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. 

2019-2020 Christmas Cruise - Andalusia: Cordoba 2

After a good breakfast at our hotel, we headed out to visit the interior of the Mezquita. This is Cordoba‘s Alhambra, in that it’s the deciding factor drawing many visitors to the city. It does not disappoint. 

Entering the vast quiet space is a “wow” moment.

The former mosque was built in 788 and expanded three times before reaching its final size in 991. There are over 800 columns topped by red and white double arches. They seem to go on forever. 

A Visigothic mosaic from a earlier 6th century (much, much smaller) Christian church that stood on this site is visible through a window in the floor. Some of the columns and capitals in the mosque were made of materials recycled from Visigothic and Roman ruins. 

The mihrab, from which the imam would lead services and preach sermons, is a niche decorated in gold. The imam would speak loudly into the niche and his voice would be amplified back to the faithful. The mosque accommodated up to 20,000 people. 

Mihrab

After they conquered Cordoba in 1237, Christians immediately set up a portable altar and celebrated their first mass in the church new mosque. Mass has been celebrated here every day since. Today one can see the rows of chapels (behind the gates) that have been constructed all along two sides of the mosque. Another side displays architectural artifacts, the church treasury and the workings of an ancient pendulum clock. 

Enormous monstrance used in annual Corpus Christi parade

Ceiling of the Treasury

Changes to the former mosque were done gradually until 1523 when Cordoba’s bishop ordered the building of a cathedral within the center of the mosque. It’s been recently restored to its white and gold finish, and is stunning. When we first entered the Mezquita, a mass was underway and the cathedral was closed off. We could glimpse the ceiling of the nave from outside the body of the church. 

Once inside, it’s such a self-contained structure that it’s hard to remember you’re really still in the same building as the densely columned former mosque. 

Looking through the choir to the back of the cathedral


And to the front


And up to the oval dome at the intersection of the nave and the transept. The cathedral punches through the roof of the 30 ft high mosque and soars to 130 ft. It’s a truly beautiful space. 

Detail from the choir

And from the ceiling

At 11:30 we were diligently shooed outside by a cadre of security guards. We’d wanted to climb the bell tower, but it was closed. It incorporates the mosque’s minaret, which had a ramp up which a donkey was ridden 5 times a day, bearing the muezzin who would issue the call to prayer.

We had a few hours to kill before our train to Seville, and many sites were closed because of the Epiphany holiday. So we picked a destination of the map and wandered narrow medieval streets to get there. 

The Plaza de la Corredera is historical town square surrounded by beautiful buildings, restaurants and shops. We sat in the sun to share hot chocolate and churros, and watched kids playing with gifts from the Kings while their parents enjoyed coffee nearby. 

We next visited a new museum in a restored 10th century home. Called The House of the Heads due to its grisly history, the building has been restored and furnished as a typical home of a Middle Ages aristocratic family. 

The grisly story is that the father of seven sons lived here in the 10th century. The sons were accused of slaying the wrong person, and sentenced to death along with their father. Instead, the sons were killed and the father punished by being imprisoned in this house while his sons’ heads were displayed in the adjacent alley. 

Our favorite sight was happening upon an annual 

neighborhood cookout of vast pots of migas. They were cooking for hours, starting with whole garlic cloves in olive oil, then green peppers, chorizo, salami, and fried bread crumbs. Eventually everything is stirred together. Unfortunately we had to leave to catch our train to Seville before they finished. But in the meantime every cooking group was sharing a table laid out with excellent cheese, meats, crackers, olives and wine. We were welcomed and included. It was so much fun. 

I want to be friends with these people!

We’re now settled in our Seville Airbnb and looking forward to four nights in the same place with time to leisurely explore. 

2019-2020 Christmas Cruise - Andalusia: Cordoba

Jeff and Mark were on their way back to Barcelona at 6:45 this morning. We got up to see them off, then headed off to the bus station to catch our bus to Cordoba. We arrived early afternoon and lugged our suitcases down a mile of cobblestone streets to our hotel. We may opt for a cab back there tomorrow afternoon. 

After settling in we walked a couple of blocks to the Mezquita, a massive former mosque that now has a 16th century church in the middle.

 

From 756 to 1236 AD, Cordoba was the cultural and religious center of Western Islam. It was also the greatest city in Europe, with a population three times as large as Paris. It had running water, paved streets, and public baths. While Moors held the political reins, Islam, Christianity and Judaism co-existed and shared cultural traits like clothing, language and art.  The Mezquita shined like Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, proclaiming the equivalent status of Cordoba‘s caliphate. 

The Patio of the Naranjos (courtyard of the oranges) was the former mosque’s place for ablutions. Today a fountain remains, but the courtyard is filled with orange trees. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption can be seen over the trees. 

We walked around the outer perimeter of the former mosque; each side is a couple of blocks long. It’s a curious mix of Christian and Islamic decoration. An arched entry features the Madonna, while ongoing restoration of exterior walls seems to suggest Islamic designs.  

Unrestored section


Work in progress

We are visiting the inside of the mosque and church tomorrow, so stay tuned for more. 

We walked down through the Renaissance-era Triumphal Arch to the river, and across the Roman Bridge. 

The pedestrian bridge rests on first century AD foundations and 16th century arches. On the far end is a fortified 14th century tower. The tower is far more interesting from behind, where it becomes apparent that 40% of the tower is not visible from the bridge.  

The Mezquita hovers across the bridge

We noticed that the bridge seemed surprisingly crowded with families traveling in the same direction. The kids were clutching plastic bags or the occasional plastic jack-o-lantern. On a hunch, we joined the crowds to see if we had stumbled upon a Three Kings event 

Anastasia, our host in Granada, had urged us to find the Three Kings event in Cordoba. Although Santa Claus has established a presence in Spain, the feast of the Three Kings (the Epiphony) is traditionally the day Spanish children most anticipate. The approach of the day motivates kids to behave, as the Kings bring gifts to good children. The night of January 5, the children put out their shoes along with some straw for the Kings’ camels and a snack for the Kings. In the morning, wrapped gifts from the Kings are found near the shoes. 

The crowd of families we’d joined congregated near a fountain. Throngs of people lined the streets in both directions as far as we could see. And kids hung their bags over the barrier, tense with anticipation. 

A gaggle of elves skated by and the parade began. 

There were inflatable floats, Disney knock-offs, a marching band of young priests, and of course, the Three Kings complete with camels. Parade participants had (literally) garbage bags full of small candies that were hurled by the fistful into the excited crowd. Also tossed were bags of cheese curls, nuts and the occasional stuffed animal. 

This appears to be the blow-up doll from “Airplane”


Winner the Pooh?




Melchior


Casper


Balthazar

By Macy’s standards, it was pretty low budget. But it was so much fun to stand in the crowd and hear people calling to their friends on the floats, watch kids scramble for the penny candies and share in the general mayhem.  

After it was over, the street sweepers descended. We walked around the neighborhood for a while, people watching while crowd dispersed. Many people were carrying their king cakes home to have for breakfast tomorrow. There were cake balanced on strollers, cakes toted by dads and cakes proudly carried by just-old-enough kids. This was my favorite: