Skulls in the Stars

Part 6 of a photo travelogue of my recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)

On our first full day in Seville, we spent the morning visiting the Seville Cathedral, as described in the previous Spain post.  That was only the beginning of the day, however, as we went directly from the cathedral to the Alcázar, a beautiful royal palace with a long  and storied history.  It is still used by the Spanish Royal family as a residence when staying in Seville.

Entrance to the Real Alcázar of Seville, the Puerta del León.

This palace-fortress has such a long history, with such extensive renovations and changes, that even its date of origin is unclear!  It seems that many of the surviving structures date from the 14th century, though some remains could date back as early at the 10th century.

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Part 5 of a photo travelogue of my recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Updated some descriptions thanks to commenter VA!

When we woke up on Monday morning, the massive crowds of Palm Sunday had to a large extent dispersed, though the city of Seville was still quite lively.  We had a lot to do, so we wasted little time in making our way to the Seville Cathedral to do some sightseeing.  There was already a lengthy queue waiting to tour the inside of the massive building.

Entrance to the Seville Cathedral.

It is hard to do justice to the size of the Seville Cathedral (Catedral de Santa María de la Sede).  It is the third-largest church in the world, with some 11,500 square feet of interior space, and the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.  Like much of the early architecture in southern Spain (Andalusia), its architectural style is a curious mix of Christian and Muslim tastes.

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Part 4 of a photo travelogue of my recent trip to Spain with my wife and her family! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

On Sunday, we got up relatively early to catch a train from Madrid to Seville.  The train ride was about 3 hours, but quite frankly it was nice to have an excuse to sit and relax for a while after the previous three days of intense sightseeing!  Even Madrid’s Atocha Station was worth seeing, however, due to its lush tropical interior.

Interior of Madrid's Atocha Station.

The train ride was excellent!  The seats were comfortable and roomy, and had convenient power outlets.  Perhaps the most remarkable thing: at one of the stops, technical difficulties caused a 15 minute delay in the train.  When we got underway again, it was announced that all passengers would receive a full refund because of that delay!  An airline that adopted such a policy would be out of business within an hour.

Seville is an old city with a rich history stretching back almost three thousand years.  Perhaps the most notable events were the conquest of the city by the Moors in 712 C.E., which brought Muslim art and culture into the region, and the Catholic reconquest of the area by King Fernando III of Castille in 1248 C.E.   The city  maintains an interesting mix of Muslim and Christian cultural styles, especially in its old landmarks, as we will see.

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