Where Jews,Muslims and Christians all got along

lots of moving figurines to be bought in the Christmas markets surrounding e main cathedrals in he 4 cities we visited

The day started out very foggy but here the sun came out

Islamic art is not to depict anything living particularly no religious figures so Arabic writing and abstract designs is all they can do

Steve in the Alcazar

all very ornate

fancy hibiscus in the extensive gardens

The Alcazar had a mix of Islamic and Christian art

Gingko tree behind me

The Giralda tower in the morning fog

We spent a few hours exploring the narrow streets of Barrio Santa Cruz, the old Jewish section eating lunch in a Spanish- Italian fusion place

buildings were built up to the street but had ornate courtyards

I was so excited to see a new type of parrot with red on its chest. Alas, just a monk parakeet

untagged monk

loved this ceiling

the tram went fr a mile. suppose we could have saved some mileage by taking it as it stopped close to our hotel

this was a fancy candy store when we were here 13 years ago. Alas, closed

inside the Girada

Christopher Columbus buried here

Inside Sevilla's fanciest hotel

We awoke to heavy fog on our only full day in Sevilla. I had been feeling antsy because although each day I was walking miles and miles, it was not at the intensity of my usual workouts and those breakfast buffets were so good. It was a Sunday and the streets were empty. I made my way to Parque Maria Luisa and ran under palms and parrots. The park is quite lush with fountains, ponds, ceramic sculptures. 

Back to the city center. t was still too foggy to see the to of the Giralda tower. We walked through El Barrio de Santa Cruz, the old Jewish section. From around 700 AD to 1492, Southern Spain was under Muslim rule by three groups depending on the year. The best years were under the Moors, who believed in education and peace among the different religions. But then in 1492 under Queen Isabella, the Jews and Muslims were forcefully expelled or converted. 

In a cute café, I had a tasty crepe full of ham and cheese covered with bechemal sauce. Not sure what cuisine this represented but it was tasty. I had some pastry called Cabeza de Angel (head of an angel) that seemed to have a lot of pear puree in it so yay.

On to the Alcazar which I hadn't seen previously due to budget restraints. It never had been used as a mosque but was built by Mudejars, Moors who stuck behind as Christians. It was beautiful and surrounded by formal gardens. A good afternoon.

All the streets of Sevilla are lined with orange trees, full of oranges at this time. Years ago, my friend was thrilled, free food! But soon spit out the pretty orange flesh. Bitter oranges useful only for marmalade and pectin. We always had fresh orange juice in the morning so they do grow plenty of the edible kind.

On to the Giralda which was a mosque for the Moors but converted to the third largest gothic cathedral in Europe. Not particularly pretty. 

We picked up supplies for a picnic dinner at a very good bakery across from the Giralda to return exhausted to our hotel.