So much has been written about Spain, but there’s nothing like experiencing it for yourself. After a trip around Southern Spain (Andalucia) along with a few days each in Madrid and Barcelona, you realize how very diverse the country is. I won’t bore you with all the details of every day of the trip, but I’ll mention a few highlights.
The Moorish influence is everywhere in Spain. I knew that Southern Spain had been occupied by the Moors but didn’t realize that at one time 90% of Spain was under Moorish rule. The Andalusians (Moors) brought Arab architecture, food and customs as they ruled for almost 800 years. Under Christian rule, the Mudejar style of architecture brought traditional Islamic design elements to traditional Christian Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles. It’s unique and beautiful.
Visiting places like the Alhambra in Grenada, you can imagine the splendor that must have been. While most of the color has washed away over time, the intricacy of the design remains. The mathematic skill required to create the geometric patterns is evidenced everywhere. I was particularly glad we went to the Alhambra with a guide in a small group because he really brought the place to life and sparked our imagination.
The Moorish influence is everywhere in Spain. I knew that Southern Spain had been occupied by the Moors but didn’t realize that at one time 90% of Spain was under Moorish rule. The Andalusians (Moors) brought Arab architecture, food and customs as they ruled for almost 800 years. Under Christian rule, the Mudejar style of architecture brought traditional Islamic design elements to traditional Christian Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles. It’s unique and beautiful.
Visiting places like the Alhambra in Grenada, you can imagine the splendor that must have been. While most of the color has washed away over time, the intricacy of the design remains. The mathematic skill required to create the geometric patterns is evidenced everywhere. I was particularly glad we went to the Alhambra with a guide in a small group because he really brought the place to life and sparked our imagination.
Southern Spain, the Costa del Sol, has lots of tourism and part of the fun for us was discovering some cute little towns along the coast and in the foothills. Nerja was one of our stops where we had a lovely dinner overlooking the Mediterranean.
Another cute town was Mijas – one of the many “white” towns in the foothills of Andalucia’s Sierra Nevada mountains. The buildings are painted white to reflect the hot sun. We got to Mijas too late to take a cute donkey cart around town, but enjoyed walking around the village.
Our favorite city was Sevilla. We stayed at a very unique hotel – Casas de la Juderia – The Houses of the Jewish Quarter. As their website says “Crossing the doors of this hotel implies immersing yourself in a Seville unknown to many. Its 134 rooms, all different, are intermingled between them, through its more than 40 patios, gardens, tunnels and labyrinthine interior streets.” The location was great for walking to historic sites and many restaurants.
We found the “vibe” of Sevilla to be both relaxed and modern. It seemed everyone was out and about, enjoying the neighborhoods. Even though the weather was still somewhat cool, the outdoor restaurants and tapas bars were busy every night. Ah, the tapas! We had some of the best bites here in Sevilla. We ate at several tapas restaurants and everything was great. We really thought we’d be eating paella everywhere, but it turns out we only had it once and that was our first night at our resort!
The big attractions in Seville are the Royal Alcazar and the Cathedral. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Alcazar is a royal palace built for the Christian King Peter of Castile, built on the site of an Abbadid Muslim residential fortress, destroyed after the Christian conquest of Seville. The palace is renowned for its preeminent example of Mudejar architecture and the upper levels are still used by the royal family as their official residence in Seville.
Across the courtyard from the Alcazar entrance is the Seville Cathedral, the third largest cathedral in the world. Like many churches and cathedrals in Spain, it is built on what was originally a great mosque and was converted to spaces more suited for Christian worship. The Giralda bell tower was the former minaret of the mosque, although the topmost sections are from the Renaissance. It is considered a miracle that the tower survived a strong earthquake in 1365. The cathedral is also home to the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
One of our favorite places in Malaga was a wine bar/restaurant called Los Patios De Beatas. We had fabulous tapas and an opportunity to taste several wines from different regions because you could get half-size pours.
If there weren’t so much more world to see, I would happily travel to Southern Spain again! I’ll address Madrid and Barcelona in a separate post.
RSS Feed