Rizal in Dapitan

A few weeks ago, I was able to travel to Dapitan together with my mom. Luckily, I don't miss a chance to visit a historical place that makes Dapitan mentioned in the Philippine history, the Rizal Shrine.

As the pages of the Philippine history had mention, Rizal was taken into exile to Dapitan in 1892. A small town, located in Zamboanga del Norte, in the island of Mindanao, Rizal as a deportee had made excellent contributions in Dapitan and not to mention, its people as well with only skills at hand.

A octagonal wooden house (left) and museum (right)

During his stay in Dapitan, Rizal practices medicine. The octagonal wooden that can be seen from the entrance serves as Rizal's clinic. He is a famous ophthalmologist or an eye-specialist. People come over to him, not only from Dapitan but also from some other places such as Luzon and Visayas to treat them.

On the other side, a museum was built where it houses some of Rizal's memorabilias. There are few drawings and paintings of him (like the one below) and some people that are relevant to his life like his parents and even his lovers. Aside from paintings, there are sculptors and even copy of his two books - the Noli and El Fili. An exceptional artist and writer as he is.

The many faces of Rizal

A few walks, the actual house of Rizal can be reached. The Casa Residencia is a square shaped house with only one room inside. It is amazing that it is well maintained through the years. I had chat with a woman who is a member of Knights of Rizal. When Rizal came in Dapitan, he lived in commandant's resident for some months until he had bought a land and start to build houses

Casa Residencia

Rizal's dam

Not too far from the Casa is the dam that Rizal made with the help of his students which was before, of limestones. This is one of his engineering marvels aside from lighting system he worked in the town of Dapitan.

The student's workshop

Aside from being a doctor and as an engineer, Rizal also became educator. He taught 16 boys from different prominent families of Dapitan many things such as swimming, writing, history and some values such as hard work, character building and word of honor. He didn't ask for any fees from them but rather asks them to do community projects for him.

The rock (in the right), the bay and the sea

The last place in the shrine that I like to feature is this rock. This rock is the witness of Rizal as he composed a short poem for a beautiful 18-year old girl named Josephine Bracken. He met her when she accompany her blind adoptive father, who travels all the way to Dapitan to seek medical treatment. The growing intimacy between he and Josephine made him composed a short poem for her entitled, "Josephine, Josephine".