Intramuros, Manila

Intramuros, located along the southern bank of the Pasig River, was built by the Spanish in the 16th century and is the oldest district of the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

Its name, taken from the Latin, intra muros, literally "Within the walls", meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats.

During the Spanish Period, Intramuros was considered Manila itself.

The site of Intramuros was originally a large Malayan Muslim settlement named Maynilad headed by Rajah Sulayman.

The name came from may nilad, nilad being a water plant whose star-shaped flowers clustered in abundance along the low-lying riverbanks.

The strategic location of Maynilad, being on the Pasig River and the Manila Bay, made it an ideal location for the locals to trade crafts and produce with other peoples of the then pre-Hispanic Philippines and other Asian countries, especially with ethnic Chinese merchants.

Maynilad was also the seat of power for native chiefs who ruled the area before the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil.