Sevilla and Córdoba

Well it's the last couple days of my study abroad program in spain and I'm trying to catch up on all my last posts. I still have like a little over two weeks in Spain however. My group went to Sevilla and Córdoba together for a three day weekend. I got a migraine the second day of Sevilla so I only have a little about it. Luckily my parents and I are going together so I didn't push to go when I didn't feel well. Above is the main place we went when we arrived in Sevilla: Plaza España. PICTURES CANNOT DO IT JUSTICE. In fact, I couldn't get all of the plaza structure in one picture. Above is half of it. And that doesn't count the park area as well. Best part? It's free. There is a little manmade river you can canoe through there as well (very cute and picturesque). I feel like Europe invented the "river walk" idea between Spain, London, and Paris. Sevilla has the Guadalquivir river. It is the only navigable river in Spain. In this plaza, its a little manmade one but very cute.

 You'll notice there is fencing and bridges everywhere in the plaza. ALL of it is actual pottery. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't even know it was real until I saw a place where someone had broken a part of it. And we think Spanish plates are pretty.

I tried to back up to get a picture of all of it…but as you can see that wasn't possible and we didn't have very much time since the bus was waiting for us. 

I quickly learned why it is called "Plaza de España", because it depicts the unification of Spain from tiny kingdoms into modern Spain. Here is the tile painting of the famous painting of the Moorish Sultan giving the key of the Alhambra (literally giving the "key to the city") to the Reyes Católicas (Isabel and Ferdinand). It is one of the most famous paintings of the royal couple. It is the painting representing the addition of Granada to Spain.

There is a bullring in Sevilla

We were walking along the river and the orange trees are famous in Sevilla. They line the streets everywhere.

Another famous sight: el Torre del Oro. This is from the days of the Moors when Sevilla was part of their Caliphate like Granada.

Picture of the river (el rio grande). Even though Sevilla is in Andalucia, its architecture is completely different than Granada. Sevilla is very colorful. All the buildings are different colors like below.

And on to Córdoba (¡Vamos!)!

Once again…the Guadalquivir river. There is a really pretty pedestrian bridge from the old part of the town to the new part where most of the hotels are. It is a lot like Toledo in that it is a tourist town. However, what can you expect when it has one of the most famous architectural works in the world? It is the ONLY place with a Mezquita that has a Cathedral inside. When all the others mesquitas were torn down, this one was allowed to stand. However, a cathedral was built inside it since after all, the christians did win. 

Behold, La Mezquita de Córdoba

When you step inside the Mezquita, there is a big patio (i feel like patio is a bad word since it is HUGE) but anyway…there are a bunch of orange trees that have little ruts dug that connect them all so that water was irrigated to them. In this patio, the bell tower was rung five times a day to signal the muslims to gather in the patio to pray.

Notice the water…..shows prosperity and wealth remember?
Once you step inside, you see all the candy-striped towers the Mezquita is famous for (all 870 of them). Not every part of the building is the same age. Each area was one century apart and it began in the 8th century. Some arches were brick, others were painted like below. Some columns were created for the project while others were recycled from Roman structures. Unfortunately I had a very difficult time taking pictures in the very old parts with the original recycled Roman columns, remember how Greek and Roman knowledge survived? (the west rediscovered it in the middle east). The lighting was all original, or to the taste of it since the nasty Napoleon ransacked the place for its gold items when he conquered Spain. The lighting was so dim that my camera couldn't handle it.

Anyways the picture above is in an area where I could finally take good pictures. There are many little areas in the the building called "capillas" which means chapels. There are 45 little chapels in the structure.

Mitchell, I'm not sure which dome you were saying was revolutionary, but here is the original dome from the Mezquita. 

And then we entered the cathedral part! (the second dome, for you darling)

 

Below are all pictures you will not see in any other religious structure in the world. You have the melding of both a mosque and a cathedral into one. You notice the alter and then on the sides the candy-cane arches.

I feel like Mary below the candy-cane arches says a lot.

While walking around during free time I saw this Alcazar de los Reyes Católicas. This was their palace when they stayed in the city. I hope to go there with my parents when we go to Córdoba

And then walking on the bridge, you can see the tower on the other side.

There was a very prominent Jewish community in Córdoba, but Ferdinand and Isabella had a habit of coming into a newly conquered area and commencing clean up projects (my politics teacher here argues this sentiment of fear towards foreigners expands to racism still very strong in Spain). Unfortunately, the Sephardic Jews of Spain were told to convert or leave, and thus the Spanish Inquisition began to test the new converts's sincerity. Their area is Calle de los Judios ("The Jews' Street") and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is very beautiful with lots of cute shops, restaurants, and houses that have these patio areas inside with the classic spanish tiles and such. Very traditional Spain.

While walking on the route, I found the Department of Philosophy and Letters for their university :D. My major is Letters, but their building looks cooler than ours at OU.







Anyways I had a great time on the trip and as you can see each city here, and throughout Spain, is very unique. Spain is extremely diverse even though it is such a small country because it was originally a bunch of little countries. My next post is about Ronda and then I'll try to have a couple more about general life here before I go.

Barcelona: The Referendum of 9N

The first thing to note about Barcelona is that Catalonians are very patriotic. Barcelona is the capital of the autonomous region of Cataluña in Spain. In the past, it was its own country and today many people believe that it should be independent once again. If not completely independent, then Spain should change it's constitution to make all the autonomous regions states and give them more power to govern themselves with more independence. All around Barcelona, on nearly every building, are the red-and-yellow-striped flags of Cataluña. Many signs about the "referendum of 9N" (ninth of November) were in English. This seemed peculiar to us at first, but my professor explained (once I returned to Granada) that Catalonians and Spaniards know what most Catalonians want, but Cataluña hopes for the world's support against Spain's denial of the legality of their referendum. Hence, it is in English. 

The Spanish government has said that a vote for independence, even if it doesn't lead to independence, is illegal. However, the grand majority of Catalonians want independence because the Spanish government requires their autonomous region to give more taxes than all the others (it doesn't tax individuals like the US government does, but the regions) since Barcelona is the financial capital of Spain. So a millionaire in Barcelona has to pay more than a millionaire in Granada. The middle class pays more as well because everyone does. Another reason is that they feel culturally independent from Spain since they have their own traditions and their own language, Catalan. Twelve students and I went to Barcelona the weekend of the "illegal" referendum of 9N. I am quite proud that I did all these things in less than 48 hours. 

Above is one of the signs and flags that cascaded down a whole apartment building. Below is one of the many information stands encouraging people to vote. Notice, the sign is in Catalan and not Spanish. In fact, when we asked for Spanish menus at restaurants we were often told "we have English or Catalan, not Castellano" by the servers or establishments. It is never referred to as Spanish, always Castellano. English is more common in Barcelona than Spanish. 

Below is the picture of the front of the Basilica of la Segrada Familia. It is all privately funded and will be finished sometime in the future. Though its designs are said to have been created by Gaudi in the 19th century, the actual blueprints were destroyed when Spain was occupied by Napoleon's France (if I am remembering correctly…I might not be). Regardless, the actual building is more of an inspiration and keeping to the style of Gaudi. 

Notice the random bunches of fruit on top of each point…yeah part of the oddness in Gaudi architecture. This Cathedral felt more like the Mormon Temple or the Church of Scientology to be honest. As far as buildings go, probably one of the most unique works in Europe.

So my friend Julia planned out what she wanted to do in Barcelona. Since Julia is the kind of person who is naturally in charge of things, I and her friend Maria tagged along with her. I am so glad I did! Below is the largest market in Europe called La Boqueria. Its located in the mist of Las Ramblas, which is like 5th Avenue for Barcelona. Miles of huge stores. It is was one of the coolest experiences I've had in Spain.

Barcelona, and really la boqueria, is famous for its fresh fruit smoothies. Where is the best place to try one? The market with all the best fruit of course. I might of had more than one…but they were only 1 euro…

Pictures can't do it justice. It has every kind of food you can imagine from produce, meat, bakeries, dried foods, ethnic foods, seafood (a lot is still alive….), candy, and there are even bars inside to have a meal. It is great because you walk around and just eat for like two or three hours. Spain has produce that is WAY better than what is in the US. Perhaps it's all the sun here, but everything is sweeter. If you don't like certain fruits in the US, there is a good chance you might like them in Spain. =

These are local fruits I have tried in Spain but are not in the US…well I guess we have mangos.

Ugh…I gagged…for so long. THERE IS SO MUCH.

Good thing Julia was there to make fish a little less repulsive:).

Oh perhaps fish don't repulse you? How about a slice of a chilled block of blood;).

Ah…candy! Yes there were all kinds of chocolate vendors too.

After that, we went to the Gothic District that night and the following morning. That night we saw the Cathedral of Barcelona. It was beautiful, and we got lucky and happened to see it during mass. I would recommend going to a cathedral in Spain during mass, it is a different than the normal tourist experience. It's more authentic and seems more like a church rather than just a work of art. 

After we left the cathedral, we walked out and there was a concert going on in the plaza in front of it. People were doing the traditional folk dance of Cataluña to the orchestra music. It was very cool!

This is one of the palaces of King Fernando of Aragon (remember he married Isabel of Castille…'found' the New World?). It was moved to the Gothic District of Barcelona brick-by-brick in the 1930s. That night we happened upon their History Museum which is inside of it. No I did not want to go to it only because it was their history museum. It is because of what I saw underneath it. Underneath the palace is the ruins of the town here when the Romans colonized Spain. We decided to come back in the morning since it was only 5 euros for students.

To be honest I'm forgetting the name of this plaza…but the picture below is the Generaltit in Barcelona. If you ever see news conferences about Cataluña wanting independence from Spain, and their political leader Artur Mas is speaking, it will almost always be in this plaza in front of the Generaltit (the name of the building below). What is that shiny sign on some apartment building to the right of the Generaltit? Well...it's important.

It is the count down to 9N. 

Julia happened to hear about this famous bar called La Oveja Negra (The Black Sheep) that is in the Gothic District. It is a tad ironic since it used to be a monastery. 

This is a picture when we first got there at like 10:30. It has a huge stone fireplace, barrels, and I got the best drink I've ever had in my life. Its Sangria con Cava (Sangria with Champagne). Julia and I shared some and we loved it! Well Julia, Maria, and I were waiting for our other friends there and it soon became packed. It is famous because you can get 5 liters of any drink there. They apparently bring out huge plastic containers that have spouts which people fill with beer or the sangria/cava mix. Let's just say once it got to be midnight it was a madhouse and the line was almost to the door. It was definitely a neat experience and I'm glad we got their before the rush so that our group had seats.

Below are pictures from the famous Gaudi Park in Barcelona. It was cool, but we didn't go to the part you had to pay to get into.

Here is the view from a ledge in the free part. Something we didn't get to go to in Barcelona was their beach.

The morning of 9N! It was actually a tad disappointing. I was hoping for the face paint and everyone wearing flags like you see in pictures of their national events there…but at least I got to see perhaps the first member of the Cataluña (Catalonia in English) Army!

Maybe the rain calmed people down, I don't know. But I saw no craziness. There were also swat cars there. Oh and this is the same plaza from the night before with the countdown.

walking through the Gothic District in the daylight.

These last pictures are from inside of the museum with the ruins beneath the palace. The stone was part of the cloth-dying business there. It is still blue to this day.

Here is where they made fish sauce! I don't remember the word in spanish (they didn't have the word in English with the translation) but I know what it is from my Hellas class at OU. Those huge pottery bowls would hold dead fish for weeks until it got good and…well you know. Fish sauce was like ketchup for them.

A pillar and room of an early Christian church. That was cool to see. 

Oh and the bowls they used to ferment wine. The town had a whole set of systems for making wine. They are still red today.

Lastly this really big room inside the palace. We just happened upon it, though I'm not sure what it is. I'd imagine it was some kind of throne room/ball room…maybe a dining hall? It is just very large with grandeur tapestries on the side.

Overall I loved Barcelona and didn't get to do anywhere near all you could! you could spend a weekend easily (perhaps more) on just Las Ramblas. That isn't even counting the Gothic District, the Beach, the Gaudi exhibits. It was definitely very neat.