Ceiling of the Hall of the Ambassadors in the Real Alcazar, Sevilla
At the Plaza Espana, the site of the Star Wars: The Phantom Menace pod race scene
Plaza de Toros Real Maestranza in Seville, one of the leading bullrings in Spain. Tickets are priced according to exposure to the sun - sol (sun) being the cheapest, to sombre (shade) the most expensive 
Seating inside the bullring
We honestly have no idea what this is supposed to say about Spanish bullfighters. They are very friendly to each other? They are not afraid of showing their emotions? They are...? 
Tapas in Cordoba. By the way, YL is only willing to take photos with food, so you're stuck with my seeing my face and my face alone in all our pictures
Waiting for our tapas lunch in Cordoba
The Mezquita's tower in the background, taken from Calleja de las Flores (Little Street of Flowers). Cute place but overrated
Inside the Mezquita. 856 arches filled 19 rows of more or less identical pillars
Mezquita's tower reflected in the fountain in the El Patio de los Naranjos (Patio of the Orange Trees)Cheery white-washed houses, tiny balconies chocked-filled with compact potted flowers, dynamite flamenco, adrenaline-pumping bullfights, evidence of a grand 15th century Muslim civilisation, sunny days, lazy afternoon siestas, delicate tapas. Those were the images that filled my head before I departed for Andalucia last week.
And guess what? On arrival in Sevilla, those cheery white-washed houses were everywhere, and the Spanish sun was fierce and assertive just like back home in Malaysia – not like the watered down version in London. I remember flashing an instinctive ear-to-ear grin at YL while on the way to our hotel in the heart of the old city, Barrio Santa Cruz.
Overall, we had a good 3 days of sun in Sevilla & Cordoba. Although our last 2 days in Granada was overcast and it even rained, at least it was not prohibitively heavy that we could not get around. Obviously it didn’t make for good photos, though, so that is the reason you don’t see very much photos of the Alhambra, the highlight of our entire trip.
What struck me about Andalucia (or Al-Andalus, as it was known during the Muslim rule between the 8th to 15th century) is that how it had been successively ruled by the Muslims and the Christians, and a peaceful co-existence was maintained effortlessly for much of it.
For example, many monuments were churches that used to be mosques that used to be churches. Get it? The La Giralda bell tower next to the Seville Cathedral (third largest in the world after St Peter’s in Rome and St Paul’s in London) used to be a minaret where Muslims were called for prayers. The simplicity of the Mezquita in Cordoba with its symmetric rows and rows of 856 pillars of red & white arches is marred by a grand but run-of-the-mill 16th century Gothic altar smacked in the middle of it. After the reconquest of the Muslim nations by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand of Castille and Isabella of Aragon, they kept the building and allowed religious freedom to their Muslim subjects but obviously had to claim part of the grandeur of the Mezquita so their grandson made his mark there. He also built a Renaissance palace in the middle of the grounds of Alhambra, which interfered with the congruence of the place but fortunately left most of it in their original form, especially the gem that is Palacio Nazares, a 13th century Moorish royal palace.
And guess what? On arrival in Sevilla, those cheery white-washed houses were everywhere, and the Spanish sun was fierce and assertive just like back home in Malaysia – not like the watered down version in London. I remember flashing an instinctive ear-to-ear grin at YL while on the way to our hotel in the heart of the old city, Barrio Santa Cruz.
Overall, we had a good 3 days of sun in Sevilla & Cordoba. Although our last 2 days in Granada was overcast and it even rained, at least it was not prohibitively heavy that we could not get around. Obviously it didn’t make for good photos, though, so that is the reason you don’t see very much photos of the Alhambra, the highlight of our entire trip.
What struck me about Andalucia (or Al-Andalus, as it was known during the Muslim rule between the 8th to 15th century) is that how it had been successively ruled by the Muslims and the Christians, and a peaceful co-existence was maintained effortlessly for much of it.
For example, many monuments were churches that used to be mosques that used to be churches. Get it? The La Giralda bell tower next to the Seville Cathedral (third largest in the world after St Peter’s in Rome and St Paul’s in London) used to be a minaret where Muslims were called for prayers. The simplicity of the Mezquita in Cordoba with its symmetric rows and rows of 856 pillars of red & white arches is marred by a grand but run-of-the-mill 16th century Gothic altar smacked in the middle of it. After the reconquest of the Muslim nations by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand of Castille and Isabella of Aragon, they kept the building and allowed religious freedom to their Muslim subjects but obviously had to claim part of the grandeur of the Mezquita so their grandson made his mark there. He also built a Renaissance palace in the middle of the grounds of Alhambra, which interfered with the congruence of the place but fortunately left most of it in their original form, especially the gem that is Palacio Nazares, a 13th century Moorish royal palace.
There were even more examples – too numerous to list here – of small mosques that were later converted to churches in the old city quarter of Albayzin. You can always tell that such is the case if there is a small fountain outside the building because they were used by the Muslims for ablutions before praying.
I had chosen to visit Andalucia for its Islamic history to recover from my church fatigue, but it looks like I cannot escape churches in Europe. Maybe Morrocco should be my next destination – surely there can’t be more churches there??
More examples of co-existence: When the 14th century Christian King Pedro wanted to build his palace in Sevilla (the Alcazar), he engaged Muslim architects from Granada to design most of it. Hence you find Arabic script everywhere in the palace. I really did not appreciate the level of tolerance and mutual appreciation in the Middle Ages in Andalucia until I saw for myself the influence each society had on each other here.
I had chosen to visit Andalucia for its Islamic history to recover from my church fatigue, but it looks like I cannot escape churches in Europe. Maybe Morrocco should be my next destination – surely there can’t be more churches there??
More examples of co-existence: When the 14th century Christian King Pedro wanted to build his palace in Sevilla (the Alcazar), he engaged Muslim architects from Granada to design most of it. Hence you find Arabic script everywhere in the palace. I really did not appreciate the level of tolerance and mutual appreciation in the Middle Ages in Andalucia until I saw for myself the influence each society had on each other here.
I can go on....
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