‘The Smell of Olhão’ – a funny love letter to the Algarve’s most unique Town

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First design of the cover of the book by Edwin Hagendoorn

The notice on the back cover — “Warning: this is not another stupid travel guide” — already hints at its true intention. This is not a conventional handbook for tourists, but rather a hybrid: part graphic novel, part portrait of the raw, unvarnished soul of Olhão. That very sentiment is captured with piercing clarity in the drawings of Edwin Hagendoorn, the internationally acclaimed comic artist who divides his life between Amsterdam and Olhão. Where flashy advertisements from B&B owners present a polished, sea-blue dream, Hagendoorn’s drawings reveal the authentic city: its narrow alleys and blind passageways, the electric cables draped like spaghetti across crumbling walls, cat flaps leading into abandoned houses, and the rusting carcasses of cars stranded on flat tires.

The book is also a chronicle of a city in transition. Even Olhão is being swept up in “Vilamourisation,” with property developers competing to take over its vacant lots. Whether the city’s rough edges will survive remains uncertain. The additional stories by writer Arthur van Amerongen align perfectly with Hagendoorn’s vision: equally unpolished and equally fearless. Will Köhlen explores the phenomenon of Olhão’s cubist architecture, while Nelli Konstantinova completes the book with more than thirty delicious local recipes, including several vegetarian ones.