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THE ALMOND TREE LEGEND
These were the days when the kingdom of the
Algarve was not yet Portuguese, when it was
still controlled by a powerful Arab sultan. One
day the Arab spotted a unique girl amongst
the slaves, she had blue eyes and blonde
hair, which made her stand out from the
olive skinned women, he asked her name
and origin, she answered Gilda and that she
came from a northern country buried in snow
all year round. The sultan married her, but she
became very unhappy and missed her own
lands, the Sultan did not know what to do, he
spoke to a man who had arrived from the north

he told the sultan to plant thousands and thousands of almond trees across the Algarve, that
would bloom in the spring and would cover the land like snow. He did as the old man said and
when spring came the scenery was beautiful, he rushed to Gilda to show her, and she said
“ Its snow! The snow of my land!” and they lived happy ever after. ahhhhh!!! Even today the
Algarve comes alive with the blossom.