lies within the tropics and enjoys a year-round temperature
between 20o and 30o Centigrade. In the summer it is
not as humid as Rio for instance, as soft winds blow
in from the Atlantic. Unlike other northern states,
Bahia has regular periods of rain. It is not uncommon
to have rainfall for several days in a row.
Clothing:
Light weight clothing is suitable all year round. Casual
clothes are the norm here.
Business
Hors Most offices and stores are open from 9
am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday. Stores are also open
on Saturday from 10am to 1pm, while most of the large
shopping centers, open Monday through Saturday from
10am to 10pm. Salvador has a number of 24-hour convenience
stores, many of which are located at, or close to, main
gas stations. Banks are open Monday through Friday from
10am to 4pm.
Taxis
Salvador has an extensive fleet of taxis which can be
hailed in the streets, as well as a series of special
taxis operated by licensed companies, which can be found
at the airport, hotels or booked by phone. From the
international airport and the main shopping centers
most of the special taxis work on a fixed rate by area,
which is paid in advance at the company's own desk above,
which the price must be displayed.
History
Salvador
da Bahia was, according to tradition, founded on All
Saints' day (Nov. 1) 1501, giving rise to the naming
of the bay as Bahia de Todos os Santos. In 1549 Portuguese
settlers arrived to found a defensive city at the mouth
of the bay. Salvador da Bahia became the capital of
the new colonies of Brazil and remained so for the next
three centuries. The city's wealth initially came from
sugar cane export followed closely by tobacco cultivation.
Cattle raising in the interior and diamond and gold
mining, increased the city's richness. Today the results
of this affluent period can be seen in the numerous
examples of luxuriously decorated churches and other
colonial buildings.
The
first slaves were brought to Salvador early in the 16th
century from the west coast of Africa. Slave numbers
increased rapidly giving the city the largest African
population of Brazil. The slaves that arrived in Bahia
guarded their culture and traditions under the guise
of different catholic rituals. This careful preservation
of African traditions has led to a rich cultural diversity
in the region. Bahia is called as the Soul of Brazil
or the Africa of Brazil. Traditional Bahian cuisine
includes many of the ingredients that you might find
in any West African country.
Other African traditons that have survived into present
day life include Candomble and other religious rites,
Capoeira, a dance style combat form and many musical
rhythms.
The
seat of government was moved to Rio in 1763 as the decline
of the sugar industry and the increase in coffee production
in the more southern states moved major economic activity
to the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Nowadays
Salvador is a monument to the colonial history of Brazil,
as well as the centre of Afro-Brazilian culture.
Carnaval
In Bahia
It
is affectionately said that "when Bahians are not actually
participating in a festival they are rehearsing for
one." And in a way it's true. The people of Bahia, a
fusion of Africans, Native Americans and Europeans,
are carefree and upbeat, always looking for a good time.
Read
more
Candomble
- A Religious Syncretisim in Brazil
In
Bahia, the former capital of Brazil, the descendants
of the inhabitants of South-West Nigeria have continued
to worship their ancestral gods or Orixa to this very
day, in spite of the time and distance which separates
them from their place of origin. Read
more
Capoeira - Dance or Fight ?
Capoeira
is a dance of rare physical beauty. It is also violent
and very fast, a delicate and astute fight - the highest
choreographic expression of a suffering race. Read
more
Cuisine - Food for the body and the spirit
Hardly,
if ever, you can find a kind of people who enjoys cooking
and eating as much as people from Bahia. Eating, in
Bahia, is not merely a matter of physiologic needs,
but it also involves a whole complex rituals and beliefs.
Click
here to view some Restaurants in Salvador
