2019-2020 Christmas Cruise - Andalusia:

Since the time of the Moors (700), Andalusia has been known for its tile work. Charming examples pop up on the sides of buildings: little home shrined, a pharmacist’s dwelling, a neighborhood plaza. 

2019-2020 Christmas Cruise - Andalusia: Sevilla 3

Today is our last day in Spain. After another lazy morning, we spent the afternoon exploring the El Arenal neighborhood which lies between the cathedral and the river. The streets are a little wider, with similar opportunities for architectural delights if you happen to look up. 

We had a rather lame late vegetarian lunch at the Mercado del Arenal. The covered produce and fish market was winding down for the day so a lot of the venders had already closed. 

There was a funky little flower power laundromat plunked right in the middle of the market. A bit incongruous, but whimsical. 

Seville has a long tradition of bullfighting and one of the oldest bullrings in Spain, dating from 1761. Winter is the off-season for bullfighting and I didn’t want to see a corrida de toros anyway (I attended a bullfight in Madrid on as a teenager on a group tour, and though I tried to be open-minded and had even read Hemingway’s “Death in the Afternoon” in preparation, once was more than enough. I’m sure I don’t have the stomach for it now. 

La Maestranza, Seville’s Plaza de Toros

Instead we signed up for a tour of the bullfighting museum and the bullring. Our escorted group of about 25 were handed language-specific audioguides and told what buttons to press as we entered each area. 

The “museum” was a few scant rooms of stuffed bulls, paintings, posters and attire of famous bullfighters, a model of the arena and some historical info touching on the evolution of bullfighting from the former skills training for military horsemen. 

The door through which the matador enters the ring. Just before entering, he stops to pray in a dedicated chapel. 


The bullring can hold up to 12,000 spectators, and usually sells out for major corridas. Prices vary from sun to shade, and low rows to high. The most expensive seats are near the royal Prince box, below which is the Prince Gate. Only an extremely rare, deft performance will warrant an invitation for the matador to exit via this gate. 

Prince gate


The King bravely posed on the burladero (behind which the bullfighters can dodge to get away from the bull) with the Prince gate behind. 

We ambled down the pleasant riverside promenade to the geocache at the Torre del Oro (tower of gold). 

The 12-sided tower was built by the Moors in the early 13th century. It served as one of two anchor points for a heavy chain which could be strung across the river, limiting access to Seville’s busy harbor. The sister tower on the other side of the river has disappeared, possibly in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. 

The security was warranted. By 1500, having financed Columbus’s three voyage to the West Indies, Seville was the exclusive port and gate to the New World, and flourished as the commerce capital of Europe. 

The 100 foot tall building also served as a watchtower and prison in the Middle Ages. It was named for the golden reflection it cast in the Guadalquivir River. It was originally finished with a mixture of mortar, lime and hay, which has eroded away over the last 800 years. 

The Hospital de la Caridad, or the Hospice and Hospital of the Holy Charity, was founded in 1674 by Don Miguel Mañara and continues as a working charity today. The founder was from a wealthy family and inherited both a fortune and the role of mayor of Seville. At the age of 48, his young wife died and he experienced a change of focus, dedicating himself to strict worship and care of the poor. Already a member of a brotherhood that provided burials for the executed and those who’d drowned in the river, he persuaded his companions to help with his newly established mission. He built a 150 ward hospital and small Baroque church and spent the rest of his life in penitence, prayer, and service to the poor.

His friends included the painters Leal and Murillo, whose large rich works decorate the nave of the church. A couple of lamp angels (my current favorite Baroque figures) illuminate the sides of the golden altar backing. 

 

We made a final stop at Mas to pick up some bread and cheese for a picnic dinner at the Airbnb. Then Greg spotted the place we’d been hoping to see our entire stay in Seville. And just in time, since we fly home tomorrow. 

2019-2020 Christmas Cruise - Andalusia: Sevilla 2

Today was a morning of churches and an afternoon of wandering. We walked north through the barrio to the Iglesia del Salvador (Church of the Savior). We started there primarily because it is a combination ticket with the Seville Cathedral, and buying the ticket at del Salvador lets you bypass the lines at the Cathedral. I’m glad we did. Bigger is not always better, and I ended up preferring this smaller church. (Tip for older travelers: always ask if there is a pensioners price. It’s usually available, and at a significant discount.)

Above a plaza 

A mosque first occupied this site. The bell tower incorporates part of the original minaret and the ubiquitous orange grove occupies the courtyard formerly used for ablutions.

In the small orange grove courtyard

The church, completed in 1712, is Andalusian Baroque. It’s been completely restored and is lovely.

Lamp angel


Top of a side altar catching light through a stained glass window 

Seville has a long tradition of elaborate Holy Week processions. The city is choked with thousands of spectators for the daily processions of statues carried through the streets by teams of 30-50 men carrying the floats, which can weigh up to three tons. The men are completely covered in cloaks; the work is anonymous and done from devotion. Several of the most beloved statues are kept in this church, removed only for the processions. The Christ statues, most carved string 1600, are remarkably humanistic, showing a man resigned and in anguish. 

Holy Week Palanquin 


Passion week statue being prepared for procession


Christ of Humbleness and Patience


Christ of the Afflicted

Although the Church of the Savior is the second largest church in Seville, it feels intimate and approachable. 

The cathedral, on the other hand, seems designed to make one feel small and insignificant. It’s the largest church in Spain and third largest in Europe, after St. Peter’s at the Vatican and St. Paul’s in London. It is also the largest Gothic church in the world. It’s (surprise!) built on the site of a former mosque which was demolished in 1401. 

As we’ve seen in so many Andalusian churches, the exterior courtyard formerly used for ablutions before entering the mosque has been adapted into a pleasant grove of orange trees. There’s a practical reason for this. These oranges aren’t for eating. In fact, they are quite bitter. But orange trees don’t lose their leaves, so provide cooling shade year round. 

The interior is vast, surrounded by side aisles and chapels. 

Huge iron grilles forged in the early 1500s guard the almost overwhelming Retablo Mayor behind the main altar. It’s a pictorial history of the life of Christ and Mary, read from bottom to top and left to right. It took three generations to complete the carvings, which were then plated with gold leaf. 





The tomb of Columbus is prominently displayed. His remains travelled almost as much as he did while alive. They were returned to Seville from Cuba (he died in Spain) after Cuba gained independence from Spain in 1902. 

The cathedral treasury displays the usual assortment of ornate vestments, implements and reliquaries, similar to other collections we’ve seen on this trip. Of note was a crown designed for a statue of Mary. It incorporates the world’s largest pearl into the torso of a little angel. 

The highlight of visiting the cathedral was climbing its bell tower, La Giralda. The original 1198 minaret is capped with a Renaissance belfry upon which a weathervane (or giraldello) depicting Faith turns. 

The top is reached by climbing 35 ramps and then a final flight of 17 steps. The ramps are paved with bricks and steepest in the lower levels. 

When this was a minaret, the muzzein would ride a donkey up the ramps five times a day to issue the call to prayer. Even without the donkey, I found this an easier way to climb a tower than those narrow stone circular staircases that lead up bell towers in most churches. There were good views out the many windows and from the top. 

The Alcázar palace and gardens beyond


Looking towards the river and the bullring 

A geocaching excursion was next on the agenda. The semicircular Plaza de España is about a mile from cathedral district. It was built as the centerpiece of the ill-timed 1929 Ibero-American exposition. Unfortunately, the exposition coincided with the stock market crash and the anticipated multitude of visitors did not materialize. 

The plaza is large and beautifully decorated with tile work representing each Spanish province and a large fountain. You can rent rowboats to navigate a canal crossed by colorful footbridges. It was clear most of the people trying this had never been near a rowboat. Many rowed backwards, others tried to split the task between two rowers, and our favorites stood in the stern and tried to push the boat along (backwards) with one paddle like a gondola. 

A small flamenco group was performing outside the center of the semi-circular Renaissance Neo-Moorish building embracing the plaza. 

Thus warmed up, we headed back to the Barrio de Santa Cruz where we had tickets to a flamenco concert at Casa del Flamenco. The venue is an intimate setting that presents a one hour concert of non-choreographed    performances. We both wished there had been some overview or explanation provided in the concert, but enjoyed the enthusiastic performances. 





Interesting fact: Taverns and restaurants here generally have hocks of Iberian ham hanging over the bar. We noticed today that they have little inverted umbrellas under them to catch any dripping fat.