I visited Sevilla many years ago in 2007 and was eager to visit again. I stayed in an Air BnB small apartment about a block from “La Catedral.” Sevilla is a city which is great for walking and for most sites that a traveler would want to visit. I went on a few tours, which are called “experiences” on Air BnB’s website. One was to tour Alcázar. The word “Alcázar” means castle or fortress in Arabic and it is not uncommon to see places with Arabic names especially in the southern part of Spain. The Moors ruled Sevilla until 1248, when Christians moved from the north to the south to conquer the Moors. The Alcázar was built in stages starting in 712 AD. One of my favorite places in Sevilla, the Alcázar is full of beautiful “azulejos” (Spanish word for tiles) with these incredible Mudéjar features that you only see in Spain. I had been several times in 2007 when I lived in Sevilla for a month but it was on this trip that I learned the Alcázar was developed over time not just by the Moorish rule, but also when two of the four kingdoms, the Castille and Leon kingdoms conquered the Moors in 1248 in Sevilla. They liked the Mudéjar décor, so they kept the décor but were sure to put tiles with pictures of lions (leon) and castles (castille) so all knew who was in charge.
I saw the cathedral (La Catedral). This is the second largest cathedral in Spain and the largest Gothic cathedral in the whole world. There is a tomb for Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) who supposedly is buried in La Catedral. The cathedral was built on top of a Muslim site, but the original tower, “Giralda” from Moorish times, remains and you can climb to the top for an outstanding view of Sevilla, which I did. The top of the tower is about 25 stories although thankfully, with a gradual incline, not steps, until towards the very end. Hundreds of years ago, one of the staff would walk up to the top of the tower with a donkey to ring the bells.
I mentioned earlier that I signed up, before I left America, for a few “experiences” in Sevilla through Air BnB. My first experience was the evening I arrived in Sevilla from 7 – 10 pm. Two other people and I were toured by a guy in his late 20’s who is a teacher and makes extra money on the side giving tours of the historic Jewish quarter. It was an interesting tour and included a late-night tapas dinner and wine and sherry (glass of each) at his favorite tapas place, at 9:00 pm (early dinner for Spaniards). The food, wine and discussion were great. We walked down these ancient stone steps (from Moorish times) underneath the restaurant where there is a wine and sherry cellar (that is where we had our glass of sherry) and the cellar I was told used to be where one of the many baths were in Moorish times. Jews and Muslims had a significant presence in Sevilla and Toledo but despite this history, there aren’t any Jews in these two areas now due to the Inquisition. I did see some tile plaques in Sevilla and many in Toledo with the Hebrew letters for “S,” “F,” and “D” which stand for “Sefarad” (In the Torah there aren’t any vowels) and this became the word Sephardic.
Another experience I had was when I was toured by another native Sevillano (who is also an Air BnB host) and I happened to be the only one on the tour. His tour focused on a day in Sevilla and I saw Sevilla’s art museum (it is a wonderful museum that was built in a former convent) which I had been to before in 2007 but very much enjoyed now with having him explain the links between some of the pictures and the history of Sevilla. He took me to the church that his family has been members of since the early 1800’s. I also saw the incredible library with manuscripts and letters dating from the 1500’s (he can trace his family tree back to the 1500’s) in his beautiful home. We had a small lunch of tapas in his favorite place. He also told me about the Archives, which I wouldn’t have visited if he hadn’t mentioned it, and I saw some historic documents, one being written by Christopher Columbus.
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I went to a historic castle in a neighborhood in an area called Triana which is across the Guadalquivir, a major river that runs throughout southern Spain. In this castle are historic remains from Roman times where you can see the actual rooms. This was where the Inquisition took place in Sevilla. During the time that the Moors were ruling, it was a peaceful time and Jews, Muslims and Christians coexisted. The Moors were conquered by the Christians in 1248 in Sevilla, and in the 1300’s, Jewish people began to be accused of poisoning the water and any number of other accusations. It was during this period, 1340 – 1400, that Europe experienced the devastation of the plague. When Isabella of Castille (kingdoms of Castille and Leon were merged by this time) and Ferdinando of Aragon, were married, their kingdoms were joined to have great power. In 1492, Jews had to convert to Catholicism or leave Spain without any of their belongings. Many Jews wanted to stay in Spain and they became “conversos," outwardly being Catholic but secretly practicing Judaism.
I saw a wonderful flamenco show (singing, guitarist and dancers) in a small venue called Casa de la Memoria. After the performance, I went to a bakery on Calle Sierpes, which is a popular shopping area. I had a piece of scrumptious lemon torte and one of my favorite drinks, which is freshly squeezed orange juice (and no, we are not talking the “not from concentrate orange juice” that we get in America – this is truly squeezed right in front of you), which seems to be in tapas places and many stores throughout Spain. I sat next to a couple from England and we chuckled about the high quality British shows that are exported to America, via Masterpiece Theatre, such as “Victoria” and “Downton Abbey” and what we export to Great Britain are shows like “Housewives of Miami” – they clearly have received the shorter end of the stick! It was fun to visit Sevilla again although it is much more touristy than it was in 2007, but still is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain.
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Espero que hayan disfrutado las fotos y mis impresiones de España!