2019-2020 Christmas Cruise - Andalusia: Sevilla 1

It was nice to have a day with no definite plans. We headed out late morning to walk around the Barrio Santa Cruz area. This was the thriving Jewish Quarter until 1391, when there was a massive pogrom which killed around 4,000 Jews and drove 5,000 families from their homes. Jews were given the choice of leaving or converting to Christianity. Even if they converted, they were under suspicion of secretly practicing their old religion. This eventually led to the inquisition, a regrettable episode in Spain’s history. 

After checking out the lines for the Real Alcázar and the Sevilla Cathedral, we dove into the narrow byways and tiny plazas in the barrio. 

Calle de Aire, where we are staying in the barrio, is so narrow that the balconies almost touch. Just down the block, resting about 10 feet below current street level, stand 3 tall columns from Roman times.

A convent of cloistered nuns is located behind the cathedral. One can step into a small vestibule, place a euro in the “turno” (like a tall lazy Susan) and buy a packet of “tabletas” (unconsecrated host wafers that they make). The nun spins the turno around, takes the euro and sends out the tabletas with a friendly “Ok!”  Being cloistered, you never see her. It’s pretty clever. 

The Patio de Banderas, a former military parade ground, offered a fine view of the cathedral’s Giralda bell tower. 

The Plaza of Triumph, between the Alcázar and the cathedral, celebrates Sevilla‘s emerging relatively unscathed from the 1755 earthquake that leveled Lisbon. 

Behind the stone walls of the dark, narrow streets, one catches glimpses of lovely courtyards and private patios. 

Streets abruptly spill into little plazas, each with a fountain. In days past, they served as the water source for the neighborhood. 

We eventually wandered back past the imposing walls of the Alcázar and decided to queue up for tickets. 

Sevilla’s Moorish rule ended in 1248, nearly 250 years before Granada, Spain’s last Moorish stronghold, fell to Ferdinand and Isabella. 

The Alcázar began as a 10th century palace for Moorish governors, but what stands today is essentially a 14th century version built by Islamic workers for a Christian king. Although it is a blend of the two cultures, the palace has a distinctly Moorish feel, with detailed plaster and tile work, keyhole arches and even Arabic lettering worked into the designs. 

The Alcázar is Europe’s oldest royal palace still in use. Spain’s royal family has apartments and reception rooms here. Fifteen of the rooms, including a dining room and audience hall, are open to the public for small escorted tours. We did not, however, visit these rooms. 

The palace facade, through an entry arch

Courtyard of the Hunt and palace facade


The Courtyard of the Dolls is a small, bright room with graceful columns and ornate walls soaring up to a large skylight. 

The Hall of the Ambassadors is stunning. The cube-shaped room is capped with a golden dome. Just below the dome, portraits of Castile rulers from 600 to the 1600s wrap around the room. Below that are balconies, ornate stucco work and horseshoe arches doorways. 

From here, you step outside into the Courtyard of the Maidens. 

Detail from the stucco work surrounding the Courtyard of the Maidens

By this point, the series of spectacular spaces are becoming a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, the tour soon makes its way outdoors to the Alcázar Gardens. 

The Gardens are a public garden for locals, but tourists pay to enter. They are lovely, largely geometric, dotted with small graceful statues and fountains. 

Mercury Pond, with the winged-footed god and fading murals. 

A tunnel leads from the gardens underneath the palace to the underground María de Padilla Baths. They are cisterns under the Patio del Crucero, named after the mistress of Pedro the First.

The whole Alcázar complex is so exotic and beautiful that it feels not quite real. I can see why it was selected for location shots for Dorne in the fantasy series, Game of Thrones.