Toledo, the city in a nutshell

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Prior to working in the archive, we decided to take the first few days and see the historic locations that make the south of Spain so famous. We began our trip in Toledo. The approach to the city is a winding road up a hill, which takes you across the River Tagus and past the more modern neighborhoods outside of town. Once you reach the walls of the town, the Puerta of Bisagra bearing the arms of Charles V stands to the side, as if to show that the king's influence has not yet left this city. Aside from the cars driving--less cautiously than you would think--down the narrow streets and people holding cell phones, the town itself looks largely like you would expect from something so old. Of course nowadays, practically everything in the middle of this town is either a shop, museum or restaurant, so it doesn't feel so much like a functioning town as much as a 3-D replica of what things might have looked like.

The closeness of all the centers of worship really do give you a sense of how much interaction between the world's major religions there must have been. This town is so tiny compared to today's standards, there is little doubt they had to figure out a way to get along or leave town. Of course the Reconquista made so that they were forced to leave, and today only the catholic churches are still functioning, but at least they didn't destroy everything in sight, as they had done elsewhere.

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