Larryhirsch's Fotothing

MANILA PHILIPPINES FORT SANTIAGO
Photography by
larry hirsch Feb27/2008
Fort Santiago has a savage history. Over the centuries many Filipinos were imprisoned, tortured and left to drown in the Fort's notorious dungeons, which were beneath the high tide level.

The Philippines' national hero, José Rizal, was imprisoned here for almost two months before his execution in 1896. You can visit his cell (now the Rizal Museum). It was here that he composed his final poem, Mi Ultimo Adiós (My Final Farewell), which was smuggled out of his cell in the base of an oil lamp.