Sevilla y Córdoba

This weekend, we took a trip to Andalucía, the most southern region of Spain. We went to Sevilla, Córdoba, Granada, and stopped briefly in Toledo on the way back to Salamanca. Andalucía is the land of Moorish architecture, flamenco dancing, and hot weather. It was over 40˚C most of our time there, which is well into the 90s Fahrenheit.

Our first stop in Sevilla was the Plaza de España, a large plaza and walkway that commemorates each province of Spain. For me the coolest thing about this place is that as you walk around, you can find a tiled area for each province's capital. Of course, since Salamanca is the capital of the province of Salamanca, we made sure to find it.

Plaza de España:





Erica and I at the Salamanca area:



We also saw lots of ábanicos for sale at stands near the Plaza de España:

After that, we went to Sevilla's historic center to see the Cathedral, La Giralda, and the old moorish palace, the Alcázar. Sevilla is Spain's third largest city, after Madrid and Barcelona, and is also Spain's most dangerous city (although as long as you're smart, you shouldn't get into any trouble). Sevilla's cathedral is arguably the biggest cathedral in the world, in terms of volumn, and the famous bell tower was originally built to fit a Muslim Mosque. Now, it supposedly holds the remains of Christopher Columbus (although a few other sites around the world claim to as well, I believe). It's very impressive inside, but as this was my third time in Sevilla, we didn't really feel like going in. Here's a view from the outside:

Just past La Giralda is the Royal Alcázar of Sevilla. This Moorish palace, begun in the 15th century, is a beautiful example of mudéjar (Moorish) architecture and is reminiscent of the larger and even more impressive Alhambra palace in Granada.

Moorish architecture in the interior of the palace:

A walkway in the gardens:



A duck in the gardens:



A cafe in the gardens that was abierto, or open:

After eating dinner at the hotel, we went to a flamenco bar called La Carbonería. I found the place after having gone to it the last time I was in Sevilla. La Carbonería is a restaurant/bar known for having very authentic (and free!) flamenco performances. Unlike the "tourist" flamenco that most people see when they visit Sevilla, the performance we saw was geared more towards Spaniards themselves. It was less showy, with simpler dress and fewer dancers, as well.

Flamenco at La Carbonería:

Click below to view a movie of the flamenco we saw at La Carbonería:

At La Carbonería, we had a glass of Agua de Sevilla, one of Sevilla's traditional drinks and hung out in the garden for a while. A stray gato came up to us, which we made friends with. It was actually so friendly (and so skinny), that it tried to drink some of our Agua de Sevilla. We felt bad for it, and gave it some Pringles to eat...since we don't usually carry cat food around with us on vacation. We thus decided to name it Pringato.

In the garden of La Carbonería:

Pringato trying to drink some Agua de Sevilla:

Pringato eating some Pringles:

The next day we left for Granada, but on the way we stopped in Córdoba, another city in Andalucía, best known for its Mezquita, or Mosque. The Moors invaded Spain in the year 711, coming up through Morocco, and conquered almost all of the Iberian Peninsula. Practicing the religion of Islam, they built Mosques and other Moorish style buildings around much of Spain, particularly in Andalucía. El Cid, fighting to receive the king's pardon and for his country, helped to expel many of them in the 1100s, and by 1492 Spain was completely under Spanish rule once again. The Moorish influence remains in much of Spain, and especially Andalucía, however, since they ruled for so long.

The Mezquita de Córdoba is stunning and is a pleasant change from countless cathedrals. It's also the third largest mosque in the world, after the mosque in Mecca and the mosque in Casablanca, Morocco (which I'll be seeing in a few weeks!)

Some friends outside the Mezquita:



Some pictures of the interior:





Erica and I inside the Mezquita:

My least favorite part about the Mezquita is that the Christians built a Baroque cathedral right in the middle of it. Nothing against cathedrals, but this mosque is just so perfect as it is, it seems like sacrilege to tear part of it down to erect a church in a completely different style. On the other hand, if it weren't for the Catholic church taking posession of the mosque, it very well might have been destroyed after the Moors were driven out of Spain.

The Baroque Cathedral section of the Mezquita:

After Córdoba we went to Granada...which will be my next entry. Stay tuned!