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

Real Alcazar Gardens

Hello again, hope your week is going well so far.

In my last post I mentioned the hugely impressive gardens of the Real Alcazar - what a treat they were, I really wish that I could share the scent of the myrtle and the orange trees along with these photos - it was intoxicating.

Palm and orange trees against the blue sky of Al Andalus...

Sweeping vistas...

The building on the left is a wedding pavilion, built by the King for his bride...

It was a very warm day, 21 degrees Celsius, so a shady part of the garden was a very welcome place for a little sit down and a rest...

These beautiful fellows are really quite tame...

Some amazing flowers and plants...

Running water everywhere, the engineering of supplying water to the population of a large city was something the Moorish designers put in place a thousand years ago, amazing...

Truly an amazing place to visit, absolutely magical - probably the best gardens I have ever visited (and that is saying something as I have been blessed to visit some very special gardens).

Hopefully back soon with our visit to the Catedral and our climb of the Giralda Tower!

Helenxx

Real Alcazar - the inside story

Hola!  I am back again with some more photos of Seville, this time our visit to the Real Alcazar (Royal Palace).

This imposing chap greets you at the gate...

The outside of the building looks rather formidable...

But inside, the beauty and refinement is amazing...

This dome is made of thousands of pieces of glass...

Breathtaking...

The inner court reminded me so much of the Alhambra in Granada...

There was also a slightly newer part, with a definite Renaissance feel...

But, for me, the real beauty is in the Moorish design of Al Andalus...this is the underground pool where the inhabitants of the palace would cool off during the summer heat (which can reach 45 degrees Celsius in the summertime)...

The patterns decorating the palace were simply stunning, oh if only I had quilting skills to replicate some of these patterns...

I fell in love with this place, but the inside of the palace is only half of what awaits the visitor - back soon with photos of the amazing (and huge!!) gardens.

Helenxx