Dapitan is one of the two cities in the province of Zamboanga del Norte in the northern part of Mindanao. Dipolog City is the capital but Dapitan City is more famous as the place of exile of the Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
With this shrine which also known as Rizal’s Talisay Estate, Dapitan is known as the “Shrine City of the Philippines”. Travelers travel all the way to Zamboanga to pay homage to our national hero, Jose Rizal.
When he was exiled in 1892, Rizal was asked to live in the parish convent with many restrictions. Rizal opted to stay in the residence of the Spanish commandant Captain Carnicero who also acted as his warden; he was supposed to send reports of his “prisoner” to higher authorities. However, the captain didn’t see any threat in him and Rizal as free to move around and lived a normal life in Dapitan.
The current Rizal Shrine in Dapitan where he lived in 1893 came from the money Rizal earned as a farmer as well as a trader, but majority of the money came from his lottery winning- Rizal loves to bet in lotteries. He bought a parcel of land in the coastal area of Talisay and now Rizal Shrine in Dapitan is also referred as the “Talisay Estate”.
In this estate, he built houses, constructed an irrigation system, planted trees, taught students, wrote poems and letter and practiced medicine.
During our visit, I learned that the shrine is also a protected landscape with centuries-old trees still standing. Some of them were already there when Rizal first arrived in Dapitan City.
The whole estate is a nice trail to do with that refreshing feeling of green and tall trees all over. Most of the houses are replicas and were renovated many times already. But still, I love the whole environment of Rizal’s Talisay Estate. So green and it is facing the sea and I told my borther in-law that what is missing is a small coffee shop :-). Those who maintained the Talisay Estate did a good job, it was very clean, quiet and a nice place for sightseeing.
Of course, on the right side of the entrance is a museum containing many of Rizal’s memorabilia. Here are some of them:
You don’t have to pay for any entrance fee if you want to visit Rizal’s Shrine in Dapitan. Just make sure that you won’ litter within the premises.
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