old Panama

Old Panama City

Other pages from our visit to Panama:
Monkeys, Embara vilage, Flora , Fauna, Canal and lake, Modern Panama, Museum, Hotels and friends

We drove past Iglesia del Carmen church on our way to the Casco Viejo section of the city.

The town square, called the Plaza de la independencia.
This was taken from the steps of the Panama Cathedral, San Felipe.

And the front, side, and back of the cathedral.

The inside was just what you probably expected.

There was a service going on so we stayed at the back and tried to be respectful.

Streets were narrow with well kept homes and businesses.

This officer didn't quite know what to make of Linda.

This is the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, literally church of the companions of Jesus.
It dates back to 1749 and was never finished.
Fire destroyed the partially completed structure a few years later and it was damaged by an earthquake.
Still it is an impressive ruin.

Panama Viejo (old Panama) is the remaining part of the original Panama City, the former capital of Panama, which some say was destroyed in 1671 by the Welsh privateer Henry Morgan.
Other reports say that most of the destruction was not the result of Morgan.
"At last Henry Morgan appeared who, on July 29, 1668, seized Portobelo, and then the fort of San Lorenzo, continued advancing towards the Pacific coast; He entered the then capital on January 28, 1671, remaining there until February 24. Morgan did not burn down the city; it was the Spanish authorities (governor Juan Pérez de Guzmán) orders to blow up the explosives deposits." from La Prensa, 482 years of old Panama.
This tower is what remains of the city's cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption.