Seville II

Monday, April 04, 2022

Seville, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

SEVILLE II

Let’s go early as Gine missed to buy online tickets

When Gine checked in Jan it was too early to get tickets and then she forgot, and when checking it looked like that there are no more tickets for the royal rooms available, so we couldn’t see their dining and living room they are still using today (question of Paul on how often is the royal family actually here??)

To get tickets we left early and discovered that the entrance and the ticket booth are a bit apart, once there we got our tickets for 11.30 and had some time to kill before going in, so we enjoyed a bit of sunshine before heading in a bit early.

The Royals of Spain:

Their palace is the Alcazar Real and it got built for king Pedro of Castille
It is still one of the royal’s family’s homes – which makes it the oldest still in use in Europe
Pedro was also nicknamed the Cruel or the Just and reigned from 1334-1369
The palace is a mix of Islamic and Christian elements: a style called Medjar
The floorplan is intentionally confusing (no wonder you need arrows everywhere)

Visiting Alcazar:

Once entering we came first into some different “exhibitions” which were not totally blowing our minds – but as we entered the palacio itself, it was like back in the fairy tale of 1001 nights again, really amazing. I’m not even sure if I have it in the right order, as it was kind of confusing on how we walked through it – but I think that is on what we all saw đŸ˜Š:

Puerta/Patio del Leo: we enter via the lion’s gate – yes there is a picture of a lion and then you are in a small courtyard and you can already see glimpses of the next courtyard. This stonewalls are from the Moorish fortress from 913, time to head to the:
Patio de la Monteria: this is cool as you can see the palace in front of you, which kind of looks a bit Moorish or the Mudejar style as there are Christian motives mixed in with the coat of arms of Spain – and nearly up we could read “Conquerador Don Pedro”. First: we head of to the side to the
Salon del Almirante – Admirals Halls: This room was built by Queen Isabel in 1503 and in this room Spains New World adventures were decided. Here we saw on the biggest painting the turning of Alcazars history: the king who defeated the moors in 1248, he kneels in front of the bishop to symbolizing to give his life to god. It was also here that Columbus recounted his travels, Magellan planed his around the world cruise and Amerigo Vespucci came up with the a catchy moniker for the newly discovered continent: the Americas – question is what are we planning here??
Audience Chamber: looks like it is still in use today, as in the front you have the flags and all the chairs have crowns – oh and let’s not forget we came through a room with a lot of ornate fans.
Admiralty’s chapel: in case you were not aware but the Virgin is also the patron saint of the Navigators and sailors – on the picture you can see her keeping watch over the ships beneath here and she protects everyone under her cape (by the way this is the first time that indigenous people were painted in Europe). And dressed in gold on the left is Christof Columbus (he is on a cloud) and on the right with a gold cap is King Ferdinand. We also saw here a model of Columbus Ship the Santa Maria (it was really not a big ship)
Sala de la Justica : this is the first room we can see some of the Mudejar stucco high up on the ceiling, from here we came into the Patio de Levies
Palacio del Ron Pedro: as we enter, we can go upstairs – but not in the living quarters, on the way up there are amazing Azulejos along the walls and once upstairs they had an exhibition on the tiles with different styles from different centuries as well as different ceramics – some quiet old.
Patio de las Doncellas – Couryard of the Maidens: Finally we went through the main front entrance into this patio and that is when you finally get the feeling you are in the Palace. This is the center of Pedro’s palace and looks like out of a fairytale with the arches around. (In case you see a shell it symbolizes fertility and life) or the Hand of Fatima (which means protection). It is very difficult to decide on where to look first: it is interesting to see the Islamic and then between are the tiles with the castle and the lion. It’s super unique. From here we go into several rooms
Salon del Techo de Carlos V or Charles V Ceiling room: everyone does things different when Carlos V married he celebrated his wedding night with a midnight mass – yes this room was at one time a chapel of King Pedro I, and the ceiling was made during Charles V was king in 1541: you can see the 2-headed eagle of the Habsburg and the columns of Hercules with the inscription: Plus Ultra. “Under the rule of the Emperor Charles V never the sun sets”. By the way this room also have super cool mudejar stucco on the sides.
Royal Bedroom: ok so you would never have guessed it, as there is no furniture, it’s a big room and they said the alcoves had ones drapes hanging and the gigantic rooms are connected by a huge arch. I mean if you sleep in a room like that you will feel like in a fairytale. From there we went in the Prince’s bedroom as well walked through the hall of the lost steps as this is to connect the private with the public. I may should also mention the amazing doors. From here we also can glance up to the upper floor where the current living quarters are. There are so many more rooms and each is unique and special and each has a name – this was a spectacular area.
Salon de los Embajadores – Hall of the Abassadors: this is also called the throne room and it is amazing: here Pedro received guests, Ok this was clearly the most amazing room: with a half dome (like in most Islamic buildings): the cube is for the earth and the dome is the starry heaven: in Pedro’s case is means he controlled both heaven and earth (?!?!), amazing horseshoe arches on columns, Arabic writings – which I think is weird as the Christian conquered the Moors and they still put on the walls “none but Allah conquers”, “happiness and prosperity are benefits of allah who nourishes all creatures”. Ok and then the best one “dedicated to the magnificent Sultan Pedro, thank to God” (I guess he really thought a lot about himself). Now if we would be good in Spanish kings history we could look up to the top and look at the rows of pictures as there are all kings in chronological order of Castille from 600 to 1600. This was clearly the highlight room of the palace.

We were glad we came as it was amazing – and we are not over as we are now entering the:

The Gardens of Alcazar :

They say you cannot understand the Palace, if you don’t visit the castle, so that’s what we do – you walk out and you walk from one courtyard or patio to the next, from one garden to the next, I don’t think I could keep track of them all as well I am fairly sure we only saw a tiny little part. Before checking out more of the gardens we did went into the:

Banos Dona Maria de Padilla: this is super cool, so you walk into the hallway and down all the way to the dungy end and there is a huge underground pools which is super cool looking.
Estanque de Mercurio or Mercury Pond: it sounds fancy after a tiny bronze statue with winged feet – running water was a show of power in the odl days, behind is a wall from the original Moorish castle, which got redesigned in Grotto style which is super cool looking.
Galeria del Grutesco – Grotto Gallery: we did walk up and walked the whole length on the upper floor which was amazing, and from here we had the best views on the gardens, fountains, hedges… now we are excited to see a bit more of the garden. First we checked out the Jardin de Poetas, when Gine said it’s kind of stupid if you make a hedge so high you can’t even see the pond (unless you are up on the Galeria)
Jardin de Laberinto – Maze Garden : not that was cool, this labyrinth was designed in 1914 and made with different shrubs – I think I could have walked in there forever or until Paul said let’s find the way out.
Pabellon de Carlos V : we decided we need a short break and found perfect tiled benches in front of the Pavillion, then we checked out the Cenador del Leon, saw some peacocks sitting around

Did I mention that this was the backyard of the rulers and it became a public park when in 1931 the king was exiled and the Spanish citizen took ownership of the royal buildings. In 1975 when the king came back to the throne it was on the terms that the public can keep the garden (that is except if your non-Spanish then you need to pay entrance fee):

Only for understanding: Alfonso XIII, was Spanish king until in April 1931 Spain was declared a democracy: at this time it was also that the army told him that they will no longer loyal to him. The Election was on April 12, and he left on April 14 to Rome, he never officially abdicate the throne, but was accused of high treason.
During Exile his oldest two sons renounced their claime on the throne, and the youngest son died, which left Count Juan.
Juan Carlos I (is the grandson of Alfonso XIII) and born in 1938 in Rome, he came to Spain in 1947 to complete his studies, attended also the Naval Military School and University in Madrid. He married Princess Sophia of Greece & Denmark.
Fransisco Franco was a General and led Spain from 1938 (the Spanish Civil war) until 1975 – he was a dictator, supported by the Soviet Union, Hitler and Mousolini. He was the one who named Juan Carlos I, the Prince of Spain and decided that he will be his successor and that he can groom him to maintain the authoritiarian of his regime.
In 1974 Juan Carlos I started to act as the head of Spain due do Francos health decline. From 1969-75 Juan puplicly supported Franco and praise him and his government. During that time he was secretly meeting with the political opposition leaders and exils. 2 days after Franco’s death he got proclaimed the king of spain, he brought in reforms and dismantled the old regime. In 2014 abdicated the throne.

Coffee in Seville

Can you believe it, it’s 1.30 and we walked until now – I think we need a cup of coffee and relax (watch people), and that is what we did watching people coming by and relax for a few minutes, that we will be ready to also see the cathedral afterwards.

The largest Cathedral in Spain:

Also named the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Sea
It is the 10^th largest cathedral in the world, the 3^rd largest in Europe (only Rome St Basilica and Milano are bigger) and still the world’s largest gothic church (and yes it is big): it was the largest church until the St. Peters Basilica in Rome was built
When the Christians ripped down the mosque of brick in 1401, they said they will build a cathedral so huge, that “anyone who sees it will take us for madmen): How big is it: 137m long and 90m wide – it is nearly impossible to see the whole church
The columns and chains that ring the cathedral are to place a border between the secular and the catholic world

What we all saw in the Cathedral of Seville:

Ok so at one time we walked around the whole Cathedral: and it is huge, as we walked around we discovered the entrance only to discover this is the online-ticket entrance, ok back walking around the church until we came to the “other” ticket buyer entrance. We saw the outside in stages: you have the massive tower a bit Moorish influenced, then some amazing doors, you could spend a whole day here alone and you need a map to know where you are – let’s start exploring:

Westside: the main front door with the Asumption of Mary and crowned by got with his triangular halo (to remind of the trinity)
Art Pavillion: with some paintings from the church: one is of King Ferdinand III with his sword, crown, glove and ermine robe: he is the one you made the church possible
The Nave or main church: it is nearly impossible to see the whole church – you have the massive pillars and on the sides you can see the whole length of it.
Chapels along the side: there are a lot and like in all big churches, lots of paintings, lots of gold, for a lot of saints – we saw some amazing ones. The first we saw was the one of the Virgen de la Antigua: a gilded fresco you can see the virgin holding a white rose – the amazing part is, this if from the 1300s and is older than the cathedral itself. – it also still has a horseshoe shaped prayer niche pointing towards mecca it was once the mihrab in the mosque.
Sacristy: sometimes you nearly get lost, this happened when we entered the Sacristy and then walked to the Chapel house and treasury. The wooden doors are amazing with all the carvings. The Sacristy is where the priests gather each morning to get ready for Mass, lots of gold here.
Chapter house: this is a room you can only look: it has an oval dome and when you look around you see like a “throne” which was used by the bishop when they had their monthly meetings. Above it is one of Murillo’s largest picture of the immaculate conception painting from 1668 (yes that old): Mary standing on a cloud of cherubs with Ferdinand to her right (with a sword and globe).
Antecabildo with lots of stucco relief showing the virtues of life – what it is for I couldn’t really figure out, but it looks stunning
Treasury: you are in it, when you see a lot of gold – as per guide there are hundreds of holy body parts and even a splinter of the true cross (wonder I they know that). Regardless you will see a lot of gold.
Tomb of Columbus: 4 royal pall bearers carry his coffin, impressive how this world traveller even travelled when he was dead until he showed up here. By the way in case you question if it is really Columbus, in 2006 they did a DNA test matched to bones of his son – to make sure it is really him. Near his tomb is a mural of St. Christopher patron saint of the travelers and above his tomb the clock is ticking since 1788
Bell Tower: our ticket says our entrance is at 3 pm so we wandered up the ramps to the bell tower, you can see the keyhole arches and Islamic look on some doors and windows as we walk the 37 ramps up (did you know they are ramps were built so the donkey-riding muezzin could ride up five times a day to give the muslim call – as per Paul it is not the original and got replaced). At 104 m we had an amazing view from the former minaret but now bell tower (with some gigantic bells). By the way once you look back up from the outside you can see on top a 4000 pound bronze female angel symbolizing the Triumph of Faith over the Muslims and if you can read the letter “Nomen Die” meaning “the strongest tower is the name of god”
Main Altar & Choir: The choir is super dark looking and when you look up you can see the gigantic organ with 7000 pipes (Paul wondered what you do if one is out of tune). The Altar itself is behind a gate, so we had to go close to be able to have a closer look and it is nearly impossible to see to the top for that we had to stand back a bit: And yes it is made of gold with lots and lots of statues: with an 80ft wall it is considered the largest altarpiece from 1481-1564 made of are 44 scenes (there is really no time to figure it all out), there are two to point out: the virgin Mary with Baby Jesus at the bottom is 750 years old and at the very top: you can see Jesus waving a flag on top of his coffin (by the way in real life there was no coffin and I’m not sure they had flags at that time either): it looks tiny but he is 6 ft tall.
Altar de Plata: that thing is gigantic and in silver, and once you know it it’s also worth a lot: 5000 pound of silver – yes plata means silver. It looks like a giant Monstrance –we learned a lot since we travel around the catholic countries: this is a vessel, the priest uses it for blessings so it looks like it is a blessing from god.
The Flag: the pennat of Ferdinant III is an 800 year old battle flag and shows the castle of Castile and the Lion of Leon: the 2 kingdomes Ferdiand inherited to form the United Christain Spain: this flag was raised here on Nov 23, 1248 when they expelled the moors from Seville (talk about old)
Cloister or orange courtyard: this is a leftover from the mosque, as the Muslims entered through the archway to wash their feet before entering the mosque we then left through the Puerto del Perdon: or door of Forgiveness – where we came out

We were in a lot of Places Christof Columbus was:

Born in 1451 an Italian wool weaver run off to the sea – shipwrecked in Portugal, married the captain’s daughter and learned Portuguese and Spanish
He persuaded Queen Isabel (in the Alhambra) to finance his bold scheme to trade with the East by sailing West
On Aug 3, 1492 he sailed from Palos in Spain with 3 ships and 90 men. He estimated that it was 3000 miles, he had a superstitious crew ready to mutiny after they seen evil omens like a falling meteor and a jittery compass
He landed on an island in the Bahamas and was convinced he reached Asia: they traded with the Indians and returned home where they were received as heroes
He made 3 more voyages to the New World and became rich with gold
He gained a bad reputation among the colonists, was arrested and returned to Spain in chains, got pardoned but fell out of favour and died in May 1506 in Valladolid in North Spain
He died thinking that he’d visited Asia unaware that he’d opened Europe to a new world
His travelling didn’t end when he died, originally he was buried in Northern Spain, they moved his body to Sevilla, from there into the Dominican Republic (as he requested) on to Cuba, once Cuba gained independence he was shipped back to Spain in 1902 and his tomb is now here in Seville in the Cathedral

Time to head back via Torre del Oro

I can’t believe it, it’s already 4.30 pm we are on the go since 09.30 this morning, we decided to slowly walk back towards the river. We came by the Archivo General de Indias: where are all the historic papers are from Spains overseas territories: 4 miles with 80 Mill pages of documentations (if we get bored we can start reading đŸ˜Š). Facing the Cathedral is a stone cross where the businessman would “swear to god to be honest in their trade”. Continuing on towards the Torre del Oro on the river, as here is our bus station.

This was the starting and ending point for all ships to the new worlds (as well as our ending point for our Sevilla tour)
once it was covered in golden tiles – therefore the name Gold tower: built by the Moors in 1220 and part of the city’s fortification: today it’s a beautiful pedestrian walk along the river
once a chain went from here across the river to protect the harbour so ships couldn’t sail upriver. In 1248 King Ferdinands ships rammed the chain and broke through it to take the city from the Moors

On the roof top

Back in our mini-Airbnb we went up on the roof top from where we had an amazing view over the city: we now recognise the Bell tower Giralda and the church as well as some funky buildings we came by. One thing is for sure there is a lot more of Seville we didn’t see – but we saw quite a bit today and after so many days in the city are ready for some relaxed nature.

Supper in our neighborhood

What’s for supper is an important question –we checked out the Supermarket right at the corner and found there some lasagne to warm up in the microwave and decided maybe not the healthiest but at least a nice cheap supper for tonight.

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2025-05-22

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