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Published: April 28th 2009
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Seville
JEwish Street This morning we arrived in Cadiz about 7:30 AM - it was still dark when we got up to watch the arrival. Cadiz is one of the oldest ports in the Western world, having been established by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC. They still grow the olives and grapes from that time. The Romans took over the area in 218 BC; today we saw some of the aqueducts and roads from Roman times. Amazing when you consider when the US was settled. The Moors invaded Spain from North Africa in 711 AD and you can still see their influence in the architecture, especially in Seville. The Spanish regained control of their country in 1492 when the armies of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella defeated the Muslims at Grenada.
We took an hour and a half bus ride to Seville, Sevilla in Spanish, with a tour guide who provided a history lesson more interesting than any history instructor either of us ever had. He was amazingly knowledgeable and talked constantly. He could have been feed us baloney but I don’t think so.
When we got to Seville, we toured the city and saw several buildings left from the 1929 World’s Exposition. We
Seville
Cathedral went first to the Plaza of the Americas, a huge building, which is covered with ceramic tiles which is being restored. Seville is famous for the quality of the ceramic tiles they produce and it is visible in and on all the old buildings, decorative as well as functional, insulating the homes from the summer heat that can get to 120 degrees.
We parked the bus because of the very narrow streets and walked to the Jewish Street - an area that once was where the Jewish citizens lived. The buildings are very old and so close together. They all have the typical tile roofs and wrought iron gates and patios.
Then we walked to Seville’s Cathedral which is the 3rd largest in the world, next to St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London. It is built in a rectangle, different from most cathedrals that are built in the shape of a cross, so that it covered all the foot space of the Muslim mosque that once stood there. It was amazing, that is all I can say. There are 42 chapels and each of the chapels has beautiful old art work and carved altars. The main altar
Seville
Inside Cathdral is HUGE, carved out of wood and covered with gold leaf. Each panel is a scene from the New Testament. The pipes from the organ are on two sides of the center of the church and go clear to the ceiling, probably 50 feet tall. Inside the church is the grave of Christopher Columbus. They have done DNA studies and at least part of what is buried there are the remains of Columbus. Although the Spanish agree that he was born in Italy, they are convinced that he is of Spanish-Jewish descent. His son is also buried in the church as is King Ferdinand III.
After walking back to the bus, we went to a hotel originally built for the 1929 World’s Exposition and had a buffet lunch of typical Spanish foods. There were at least 6 or 7 bus loads of us from the Ruby Princess there. We also saw a flamenco dancing demonstration. Not only were the 3 women very good but so was the flamenco guitarist who played for them.
Next we piled back into the bus to the castle; on the way we drove by Seville’s bull ring. This was the first day of the special
Seville
Main Altar April festival and they have bull fighting every day - the tickets have been sold out for months. For the festival everyone who is anyone puts up a large tent on the grounds of the 1992 World’s Fair and entertains friends and family. We saw the gates to the festival.
On to the castle - really a mansion - it is known as the House of Pilate. It got that name as it is the location of the First Station of the Cross, from Holy Week. They are marked throughout the city by the tiles with pictures and text. The people started calling it the House of Pilate since the first station is where Christ was sent out by Pilate. Our guide told us that the majority of the citizens are not very good at going to Mass weekly, but really turn out for special ceremonies and rituals like the Stations of the Cross and a parade held during Holy Week where everyone carries a 3-4 foot tall candle. He warned us that the floor of the Cathedral would still be slick because of all the spilled wax - and the wheels of cars in the area squeal because of
the wax.
The outside walls were covered with bougainvillea vines; they were beautiful. The inner decorative walls of the mansion were incredible, all carved stucco with huge arches all around the center courtyard. In one corner was a carved marble statue from the 4th century BC. Each of the doors was covered with an inlayed wooden pattern. The mansion was designed to help keep the main floor cooler in the summer. In the second courtyard, there was a bougainvillea that was about 12-15 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide, growing up into the trees and completely in bloom.
We took a long walk back to the bus; as we walked past all the shops, I noticed that they were all closed. I asked our driver if they were closed because of the day of the week or the time of day. He told us it was “siesta time”. Typically businesses open at 9 and shops at 9:30 or 10 AM. Then they all close at 2 PM and don’t reopen until 5 or 5:30, so people can rest or sleep for a couple of hours after lunch. The offices stay open until 8 and shops to 8:30 PM. Spanish eat supper around 10 PM. When we got back on the bus, he told us we could all engage in the most popular Spanish spectator sport - siesta, sleeping. I don’t think I even made it to the highway before I was sound asleep.
We left Cadiz at 10:00 PM and headed for Gibraltar, where we expect to arrive at 7 or 8 AM. It was not nearly as nice for the sail away party - cold and very windy on the open decks. We stayed out until the ship sailed and then dashed back to our cabin to warm up. The ocean was very calm and we only have to sail about 70 miles so we are going pretty slow. Lots of ship traffic into the Mediterranean.
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