La Giralda, a Mosque and a Catedral

Hello again.  Seville is like many of the places in Al Andalus, the Moors ruled there for several centuries and when the Christian kings of Spain took over many parts of the original mosques were often retained as a basis for the new catedrals.  The same is true in Seville, when the main mosque building was swept aside for a gothic cathedral, the minaret (known as La Giralda in Seville) and the courtyard, together with a small amount of the old prayer hall, were retained.  It is possible to climb the minaret (now a bell tower) by means of 38 ramps, these were used by the muezzin who made the call to prayer - he had to climb the tower 5 times a day to call the faithful to prayer, so he would use his horse to make the journey.  This makes, for those of us visiting today, a truly manageable climb to quite a dizzy height!

Here are some photos of our visit to this amazing place...

As you enter the Catedral, you are met by a replica of the Giralda weather vane which sits atop the tower...

 quite a striking woman I am sure you will agree...

Great footwear...

Inside the view is one of gothic architecture...

This screen is made of solid gold...

Here is where Christopher Columbus is laid to rest...

I don't know why but the tomb reminded me of The Lord of The Rings imagery...

now, off to climb this beautiful structure...

inside the structure was reassuringly solid, those Moorish architects sure knew how to create buildings that would stand the test of time...

Luckily there are windows on each floor, an excuse perfectly legitimate reason to stop and admire the view - its not often that one is face to face with a gargoyle...

Birds eye view of the courtyard of the mosque...

Views across the rooftops...

Here is the Parasol Metropol in the distance...

Once back on terra firma we spent some time in the courtyard of the old mosque, a beautiful, peaceful place where the faithful would wash and prepare themselves for prayer...

a lovely place to stand/sit back and admire the beautiful minaret/belltower...

After all that activity we found a charming little café for some well earned refreshment...

Back soon I hope with some photos of our many walks around the charming old town.

Helenxx