Algoz () is a town and the seat of the civil parish of Algoz e Tunes in the municipality of Silves, in Algarve, Portugal. It has about 3000 inhabitants.

History

According to some theories, the name of the town has its origins in the Arabic word Al-Gûzz or Al-Gozz which derives from the name of the Turkic Oghuz people (also known as Turkomans), whose members settled in the area in the 12th century. Other sources cite an unnamed Castilian king arrived to the area to fight the Moors as the origin of the name. According to this source, this king used the expression "algo és" (Portuguese) or "algo es" (Spanish) which means "is something" referring to the small village when told about the little importance of the locality. The Kingdom of Portugal permanently reconquered all of the Algarve in the 13th century and after that the Kingdom of the Algarve became a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal. The patron saint of Algoz is Our Lady of Mercy. To the south of the town on a hill is the Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Pilar,

Geography

thumb|right|250px|Town center.

thumb|right|250px|Rua do Ribeiro street in Algoz. Part of the [[Algoz river runs underground for below the street.]]

thumb|right|250px|The public laundry built by the parish council in 1933.

The town of Algoz, in Silves municipality, is in an area of the Algarve called the Barrocal or gulley region. It is south east of the city of Silves and it is south south east of Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. The settlement stretches along an open valley, bounded on the south by a mountain and on the west by further highlands. The parish is bordered to the north by São Bartolomeu de Messines, to the east is Tunes and Pêra on the southwest. Further on the stream flows under the Alcantarilha bridge and the name of the stream changes to the Enxurrada or the Alcantarilha stream. This watercourse finally flows into the Atlantic Ocean between Pêra and Armação de Pêra. Further education from the 10th grade to the 12th grade and beyond are attained in the neighboring city of Silves which is the seat of the municipality as well as in the rest of the region of Algarve which has a major state-run university, the University of Algarve headquartered in Faro (40 kilometers away) with a branch in Portimão (28 kilometers away).

Sports

Algoz has a sports club called Sport Algoz e Benfica which is named after one of the biggest Portuguese football clubs, the Sport Lisboa e Benfica from Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. It has football, gymnastics and zumba fitness departments. Sport Algoz e Benfica was founded on the July 1st, 1938 as an affiliated club of Sport Lisboa e Benfica.

References

  • Official site of Algoz (in Portuguese)