Friday, December 19, 2008

Alcázar of Seville












Beautiful garden of the Alcazar .

Patio de las Doncellas

The English name for this section is "The Courtyard of the Maidens" .








































































The Alcázar of Seville (Spanish "Alcázares Reales de Sevilla" or "Royal Alcazars of Seville") is a royal palace in Seville, Spain. Originally a Moorish fort, the Alcázar (from the Arabic القصر, al-qasr, meaning "palace").
(Wikepedia)
This is one of the nicest Alcazar we've seen besides the Al hamra in Granada



















Alcazar entrance











Seville




Lil D try to run away as usual . Ramp to the bell tower.







At the bell tower on the city catedral .




















View of Sevilla city from the Bell tower



















Columbus's Tomb































Interior of the Catedral














Facade of the Catedral

The city's cathedral was built from 1401–1519 after the Reconquista on the former site of the city's mosque. It is amongst the largest of all medieval and Gothic cathedrals, in terms of both area and volume. The interior is the longest nave in Spain, and is lavishly decorated, with a large quantity of gold evident. The Cathedral reused some columns and elements from the mosque, and, most famously, the Giralda, originally a minaret, was converted into a bell tower. It is topped with a statue, known locally as El Giraldillo, representing Faith. The tower's interior was built with ramps rather than stairs, to allow the Muezzin and others to ride on horseback to the top.(wikepedia)
The Cathedral of Seville, also known as Catedral de Santa María de la Sede (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See) is the Cathedral of the city of Seville in Andalucia. It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the fourth largest Christian church in the world.









Sevilla











Walking on the Street in Sevilla after a light breakfast of churros and cuppucino .

Cordoba
















Playtime after the walk in the Mezquita .Release all his energy before we continue to Sevilla .




















Great Mosque of Cordoba











Cordova (Córdoba in Spanish) is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba.




The Mezquita (Spanish for "mosque") of Cordoba is a Roman Catholic cathedral and former mosque situated in the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain. Under the rule of Islam, it was built as the second-largest mosque in the world, and is perhaps the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad dynasty of Cordoba. After the Spanish Reconquista, it was transformed into a church, and some of the Islamic columns and arches were replaced by a basilica in early Baroque style. Today it houses the main church of the diocese of Cordoba in Spain. ( from wikepedia)



The mezquita is still on restoration stage when we were there .It is amazing to see lots of muslim influence in Spain .