Seville - From the Royal Alcazar to an Alley Bar

We woke up to rain and so we decided to take in some indoor sites.  The Royal Alcazar is only a five minute walk from our apartment and so we headed off in our Vancouver rain gear, including umbrella.  Alcazar means a Spanish palace or fortress of Moorish origin.  The Royal Alacazar was originally built in the 10th century for the governors of the local Moorish state.  The building still functions as a royal palace which makes it the oldest in Europe that's still in use.  The main part of the palace had a major refit in the 14th century under the direction of the Christian king Pedro 1.  He used Muslim workers and craftsmen and redecorated the palace with a mix of Islamic and Christian elements, a style called Mudejar.  What we are seeing today is essentially a Christian ruler's palace, built in the Moorish style by Moorish artisans.  It was a very enlightening experience and a must see if you make it to Seville.

 Rita waiting at the back of the line to pass through the Puerto del Leon (Lions Gate) to get our tickets.  The gate is part of the 12th century Arab wall that protects the palace.

King Pedro abandoned his wife and moved into the Alcazar with his mistress, hiring Muslim workers from Granada to recreate the romance of that cities Alhambra.  Courtyard of the Maidens is one of those recreations.  It's an open-air courtyard, surrounded by rooms with a reflecting pool in the center. The design, moving water and sunken gardens all help to keep the palace cool.
    

Some of the intricate tile work that is abundant on walls and ceilings throughout the complex

Hall of the Ambassadors is where King Pedro received his guests and showcased his wealth and power.  The room is a cube topped with a half dome, like many important Islamic buildings.  The cube represents the earth, and the dome represents the starry heavens.  In King Pedro's world, the symbolism proclaimed he controlled heaven and earth.

The Mercury Pool, a reservoir fed by a 16th century aqueduct, irrigated the palace's entire gardens.  As only the elite had running water, the fountain was an extravagant show of power at the time. It was also an amazing architectural feat to pump the water to the top of the building and push it out into the pond below.

This wall was originally part of the Moorish castle's original defensive wall but was redesigned to be a grotto-style gallery in the 16th century when fortifications were no longer needed

 After our wonderful tour of the Royal Alcazar, we went home and changed as we had an appointment at Banos Arabes, an Arab bath house that May (the owner of the apartment) booked and gifted to us.  It was a very relaxing two hours of soaking in a Jacuzzi, salt pool and steam room before having a wonderful massage.  The end was the best part as our hostess took us up to the roof top soaking pool and offered us champagne to sip while looking over the magical skyline.  Ahhh, I can feel my muscles relaxing now as I write this.  Thank you May.

May also suggested we go to a local bar that has impromptu flamenco dancing starting around 11:30. Thank goodness for her directions as it was half-way down a very narrow street.  The place was heaving with people sitting on long tables eating and drinking (let me just say, this place would not be able to operate in Canada).  We found a couple of seats and I bought a bottle of wine from the bar and some cold tapas from a lady sitting behind a counter.  We were just in time as the guitarist started playing, the men started singing and clapping until the flamenco dancer appeared and performed.  The crowd was really into it and were cheering and clapping loudly to the tempo of the music.  We rolled into bed around 1:30 and had a very happy and deep sleep.  One of the best days of our trip for sure.