Seville: A Caution...

Seville has now moved up to 2nd on our list of favorite Spanish cities. It has everything to do with the Abril Feria de Primavera, the week-long spring fair. I'm sorry if the narrative flow doesn't flow. That's how it was. We loved it. Even with temperatures in the 90s. If you don't like Seville, you should skip the next 8-10 posts.

Mezquita, 2013

The Mezquita in Cordoba is one of the world's great buildings, historically. There have been churches or gathering places on this spot for aeons. After the Conquest, the Moors bought the Christian cathedral, then rebuilt on the site, using much of the Visigothic material. Construction of the great mosque took place between the 8th and 10th centuries, and it is thus one of Europe's oldest still-functioning buildings. By the 11th century, Cordoba rivaled Constantinople in many ways. It was an open city, with Jews, Christians, and Moors living side-by-side, their greatest scholars working together to translate and understand the works of antiquity. The library was said to have held 450,000 books. The era of tolerance, etc. ended with the Reconquista. For the next several centuries, Cordoba became a center of the Inquisition. To their (meager) credit, the Christians did not raze the Mezquita, but instead simply "Christianized" it, erecting a large Baroque cathedral in the middle of the huge building. Charles V, who had authorized the cathedral, told the builders that they had "destroyed something unique in the world" in order to give him something ordinary. Sic transit, Gloria. Anyhow, there are rather more pix of the Mezquita from our January, 2010, visit, touching upon the Visigothic, Moorish, and Christian parts of the building.

It is a huge building; here, seen from across the river, only
the cathedral really stands out

One long side of the Mezquita

From the former ablution courtyard, the
bell-tower; within it you can clearly see the
red brick minaret

Now inside the Mezquita, looking through a glass floor, you
can see mosaics from the previous Roman temple

Vicki was right; it just wasn't like the first time, when, despite
reading and studying about the building and looking at
photographs, it still overwhelms you, the expanse, the depth,
the color

There are 850 of these columns supporting a beautifully-
carved timbered roof that must have required nearly a forest
to build; many of the capitals are from the Visigothic church

The Moorish sanctum sanctorum

Dome above

I don't think there's a single place in the
Mezquita where you can see clearly from one
end to another

Typical view

Us in the Mezquita

A parting view

A side street in old Cordoba

A confirmation mass was in the works, apparently, and
children were arriving all around, posing proudly in their
dresses and suits 

Thus

Alhambra, 2013, Part The Third

We return now to our regularly scheduled programming, picking up in the Alhambra's Generalife...

View from the Generalife back to the larger bits

Everything in bloom here too

Fountain play at one of the water features

Longish staircase in which every landing had a fountain

More wisteria

More fountain play

El Kit: Matador De Peces Moro

Many of the Alhambra's fetid water features are populated
by Moorish goldfish; the situation could get out of hand in
such an environment but

For the efforts of El Kit, Slayer of Moorish Fish

Here El Kit slyly looks away, feigning indifference

Here El Kit is in attack position as the unsuspecting Moor
approaches

At the very moment of attack...

The next several pix have been suppressed for their violent goriness...

But here El Kit is back at work, feigning indifference; ad
majorem gloriam Dei!

Alhambra, 2013, Part The Second

Now in the Nasrid Palace...

Vicki really loves the intricate carving, the variety of
geometrical patterns, the beautiful Islamic script

Thus

And thus above

I really like it too, for the first 6-8 minutes; then I begin
looking around for other things to look at and photograph;
in her case, I think it's the pain pills kicking in...

Courtyard of the Twelve Lions (Zodiac stuff); which we did
not fully enjoy before because

In January, 2010, the lions were away, at their winter home
grounds near Sarasota, Fla.

Intricate carving

More ceiling adornment

Tiles in the Chamber of the Two Sisters (or possibly the
Three Stooges or the Twelve Tribes)

Palace roofing

View of the gypsy section of Granada from Washington
Irving's window; he stayed in 1829, the one good result of
his idiotically fanciful Tales of the Alhambra was renewed
Spanish interest in the place and ultimately its rebuilding

Nice fountain, nice lighting

Another of the many water features

Alhambra, 2013, Part The First

From Toledo we drove down La Mancha, high and dry country, toward Granada, the plains giving way to more hilly and then mountainous features. Olive groves everywhere, but nothing to compare with Greece's Sea of Olives near Mt. Parnassus. Anyhow, we reached Granada in fine order and found our old friend Camping Reina Isabella, rather fuller than at our last visit. Our 2nd night there, there were only 4 vacant spaces left. Mostly northern Europeans heading back home, we surmise.

The Alhambra is Vicki's favorite Moorish spot. We visited in January of 2010, and I recall posting several items. I'll do fewer this time, but allowing for the fact that April is a wonderful time to visit this world class site; everything is in bloom. January was not.

As everyone knows, the Alhambra is divided into four distinct areas: Adventure Land, Frontier Land, Tomorow Land...wait, no. That's the old fortress, the Alcazar, the Nazrid Palace (the truly Moorish part), Charles V's Palace, and the Generalife, which is the garden/summer palace and not an insurance company.

We begin with the old fortress and views from it.

Old fortress; as I said, everything is in bloom

View from the fortress; newer Granada

Older Granada

Sierra Nevada, at the base of which Granada sits

Wisteria on the Alcazar

From the Alcazar, looking back to the Nasrid (ancient kings
of  men, neither living nor dead; wait, no, that's the Nazgul)
and Charles V's palace

You just know the builder of this place, Charles V, is going
to to go on and build something really cheery, like the
Escorial

Inside the unfinished Palace

Everything in bloom