Frequently Asked Questions

What does 'Raios de Sul' mean?

It means literally 'Rays of South'. In portuguese South is 'Sul' and Sun is 'Sol'.

And southern Portugal has much more light than northern.

It was just an attempt to help you understand the pun:)

Why this page?

The only goal of this page is to share photos I shoot every now and then as an amateur photographer.

PS: This page replaces the old '16 photographs by al-Farrob'

Who are you?

My name is José Varela; al-Farrob is only a nickname I have been using on the Internet for some years.

al-Farrob seems like an Arab name, is it? Does it have any meaning?

As far as I know it has no meaning at all and I am Portuguese, and live in Algarve the most southern region of Portugal.

"Alfarroba" means carob (ceratonia siliqua), which is very common in Algarve, and inexistent in the rest of the country.

And the Arabs have been here for more than 5 centuries, thus leaving great influence, greater than in the rest of the country.

So this nickname is only a pun mostly to be understood by the Portuguese themselves:)

Have fun! and don't forget to clear your browser's cache not to miss the updates.