Olinda

In the beginning of our son's days in Recife, one of the first "tourist type" areas he got to was Olinda, like a suburb, on the northern coast of Recife.  It's a 40-minute-or-so Uber ride north from his apt., depending on traffic. ($5.60 for the 3 of us)

It's an old colonial area built on very hilly land, in which many of the buildings are painted in bright, vibrant colors, and there is a church & an outdoor market on the main hilltop.  Seeing his photos, it was always on my list!

This is an older, aerial view of where you're at when you get out of the Uber . . . the church upper left, the sidewalk vendors center left by the tree, & the outdoor market (next photo on the right) in the "cross" area, lower right.

When we got to live in England via the air force (1982-88), & I learned of the outdoor shopping markets in all the towns, the location was always said to be at the "market cross."  It was usually the "town center" where there was an open "plaza/space/ pedestrian" area, or sometimes a car park during the rest of the week.  There was almost always some sort of a "marker-memorial-monument" in this spot.  Now looking at this photo, it's a "lightbulb moment" to realize this is the first time I ever remember seeing an actual CROSS at the "market cross" area; therefore, the name!!! 

NOTICE the gold at the center right edge - we'll come back to that, AND to the left below the trees will be the "lower" level of shops.