Mapusa market. Goa, India

The Friday market in Mapusa is the best market I have found in Goa. Mapusa comes from the Konkani words maap, meaning "measurement", and sa, meaning "to fill". The market dates back to as early as 1850, and we can buy almost everything, from fresh fruits and vegetables to colorful saris. Nearby, the city of Old Goa (Portuguese Velha Goa), the former capital of Goa, was founded about 1440 and conquered by the Portuguese in 1510. At the height of its prosperity (1575-1675), Old Goa had a population of 20,000. It is hard to believe that a small country like Portugal had such a strong territory in the other part f the world. By the mid-18th century, disease epidemics caused the Portuguese viceroy to move to Nova Goa (Panaji). From 1962 until May 1987, when it attained statehood, Goa was part of Goa, Damân, and Diu, a union territory of India named for the three districts it comprised. I visit Goa in April 2003 and I took a large number of people portraits. I particularly like this one. This woman, like Goa it self, shows a strong used face marked by the time, but still full of ornaments and traditional jewelry. Today, this pearl of the orient, entered the millennium with a burgeoning tourist industry and growing environmental problems, despite the fact that the government has shown some commitment to conserving its cultural and natural heritage.