And there's also Cordoba

HERE IS A LINK TO MORE CORDOBA PHOTOS

The year 1492 was eventful in Spain. Isabella and Ferdinand managed to defeat the Muslims at their last stronghold in Spain at Granada. They ruled a united, Christian Spain from the Alcazar in Cordoba where they met with an adventurous explorer named Christopher Columbus. Just when I though we'd seen all of what southern Spain can offer, we took the1 hour train trip north from Malaga to enjoy this magnificent city.

Maggie and Josh were still with us and they wanted to move, move, move. So we got up early, drove down the scary mountain in the dark, and caught the 9am train from Malaga.

The highlight of the visit for us was the tour of the extraordinary mosque/cathedral. I love great churches and cathedrals. I've visited St Peter's in Rome, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, the cathedral at Chartres, the basilica  cathedral in Cusco, St Paul's in London, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Santa Maria de la Sede in Seville and others.

The Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba equals any of them. It's difficult to describe this amazing place with words or photos. It's so vast! And built as a mosque, with endless arches and a giant chapel plopped into the middle. It's a very unique place and well worth a visit.

Alcazar photos:

Yep, Julius Caesar was here

Isabella, Ferdinand, Chris Columbus together again

Orange trees are everywhere in southern Spain

Mosque/cathedral:

Every pillar, recycled, different, and ancient

Around Cordoba...

A dangerous car parker!

Gotta protect the family

I liked how these school kids reacted to a statue of this philosopher in the old Jewish Section 

The Romans built the original bridge here and it was the only one
in town for over 1000 years

End of a nice day!

Sayonara Sayalonga (or How I Hiked the Countryside)

Apparently there was an ancient cistern at this location

One month gone and I feel unready to leave this place. We visited so many towns, cities and historic sites yet we just scratched the surface.

And this mountaintop location! Bad because the long, dangerous road allowed for no more than one trip per day. Good because the mountains offer extraordinary scenery with working farms and orchards interspersed with beautiful homes mostly housing retired expat Germans and Brits. All of whom seem to own a dog or two that they must walk up and down the roadways.

This region soaring over the little village of Sayalonga is called Carraspite. The mountains here are crisscrossed with miles of roads and trails allowing access to mountainside terraces. Many seem to be ancient trails. The beauty is that one can hike these roads, though it is challenging! And hiking seems to be a good alternative to the painful process of running here.

I have a great deal of admiration for the people that work these mountainside farms. At this time of year they are doing some major clearing and burning of brush. During the summer it gets very hot here so they are out early, resting mid-day and back at it late in the afternoon. Very difficult work!

Hard at work clearing land on the mountainside

At the bottom of my 3+mile hike, almost 1000 feet below my starting point (!) I cross a small stream that seems to irrigate many farms just 100 meters down the road.

Low point, stream crossed

Small farm just downstream. Heading back up the mountain, I pass olive groves, nut trees, orange trees, avocados and more. Check out the following photos.

Olives...

Nuts...

Oranges...

Avacados (I think...

Lots of cactus...

and these cisterns collect water piped in from a distant
reservoir

A walk is a good way to meet the neighbors...

Back uphill...

I'm losing sunlight...!

Okay, I can make it!

Up the hill to the right!

This photo has nothing to do with my hike. Just thought you'd like to see the sites at the one of the many Chiringuitos (beach bars). They all have fires going to cook the local seafood. Lots of sardines, calamari, pulpo (I won't tell what that is)...

Granada and The Alhambra

HERE IS A LINK TO MORE ALHAMBRA PHOTOS



The Alhambra is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site that one must visit in the Andalusian region of Spain. And, again, it is magnificent!

Like the other historic sites in southern Spain, it is a mixture of Islamic and Christian culture. The presence of the Moors here for 500 years had enormous implications and seeing these sites helps me to better understand Spanish and European history. The links we share with other cultures are so much deeper than I imagined.

And here is where the $ came from (true!)

Pay attention, kids!

As seen in Game of Thrones!

8 pointed Islamic Star 

A Quick Trip to Sevilla

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE SEVILLA PHOTOS

We departed Casa Palmeras y Mar Friday morning and drove 3.5 hours north and west to the magnificent city of Sevilla. You turn north from the coast at Malaga and drive up and over the mountains for about 30 minutes before making the rapid decent into a lush and lovely valley of rolling hills with some flat areas of farmland. Not many animals to see like cattle, sheep or pigs, but there are olives. Miles and miles of olive groves. Everywhere! And there are tanker trucks devoted to the transport of aceite de oliva. (We get our locally grown olive oil at the co-operative in town. Great stuff!)

Seville arrives in a rush of development and soon we were in the old city, prayerfully negotiating it's narrow streets. We stayed overnight in the Hotel Las Casas de La Juderia. It's named after the section of town where it is located; the ancient neighborhood of the Jews.

Here are some photos of the interior of Casas de La Juderia.

The piano bar. Strictly Classical Music

One of the lobbies from above

When we arrived we met up with Maggie and boyfriend Josh who had flown over to spend a week and with my cousin Roy. As I mentioned earlier, Roy is my cousin's grandchild and he lives and works in Madrid.

Dinner at our place!

Like Madrid, Sevilla was a remarkably beautiful secret to me. Because it lies in southern Spain (Andalusia), it was occupied by Muslims for 500 years, until sometime in the 1200's.

On Friday evening, Diane, Maggie, Josh and I took a walk to the Plaza de Espana built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. It is surrounded by a moat and a long, beautiful ceramic fence.

The beautiful ceramic fence

The buildings are Moorish, Christian, Jewish, everything. In fact the cathedral (massive!) and the Alcazar are a hodge podge of every type or architectural design of the times.

The Alcazar:

There is beautiful tile work everywhere. Here, the 8 pointed star of Islam
is evident

The baths

The balcony featured in Game of Thrones

The gardens were also featured in GoT

Diane tuning in with the earpiece

The cathedral:

One of many locations where Christopher Columbus remains are interned

The main altar

View from the top of the bell tower

Okay, back on the road...

Seville is the Europe's warmest city and it did not disappoint. We had great weather as we visited the sights. The Alcazar is a must visit especially for Game of Throne fans as you'll recognize interior and exterior sights from the show. And the Cathedral is across the plaza so not much travel is involved.