Sevilla

I am remembering Sevilla now, which was short but enjoyable. The Cathedral was really incredible, especially because I had been learning about it in my Spanish Art History class. It is the third largest Cathedral in the world and was built on the site of a mosque so the architecture has influence "Musulman"-Muslim- such as "El Patio de los naranjos" and the "torre" or "Giraldo" which is the tall stone bell tower which back in the day was used so that voices of the could be heard throughout the city. We climbed 34 ramps (designed for the horses to climb up) to the top and watched the city of Sevilla down below. The construction of the Giralda was started by a Muslim architect and was finished later on by Christians. Even though the tower was first constructed by Muslims, there is a human figure at the top which follows the direction of the wind. This is because the construction of the tower was taken over and finished by Christains-who were permited to use figures in their art. The Cathedral was grand with gothic-style architecture, beautiful stained glass windows...AND Christopher Columbus's tomb...(or atleast some of his remains. Maybe a foot or something.) Anyway, I thought that was really cool. The decoration inside was amazing with gothic style arcs that reached so high and the the Gothic Retablo- which is the altarpiece carved in wood and covered with gold with religious scenes. We could see the 15th century choro stalls and I could just imagine how amazing it would be to hear the sound of a choir singing or chanting in that space. We also went to "Reales Alcazares", which is one of the many homes of the royal family today. Another beautiful space with wandering gardens and a fusion of Muslim and Renaissance inspired architecture. We only spent one night in Sevilla...which was wayyy to short. I would have loved to spend a week there and keep exploring.