Day 5: was mainly about the Alhambra. We are staying in the city of Seville,
and we have a little time in the morning, so we walk over the old Jewish
quarter. On the way, we get our first view of the walls of the fortress.
It's pretty early, so the plaza that would normally be filled with eating
and drinking is pretty much deserted.
A shot down the narrow streets of the Jewish quarter, toward one of of
the Alhambra towers across the river.
Coming out of the Jewish quarter on our walkabout, we come to the Catedral
de Sevilla. That's Kimberly in the bottom center in the red jacket, for
scale.
As with all cathedrals, the lofty ceilings help the people to feel small
compared to the power of God.
The main altar with gold and stained glass...
...and the organ pipes on either side.
Just a small side chapel donated by someone eager to get into heaven.
Some old hymnals on display. Yes, those black dots are the notes.
We start our official tour of the Alhambra.
Here is our local guide.
The tour starts in the gardens.
Out guide explains to us that Muslim water is still and reflective, and
only Christians use the "jumping"water.
From the gardens back over the Alhambra palace.
The Generalife: the summer palace and country estate of the Emirate of
Granada in Al-Andalus (from which we get "Andalusian").
More jumping water. I was surprised by how much was still green and flowering,
since this is late November.
Typical Moorish stuccos around the windows.
A shot back out over the city and to the mountain beyond.
The Generalife is higher than the rest of the palace.
The gardens go on...
...and on.
The tower of the seven floors.
Another shot toward the mountains.
Making our way down from the gardens to the palace proper, passing some
of the excavations.
One of the main entry gates to the palace proper.
A forum court.
Note the stucco and woodwork in the ceiling and the tile work below.
The relatively plain section in the middle is for hanging tapestries.
Our local guide explaining that the doorway on the right is specifically
warped, based on the Islamic principle that nothing created on Earth can
be perfect, so the builder puts in at least one imperfection.
The name of Allah appearing tens of thousands of times throughout the
decor.
Another reflecting pool.
An audience hall for meeting with the Emir.
The same reflecting pool from earlier, with the audience room.
The palace goes on and on.
This fountain of lions was supposedly a timepiece with mechanics so that
it functioned as a clock at one time, and the hour was given by which
lion was spitting at the time.
A hall showing the intricate detail of the stucco with the stalagtite
ceiling.
Many of the stalagtite ceilings have faded or fallen over time; this
one gives some hints to the color that was originally present.
A view out onto the private gardens for the bedrooms.
Back from the Alhambra, and into Seville, the capital of Andalucia. One
of the very large chain department stores is El Corte Ingles, and they
are not decorated for Christmas.
That evening we had a tour dinner of various tapas, out at an ostensibly
Italian restaurant called MonTolivo.
