Carros Climate Mértola has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with hot to very hot dry summers and mild wet winters. Culture Main sights The castle of Mértola, located on the highest point of the town. The current building dates from a reconstruction carried out by the knights of the Order of Saint James of the Sword after the town was taken by the Christians. The most notable feature of the castle is its 30-metre-high keep tower, finished around 1292, which has an inner hall covered with Gothic vaulting. The defences include a city wall, which still encircles the town. Main church (the Matriz), was originally a mosque built between the 12th and 13th centuries. After the Christian conquest of the town, in 1238, the mosque was turned into a church, but its architectonic structure was preserved. In the 16th century the church was partially remodelled, gaining Manueline vaulting with a new roof and a new main portal in Renaissance style. Nevertheless, the inner arrangement of the naves of the church, with four naves and several columns, still resembles that of the original mosque, and in the church interior even the [mihrab] niche decorations pointing to Mecca for prayers, was spared from destriction. Outside, the church has four portals with horseshoe arches, typical of Islamic architecture. This is the only structure of the Islamic period, left mostly unaltered in Portugal. The museum of Mértola, consisting mostly of archaeological findings and excavations, with collections distributed all over the town. The nucleus of Islamic art in the museum is the most important in Portugal. It consists of various objects (pottery, glassware, metalwork, coins) dating from that period. The collection is housed in the old cellars of the noblemen of the House of Braganza. Other exhibits include remnants of an ancient Christian church, of the basilica type, with an active cult lasting from the 5th to the 8th century. It has a large collection of palaeochristian tombstones with inscriptions; and excavations of a Roman house found under the Municipality building. Festivals Festival Islâmico de Mértola - Celebrating the Islamic cultural connection between Islam and Mértola. Occurs every two years. Notable people Juan Díaz de Solís (1470–1516) a 16th-century navigator and explorer, said to be the first European to land on Uruguay. António Raposo Tavares (1598–1658) a colonial bandeirante who explored mainland eastern South America José Sebastião e Silva (1914–1972) a mathematician, worked on analytic