CEBU CITY: The Best Of Both Worlds

            Trees grown meters from each other seen on sidewalks. Hustle of cars in the morning, afternoon and evening traffic. The breathtaking sunset and the colorful city lights. Indeed, Cebu City is the best of both worlds. Be in an industrialized country but still feel the provincial spirit.

              trough the course of time, Cebu City has developed into one of the world's best tourist spots. Showing its cultural and modernized architecture, Cebu City never ceases to amaze tourist and even locals.

MAGELLAN'S CROSS

Magellan's Cross is a christian cross planted by Portuguese, and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines on April 8, 1521.
This cross is housed in a chapel next to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño on Magallanes Street (Magallanes being the Spanish name of Magellan), just in front of the city hall of Cebu City. A sign below the cross describes the original cross is encased inside the wooden cross that is found in the center of the chapel. This is to protect the original cross     for people who chipped away parts of the cross for souvenir  purposes or in the belief that the cross possesses miraculous powers. Some people, however, believe that the original cross had been destroyed or had disappeared after Magellan's death, and the cross is a replica that was planted there by the Spaniards after they successfully colonized the Philippines.
Magellan's Cross is a symbol of Cebu, and the chapel's image can be found in its city seal. It is also seen as the symbol of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines.


FORT SAN PEDRO

Fuerza de San Pedro is a military defense structure, built by Spanish and indigenous Cebuano laborers under the command of Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi and the Spanish Government in Cebu. It is located in the area now called Plaza Indepedencia, in the Pier Area of Cebu City, Philippines.
The smallest, oldest triangular bastion fort in the country was built in 1738 to repel Muslim raiders. In turn, it served as a stronghold for Filipino revolutionaries near the end of the 19'th Century. This served as the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.
The fort is triangular in shape, with two sides facing the sea and the third side fronting the land. The two sides facing the sea were defended with artillery and the front with a strong palisade made of wood. The three bastions were named La Concepción (SW); Ignacio de Loyola (SE), and San Miguel (NE). It has a total inside area of 2,025 sq. meters. The walls are 20 feet (6.1 m) high, 8 feet (2.4 m) thick and the towers are 30 feet (9.1 m) high from the ground level. The circumference is 1,248 feet (380 m). The sides are of unequal lengths and the one fronting the city is where one may find entry into the Fort. Fourteen cannons were mounted in their emplacements most of which are still there today. Work first started on May 8, 1565 with Miguel Lopéz de Legazpi breaking ground.

AYALA TERRACES

The Ayala Terraces is a PhP 600M development project by the Ayalas in Cebu. The Terraces, which was originally Ayala Center Cebu’s Lagoon before it was renovated, comprises 8,000 square meters of available floor area for establishments. The addition of the Ayala Terraces in Ayala Center Cebu gives Cebuanos a new definition to their urban lifestyle.

The ambiance of the place gives people the impression that everything within its confines is expensive. But don’t be deceived with its looks. On the contrary, I find the rates of the food establishments here relatively affordable (as compared to Metro Manila prices). So far, I’ve only been able to dine at Mooon Cafe — a Mexican Restaurant, Sunburst — Cebu’s signature fried chicken and UCC Cafe.

SOUTH ROAD PROJECTS (SRP)

The South Road Properties (SRP) site comprises 300 hectares of waterfront land just to the south of the Cebu CBD and the Port of Cebu. Some 240 hectares has been reclaimed. The area is registered with PEZA as a Special Economic Zone. The project commenced in the early 1990’s and is a greenfield site.







BASILICA MINORE DEL STO. NINO

The Santo Niño de Cebú ("Holy Child of Cebu") is a Roman Catholic figure of the Child Jesus highly similar to the Infant Jesus of Prague. Like the image's counterpart in Prague, the figure is clothed in expensive textile robes mostly donations from fervent devotees in the Philippines and abroad. The statue is the oldest Catholic relic in the Philippines and permanently housed since 1565 at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu City.

              To top it all, nobody beats the hospitality of Cebuanos. And I think, that's the best thign we could offer our tourists. No matter how modern Cebuanos are nowadays, we are still raised with Catholic morality and values.

               Cebu City, with its fine combination of culture, religion and technology proves to be an interesting fact that most tourist would want to see. Catholics as we are, we have great faith in our God and in the Holy Child, Sr. Sto. Nino. This is clearly seen in our Sinulog Festival celebrated every January. 

                Let me end this with the quotation " I LOVE YOU CEBU CITY!" :))