10 December ’05, Saturday.
If we are going to spend a “whole day” in town we are going to have to get up earlier… We caught the 11:30 bus so when we got down town, we were hustling to get things covered before dark. We choose to go to the cathedral first, seeing as how it closed at 1:30pm, and it would probably take us at least 2 to 3 hours there. Prior to being a Christian church in 1401, a Mosque stood there on that foundation. “We will build a cathedral so huge that anyone who sees it will take us for madmen”, is what the Reconquista Christians bragged. Well, they did, but it took them 120 years to build it. There is a stained glass window that is towards the top of the cathedral, and it stands over 9 feet high…from the ground it looks like it could be 3 or 4 foot max…it is a long way up there!!! There are a few huge pillars that they have in braces that are there to hold the building in place. The pillars are cracking, and without restoration soon, the whole place could come down…they are working hard at fixing it. We saw the tomb for Christopher Columbus in this cathedral, an amazing organ that has 7,000 pipes and is finished in carved walnut from Cuba. The gold, art work, carvings and sculptures, and the total enormity of the cathedral are amazing. Then it was time to climb the bell tower. The Giralda Tower was formally a Moorish minaret from which the Muslims were called to prayer. Instead of steps to the top, there is a ramp that takes you up over 12 stories in height. Five times a day, a rider would ride his horse up the ramp to the top of the tower, make the call to prayer, and return down the ramp…it is quite a trip, even if you walk it. Today, it sounds a wonderful call from the 24 bells. On each side of the tower, there are 4 bells that are twirled in a complete circle each time they are called to ring. Louise and I had no more than made it half way down, and the bells started to toll…we were both glad to have the distance between us and them. Then we walked across the plaza to enjoy a walk through the “Alcázar”. The entrance fee for the Alcazar was $7 Euro each, except if you were a “pensioner”…then it was FREE…that’s $14 and, we had already saved $4.50 each at the cathedral. Being a pensioner sure is fun !!! This was originally built as a 10th century palace for the governors of the Moorish state. Not built by the Moors, but by Christians, for Christians, and in a Moorish architectural design. As far a “Palaces” go, this one was different. Not bad “different”, because it was absolutely beautiful. The big difference was it wasn’t like any other we have had the opportunity to visit, not even those in Turkey or Egypt. We visited the chambers were Christopher Columbus met with Queen Isabel after he made his New World discoveries. Fact is, I even got a personal autograph from Chris…(if you believe this, I’ve got a bridge I want to talk to you about…). Well, after having a cup of coffee on the terrace with Issy at the palace, we headed over to catch a bus. This time we were heading across town to see the Macarena district and the Basilica de la Macarena. By the way, did you know this is where the song was written and became the hit in 1996 ??? Our bus ride took us around the 1992 Worlds Fair grounds, across the river, through different parts of the city and finally into the Macarena District. We got off the bus right at one of the longest parts of the old city walls. Passing through the gate we immediately had the Basilica of Macarena in front of us. In the celebration of Easter every year, the basilica has a major part. The basilica has the “Weeping Virgin (Virgin de la Macarena) and the Sentencing of Christ sculptures being carried through the streets on the strong shoulders of the faithful. The Virgin weighs in about 1.5 tons and the Sentencing over 3 tons. A group of 48 men carry the Sentencing on their shoulders while wearing a hooded drape over their bodies that only shows their feet. The Madonna is shown crying, and the tears are crystal droplets. They say that if you were to look around you while sitting in one of the pews, you would find many around you with that same tear coming down their cheeks. This stop was one that we will not forget, but it was getting late, so we had to move on. Instead of catching the bus back, we decided to find our way back through the old city streets…that can be a challenge, but fortunately Drew, “we didn’t get lost because we had a map in our pocket”… Tomorrow we move on down the coast heading south…Cádiz and then onto Tarifa for the night or more…
If we are going to spend a “whole day” in town we are going to have to get up earlier… We caught the 11:30 bus so when we got down town, we were hustling to get things covered before dark. We choose to go to the cathedral first, seeing as how it closed at 1:30pm, and it would probably take us at least 2 to 3 hours there. Prior to being a Christian church in 1401, a Mosque stood there on that foundation. “We will build a cathedral so huge that anyone who sees it will take us for madmen”, is what the Reconquista Christians bragged. Well, they did, but it took them 120 years to build it. There is a stained glass window that is towards the top of the cathedral, and it stands over 9 feet high…from the ground it looks like it could be 3 or 4 foot max…it is a long way up there!!! There are a few huge pillars that they have in braces that are there to hold the building in place. The pillars are cracking, and without restoration soon, the whole place could come down…they are working hard at fixing it. We saw the tomb for Christopher Columbus in this cathedral, an amazing organ that has 7,000 pipes and is finished in carved walnut from Cuba. The gold, art work, carvings and sculptures, and the total enormity of the cathedral are amazing. Then it was time to climb the bell tower. The Giralda Tower was formally a Moorish minaret from which the Muslims were called to prayer. Instead of steps to the top, there is a ramp that takes you up over 12 stories in height. Five times a day, a rider would ride his horse up the ramp to the top of the tower, make the call to prayer, and return down the ramp…it is quite a trip, even if you walk it. Today, it sounds a wonderful call from the 24 bells. On each side of the tower, there are 4 bells that are twirled in a complete circle each time they are called to ring. Louise and I had no more than made it half way down, and the bells started to toll…we were both glad to have the distance between us and them. Then we walked across the plaza to enjoy a walk through the “Alcázar”. The entrance fee for the Alcazar was $7 Euro each, except if you were a “pensioner”…then it was FREE…that’s $14 and, we had already saved $4.50 each at the cathedral. Being a pensioner sure is fun !!! This was originally built as a 10th century palace for the governors of the Moorish state. Not built by the Moors, but by Christians, for Christians, and in a Moorish architectural design. As far a “Palaces” go, this one was different. Not bad “different”, because it was absolutely beautiful. The big difference was it wasn’t like any other we have had the opportunity to visit, not even those in Turkey or Egypt. We visited the chambers were Christopher Columbus met with Queen Isabel after he made his New World discoveries. Fact is, I even got a personal autograph from Chris…(if you believe this, I’ve got a bridge I want to talk to you about…). Well, after having a cup of coffee on the terrace with Issy at the palace, we headed over to catch a bus. This time we were heading across town to see the Macarena district and the Basilica de la Macarena. By the way, did you know this is where the song was written and became the hit in 1996 ??? Our bus ride took us around the 1992 Worlds Fair grounds, across the river, through different parts of the city and finally into the Macarena District. We got off the bus right at one of the longest parts of the old city walls. Passing through the gate we immediately had the Basilica of Macarena in front of us. In the celebration of Easter every year, the basilica has a major part. The basilica has the “Weeping Virgin (Virgin de la Macarena) and the Sentencing of Christ sculptures being carried through the streets on the strong shoulders of the faithful. The Virgin weighs in about 1.5 tons and the Sentencing over 3 tons. A group of 48 men carry the Sentencing on their shoulders while wearing a hooded drape over their bodies that only shows their feet. The Madonna is shown crying, and the tears are crystal droplets. They say that if you were to look around you while sitting in one of the pews, you would find many around you with that same tear coming down their cheeks. This stop was one that we will not forget, but it was getting late, so we had to move on. Instead of catching the bus back, we decided to find our way back through the old city streets…that can be a challenge, but fortunately Drew, “we didn’t get lost because we had a map in our pocket”… Tomorrow we move on down the coast heading south…Cádiz and then onto Tarifa for the night or more…