Sunday, September 17, 2006

Teatro Amazonas

This is the Teatro Amazonas. It is an opera house that was completed in 1896 at the height of the rubber boom in Manaus at the end of the 19th century. There are a few buildings left from that period around Manaus, but this by far is the most incredible. No expense was spared to build this place. Materials from all over the word were used to build this opera house which is still in use today. There are concerts and other events, as well as an opera festival every April/May. Much of the artwork and paintings were done in France and then shipped over piece by piece to Brazil. Kiran is sporting the sweet slippers we had to wear in the ballroom so as not to damage the rare woods used on the floor. The last photo is of the opera house at sunset, and shortly afterwards Karin and I took a horse-drawn carriage ride around the opera house.



Downtown Manaus


Here are some photos from downtown Manaus. The first one is taken from my friend Kiran's apartment. She's another teacher at the school where I work. In the distance you can see the Rio Negro and the Amazonian jungle. The next photo shows more of downtown, this time with the Teatro Amazonas, the famous opera house.