Carmona
Parador de Carmona
Tour of Carmona
Alcazar of Seville
Seville Cathedral
Mezquita Mosque in Cordoba


All
pictures expand when clicked on.

In the afternoon we arrive in Carmona and checked into the Parador de Carmona.

The Parador Carmona (official name is Parador Alcazar Del Rey Don Pedro) played a big part in one of Spain's interesting historical epochs.  King Pedro the Cruel built this fortified pleasure palace during his eventful reign.  He was later killed in a fight with his illegitimate brother, who was contesting the throne.

Pedro had this castle built next to the ruins of an older Moorish fortress.  Later kings and queens appreciated the ambience of the place and stayed here - including Ferdinand and Isabella.

The Parador has the Moorish style patio, wonderful halls with decorated ceilings, balconies overlooking the river below and many other treats.

Carmona is the staging ground for tours into Seville and Cordoba.

The first stop in Seville was the Spanish Square. 

It was built for of the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929, held in Seville. Its creator was Aníbal González. He mixed a style inspired by the Renaissance with typical elements from the city: exposed brick, ceramics and wrought iron.

The floor plan is semicircular. It is dominated by 2 towers, one on each side of the enclosed area, which frame the central building where the main rooms are.

Between the two towers runs a network of galleries with an arcade of semicircular arches leading to exits in different parts of the square, where a fountain stands.

We walked through the old town to arrive at the main square of Seville.

The primary attraction in Seville was the Royal Alcazar of Seville.

Real Alcazar is the Royal Palace of Seville, a magnificent complex of patios and halls in different architectural styles, from Mudéjar to Gothic.

The heart of the complex is the Palace of King Pedro I, who constructed his royal residence in 1364 at the site of a Moorish palace.

In 1364, after the Reconquista - the reconquest of Moorish Spain by Christians - King Pedro I commissioned the construction of a new palace, the Palacio Pedro I, at the site of the Al-Muwarak.

Craftsmen from across Andalusia created a magnificent interior in Mudéjar style, arranged around a number of patios.

The gardens of the Alcazar were extensive and very impressive.

Across the square from the Alcazar is the Seville Cathedral, reported to be the third largest cathedral in the world.

Built on the site of a grand Almohad Mosque, Seville's cathedral was built to demonstrate the city's power and wealth after the Reconquista.

The cathedral was completed in just over a century (1402-1506), quite an achievement given its size and Gothic details.

A large number of impressive doors give access to the cathedral.

The interior has the longest nave in Spain. Its central nave rises to a height of 42 meters and is lavishly decorated, with a large quantity of gold evident.

In the main body of the cathedral, only the great boxlike structure of the choir stands out, filling the central portion of the nave.

The organ is unbelievably complex and ornate.

Unbelievable amounts of gold and silver.  Check out the size of the silver Monstrance.
You can climb the bell tower for an aerial view of Seville.

Back across the square to meet our group for the return to Carmona


There was a one-day general strike so rather than go to Cordoba and potentially get caught up in it we stayed in Carmona and found some ways to occupy the day.

This fellow had just started these electric bus tours around Carmona so we started with that.

Later we explored the ruins of the castle that surrounded the Parador.
The eastern gate of Carmona provides and impressive entrance to such a small town.

As usual the church is much bigger and grander than would seem necessary.
We walked through the local market area somewhat past closing time.

The group headed back to the hotel but I went down to the Seville gate and the local fortress.

The Alcazar of Carmona was built by the Arabs on one of the gates in the wall of the city, the Puerta de Sevilla, making it an almost impregnable fortress.

It underwent major renovations in the 14th and 15th centuries and was renovated again in 1973.

Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla - The fortress that exists today was built in three stages; first by locals in the 8th century bc, then by the Carthaginians and finally expanded and made taller by the Romans.
It was an interesting castle to visit and the tower provided great views of Carmona.
To fill out the day we made an excursion to Anís Los Hermanos to learn about and taste the local anisette.

Next morning we drove to Cordoba to visit the sites we had stayed away from the day before because of the general strike.
After walking once again through the old town we arrived at the main attraction the Mezquita Mosque.

The Mezquita Mosque may have not been the most impressive building we saw but was certainly the most unique.  The arches provide a totally open floor plan for an enormous area.

The building is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings, such as the Mérida amphitheatre.

The building was begun around the year 600 as the Christian Visigoth church of St. Vincent.

The mosque underwent numerous subsequent changes: Abd ar-Rahman III ordered a new minaret, while Al-Hakam II, in 961, enlarged the building and enriched the mihrab. The last of the reforms was carried out by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in 987

In 1236, Córdoba was captured by King Ferdinand III of Castile in the Reconquista, and the mosque was turned back into a Christian church.

Alfonso X oversaw the construction of the Villaviciosa Chapel and the Royal Chapel within the mosque. The kings who followed added further Christian features, such as King Henry II rebuilding the chapel in the 14th century.


The choir loft carved from dark woods.

 


We left Cordoba and headed to Ronda, our next stop.


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