Seville

 

Columbia Pavaillion

Within walking distance from our ship were the pavilions from the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929. Most of the pavilions are still in use as university buildings, civil buildings, or consulates. The medieval walls of Seville have mostly been torn down to create a ring road around the old city. We started our walking tour in the old Jewish Quarter, called Santa Cruz. Most of the Jews were forced to leave when the inquisition started in 1492. The Murillo Gardens cover part of this quarter. We also saw some of the city walls with their pipes for carrying water into the city.

Interior courtyard of Mudejar Palace

Then we entered the Alcazar, the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe today. Originally built as a fort by the Moors in 913. In 1366 the Mudejar Palace was built by Pedro I and later Philippe and Isabela used the upper floors as their residence. Here we saw the painting of Our Lady of the Navigators where Spanish explorers would pray before their voyage. It shows the discovery of the Americas as well as Christopher Columbus, with raised arms. The most spectacular room was the Throne Room.

Bells of the Cathedral

In the afternoon we returned to the old city to visit the Cathedral of Seville. This is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and larger than St Peter’s in area, but not length. The church tower was originally a minaret and has 34 ramps to the top so that the sultan could ride his horse to the top. The Giralda Tower is built to resemble the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh. The church elders who built the church goal was to “build a church so beautiful and grand that people will believe we are mad”. They succeeded with an altar of gold and an altar of silver. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is also unique. This afternoon we broke the record high for the month of April at 97.

Tomb of Christopher Columbus

That evening we were entertained with a Flamenco performance.