The movie “Casablanca” will remain irrevocably tied to the Portuguese Capitol, Lisbon. Remember how in the movie everyone was trying to hop that mid-night plane to Lisbon? There was that great final scene with Humphrey Bogart urging Ingrid Bergman to get on the plane with Paul Henried.

” … it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that. Now, now… Here’s looking at you kid,” Rick tells Ilsa, just before she gets on the plane.

Well, you won’t have to spend much time in this exciting Portuguese Capitol to understand why Ilsa and half of Morocco was trying to get Rick to give them those Letters of Transit.

Lisbon is a Mediterranean city that is far from the Mediterranean Sea. Its position on the Atlantic Ocean allowed this small nation to dominate the sea lanes throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Naturally, the city pays homage to its two most famous seafarers, Prince Henry the Navigator, and Vasco da Gama. There was, however, a famous adopted son whose generosity and passion for art navigated Lisbon to the forefront of European cities with must-see museums. He was the Armenian born, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869-1955), who, much like our own J. Paul Getty, dabbled in oil. Gulbenkian dabbled so much that he was involved with the founding of the Shell Group. When Iraq was taken from the Ottoman Empire in World War I its oil was divided up and controlled through the Iraq Petroleum Company. Gulbenkian owned five percent of IPC.

It was Portugal’s neutrality during World War II that made those letters of transit in the movie so valuable. It was the same neutrality that drew Gulbenkian there. He moved to Lisbon in 1942 (the same year Hal Wallis and Jack Warner were putting together the movie “Casablanca” and ironically, the same year the Allies invaded Casablanca) to escape the Nazis and the ravages of WW II. He set up his home in the luxurious Hotel Aviz, where he lived out the remaining years of the war and of his life.

Gulbenkian amassed a huge fortune. The Times of London devoted two pages to his obituary under the heading: “Great Wealth Amassed and Well Spent”, because he had put together one of the most precious art collections in modern times. You might say that Gulbenkian collected with sinful religiosity by tithing 10% of his income to his harem, as he referred to his art collection. Then in a very Caesar-like manner he bequeathed his fortune to the people.

The statutes of The Gulbenkian Foundation were approved with the publication of Decree-Law no. 40 690, which legally allowed for the formal incorporation of the Foundation for charitable, artistic, educational, and scientific purposes. Today the institution consists of a 90,000 sq. ft. complex of the Gulbenkian Museum, The Modern Art Center, an orchestra, a ballet company, and a choir. In addition to all this individual grants are awarded and money is given to support cultural, social and scientific projects throughout the country. Thus Portugal is provided with a network of 230 libraries, of which 59 are set up as traveling libraries.

Gulbenkian’s love of nature and art was passionate as he amassed an extraordinary collection of art while at the same time he developed a property in Normandy, France which was a huge garden where he loved to enjoy the “enchantment of nature.”

Thus it was mandatory that the enchantment of nature be incorporated into the construction of the museum. A stroll through the garden immediately confirms the continuity between the interior and exteriors. The interior of the museum is soft, quiet, and lighted in a subdued manner that conveys serenity. Outside the same serenity bequeaths a sense of calmness that requires nothing more than the visitor’s presence to inherit the tranquility cultivated there. There is such a confluence between the interior and exteriors elements of the museum that it takes a while before a visitor realizes that much of the garden is built on the roof of the Great Auditorium, on top of the Temporary Exhibit Gallery, and over the tunnel that connects the Foundation Headquarters, the Modern Art Center, and the Car Park.

The accessibility of the gardens is a theme carried over to the Gulbenkian’s collection. Immediately upon entering the museum you are greeted by Houdon’s Apollo, naked in bronze, and as unprotected as a San Francisco 49′er quarterback. Throughout the exhibits priceless paintings and furniture are displayed without ropes, glass, partitions, or barriers. You can get up close and personal with Thomas Gainsborough’s Mrs. Lowndes-Stone, a perfect example of why Gainsborough was considered to be “the ideal artist to portray the English Woman”; or log some face time with Ruben’s second wife, Helena Fourment. You can also get very close to another Houdon, Diana in white marble. This is not a traditional Diana, static, a virginal idealized figure in elegantly flowing robes. Watch out for this Diana! She is running, bow in one hand, an arrow in the other, with her eyes firmly set on her quarry. You quiver at being so close to her quiver. The statue originally belonged to Catherine of Russia.

The Gulbenkian collection spans more than 5000 years of art all on one floor. There is a chronological and geographical order to the overall tour of the museum. The exhibit represents a great diversity of Egyptian works of extremely high quality. The works range from miniatures to the statue of the courtier Bes, carved under Psamtik I (664-610 B.C.) The statue is sculpted in fine-grained compact limestone that is similar to marble. The natural flow of the floor plan takes you into the Greek and Roman Exhibits. Plan to spend hours with the extraordinary display of coins and medallions.

The influence of Islam is present throughout Portugal because Muslims from North Africa invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 711. That influence is seen in buildings across the country and the Gulbenkian collection contains a splendid representation of Islamic Art from Persia, Turkey, Syria, the Caucasus and India, dating from the 12th to the 18th centuries. The numerous objects on display include carpets, fabrics, illuminated manuscripts, book bindings, mosque lamps, painted tiles and ceramics. Many of the fabrics – cushion covers and carpets – are openly displayed without barriers in this exhibit hall.

A tour of the museum ends with the eye-catching display of Art Nouveau glass and jewelry by Rene Lalique. You are immediately drawn to his Peitoral-libélula brooch, half woman, half-dragonfly, decorated with enamel work, gold, diamonds and moonstones. It is approximately 15 X 18 inches. A striking Peacock Pectoral measuring 5 X 8 inches is made in enameled gold in tones of blue and green simulating the feathers of the bird which have small cabochon-oval opals set in it.)

The Gulbenkian Museum is an extremely user-friendly gallery designed to provide visitors with a dynamic symbiosis between art and nature. It is the fantastic vision of an appreciative adopted son. Gulbenkian’s connection to art is like a brush poised over a palette’s colorful pools. He created a synapse to fire the spark from the mind to the eye to the light, truth, and history exemplified in his collection – his gift to the Portuguese people and the world.

“Louis,” Rick says to Capt. Renault at the end of the movie, “Casablanca, ” I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” So, too, will your visit to the passionate city of Lisbon.