Seville

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The bus ride from Tarifa to Seville was pretty short. Although I wasn’t sure if one of the prior stops was Seville, there was no mistaking it once we arrived. Many richly decorated buildings stood on the streets as we rode closer into the city. The bus station was about a 20-minute walk from the hostel. I checked in and sat down in the common room to take care of some business. After a while I was asked if I wanted to join a group for some drinks in the park, to which I accepted. A group of about 15 walked to the park which was comically close to the bus station where I had just arrived. There I engaged in conversation, somewhat routinely, with the Australians, Canadians, and random people from various other countries. Of course, where I used to ask a lot of questions and try to gather a lot of information on traveling, I found myself now answering many questions and giving information. Many of the people traveling through the major Western European countries like Spain don’t consider any of Eastern Europe, but I encourage them all to consider it. It was a relatively short night, but I wanted to wake early the next morning anyway to catch the walking tour through the city.

The walking tour was setup by the hostel, so all I had to do was show up around the front desk. The tour guide took people from our hostel, and a nearby hostel. Although there were only about 5 of us leaving from my hostel, about 20 people joined us from the other hostel. The tour guide first took us to the Cathedral. The Cathedral was built by the Moors as a Mosque before they were driven out. When the Spanish took over, they turned it into a Catholic Cathedral. The outer structure was added to in Gothic style, and is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world by surface area. They kept the minaret, which is quite thick, and turned it into a bell tower. She then took us to Calle de Muerte, or Street of Death, which is a nickname for a small square. The story behind this is about a Jewish girl who was secretly dating a Catholic soldier during the Inquisition. When she learned of plans by the Jews to kill some important political and military figures, including her boyfriend, she told her boyfriend of these plans. The Catholics struck preemptively by killing many Jews in Seville. The girl fled to a commune where she converted to Catholicism and remained hidden for the rest of her life. Apparently, however, her wish was to have her head hung outside on this street after she died for others to remember her and others like her. Years went by with this skull hanging in this square, until finally they took it down. There is still a small memorial to her, which is a small tile of a skull with her name, Susana. From there we were taken to a token engineering mystery. Many of the windows are covered with iron bars, but there is one particular set of iron bars that are interwoven in such a way that would have been impossible considering the available technology during the time it was made, which was over 200 years ago. No one knows where it came from either. To the reigning Catholics the answer was simple, it came from the devil. So it is known as the devil’s window.

We walked through a small park and stopped by the Columbus Memorial. A lion sat at the top of two pillars, with a ship about halfway up the pillars. The two pillars are a symbol of the Strait of Gibraltar, while the lion is the symbol of Spain. The Romans gave Spain the symbol of a rabbit because they found many there. However, during the 16th century, when Spain was very rich and powerful, they decided not to represent themselves with a fluffy bunny. Next, we went to the river side where we saw the Golden Tower. This tower was not actually gold, but was a very wide stone tower. A little further in from the river side was the Toro Arena, the second largest bull fighting arena in Spain. A statue of a famous bull fighter stands in a small square just outside the arena.

During the tour, I met a small group from the other hostel, and joined them for lunch afterward. We had a mixture of meals with some tinto de verano, which is red wine with soda, and was very tasty. They had planned to see the Alcazar afterward, and so I joined them for that as well. The Alcazar was a royal palace. It was built by the Moors in Catholic style, which made for some very interesting architecture. The Moorish style showed in the geometric shapes and mosaics. The tile work in the rooms was astonishing to say the least. Very intricate tile mosaics covered the walls. Some were simple arrangements of triangles and semicircles, but others were extremely complex designs requiring extreme mathematical precision. Most of the rooms were open air, and the breeze flowed through the entire palace easily. Once room in particular held a painting of sailors praying for good winds before setting sail. This room was the actual meeting point for sailors to gather just before taking off. Behind the palace was a large garden, complete with fountains, flamingoes, and even a maze. Concerts were also held here nightly during this season. I parted with the group after the Alcazar, but planned to meet them later for a Flamenco show.

I spent the next few hours roaming through Seville to find other sights. My first stop was España Square. This was a large semicircular building with a courtyard in the center. The courtyard had bridges which crossed a small moat with fountains. The building was mostly red brick, but also had decoration of blue on white in the pillars, windows, and statues. Along the front of the building, inside the courtyard, were many small partitions. Each partition had a small scene and a map representing a different city in Spain. There was a partition for nearly every city in Spain, except, somehow, Seville. I was a little disappointed to find that the whole courtyard was under repair. The moat was drained and there was fencing and trucks everywhere. It was still a very cool site, and I managed to get some good pictures. After walking around the park behind España Square, I headed toward a street that caught my eye on the edge of the map. It was a few blocks away, but eventually I arrived at Avenida Kansas City. I never got the story behind this street, but it wasn’t a small street. In fact it was alongside the main train station in Seville. I took some pictures of a few different street signs, some on the side of buildings, and some free-standing. Somehow, with just this simple and singular reference, I felt very at home. On my walk back toward the hostel I came across the only remains of the Roman civilization. Some stone tracks of the old aqueduct were still standing along the middle of the street. They were minimally supported by a couple iron bars, but were otherwise in good condition. A small religious memorial was engraved on one side.

That evening I met with the group I joined during the tour for a Flamenco show. I had next to no idea what a Flamenco show was, but everyone said that Southern Spain was the place to see one, so I figured I had to check it out. We went into a large room filled with tables, benches, and a small stage at the front. There was no air conditioning, but a network of pipes sprayed cool mist through nozzles located just below the ceiling. A bar ran along the side where we ordered a pitcher of Agua de Sevilla. By the taste I’d say this consisted of rum, pineapple juice, and was topped with some sort of cream. It was very tasty, so we ended up ordering another before the night was over. Three people were introduced on the stage just before the show started. A man playing the guitar, another man singing, and a woman in a red dress who I assumed would be dancing. For the first part the guitarist and the singer were the only performers. Perhaps the singer was setting up the scene with a story, but I had no idea what he was saying. The guitarist was finger-picking a classical guitar in a very loose, but precise manner. Suddenly, the woman stood and started dancing to the music. The rhythm picked up at this point, and the crowd became much more attentive. The dancing was largely tap-dancing, with many precise clicks and loud stomps in key places. She spun around and moved all about the stage while the singer continued the “story”. The show lasted about 30 minutes total, and looked exhausting for the dancer. We got to see a second show as well before we left.

The next morning I set out to visit the Cathedral. As I entered there was a small room with Renaissance artwork before going into the nave. The nave was enormous. Almost the entire space of the Cathedral was occupied by this one room. Over 30 chapels were distributed along the outer wall dedicated to many saints and many containing tombs. The ceiling must have been at least 50 feet high. Two chambers sat in the middle of the room, one for the choir, which had large arrays of organ pipes on either side, and the other for the main altar. The background of the main altar was an intricately sculpted golden wall with many features protruding from it. To the right of the main altar was the tomb of Cristobal Colón, better known as Christopher Columbus. Though his remains have been moved many times, and there are many tombs of Columbus, this tomb, containing a whopping 10% of his bones, the most of any tomb, is the “real” tomb. It is held in the air by 4 very large polychrome soldiers, each representing a different province of Spain at the time of his famous voyage. After exploring the nave, I headed up the bell tower. It was odd seeing a ramp leading to the bell tower instead of a stair case. It was designed this way back when the structure was a mosque. As you may know, a minaret does not have bells at the top like a cathedral. To announce the call to prayer, the imam must walk to the top of the minaret 5 times a day. For some minarets this is no problem, but this minaret was about 15 stories high. The imam rode a horse, or perhaps a mule or donkey, to the top each time. This is why a ramp was built instead of a steep staircase. Once at the top, I had a 360 degree view of the whole city of Seville. On one side was a photo of the view with labels pointing to various structures including España Square and Alcazar. I took some pictures of the city, then headed back down and out to the orange garden. Lots of orange trees grew in this courtyard, and the Moorish architecture could be seen in the shapes of the surrounding doorways.

That evening I met back up with the group from the tour to see a bull fight. I didn’t intend on seeing a bull fight, but this group convinced me I should go just once in my life. I figured that I did come to Europe to explore new cultures, and this was a very cultural event. Also, we were told by the tour guide that there is lots of political talk of ending bull fighting, so this could be my last chance to see one. After seeing the show, I am hoping they do end this event someday. The tour guide described it as “blood everywhere” and to get drunk before you go. I found that it wasn’t as bloody as I was expecting after that prep, but it seemed a lot more cruel than I thought it would be. I also expected to be impressed by the bravery and technique of the matadors, but I was impressed by neither. I’m not saying I could go out there and do it, but I was just expecting more. My favorite parts were when the bulls rammed the matadors, took them to the ground, and one in particular got bucked into the air a couple times before falling. Every time that happened the matadors buddies would come out and distract the bull while the matador got back up and gathered his things. I thought that was pretty unfair considering at no point did the bull get help from other bulls. How about 5 bulls versus one matador, now that would be a show. My last morning I explored the parks around España Square one more time before catching a bus to Madrid.

I was very impressed with Seville. It’s definitely my favorite city in Spain so far, and one of my top favorites in Europe. The city center is not that big, but it is full of great architecture, culture, and history. The mood is very relaxed, and although it gets pretty hot, the city is designed to weave the breeze throughout the city, so it really doesn’t feel as hot as it could. The tapas are great and easy to find because they are everywhere. Most of the people don’t speak English, or very little, so it was a good place to continue improving my Spanish. My biggest problem is still trying to understand the natives, but I am slowly gaining the ability to pick out words here and there. The parks are great, as is the landscaping around the whole city. I never seem to get tired of seeing palm trees everywhere. I think I could actually see myself living in Seville for a while someday, but I will never, ever go to another bull fight.

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Photos

Alcazar
One of the many courtyards

Partition for Madrid
In España Square

Avenida Kansas City
The No8Do is seen all over the city. The 8 is actually a symbol for a rope used to wed couples. The phrase, No madeja do, is normally for marriage, but in this case represents a love of a King for this city.

Seville
View from Giralda, the Cathedral bell tower.