Sunday, August 3, 2008

Spain-Seville

Cobwebs have been growing on this blog I know...sorry for the long absence. Been watching the Olympics. ごめん！

Anyway, to continue my trip that happened so long ago... we walked through the ancient Jewish district of Santa Cruz in the morning. There used to be many Jews living in Seville until the Archdeacon of Ecija, Don Fernando Martinez (Ferrant Martinez), began to go around Seville, preaching and inciting Sevillians against the Jews. In March 1391, the hatred he fomented burst out, provoking a popular movement, in which the populace, always ready for any kind of excess, entered the judería, pillaged the shops and beat the inhabitants. The mob did not stop at plunder, but went looking for the Jews with knives and daggers, pursuing them through the Jewish quarter's narrow streets. This juderia had only two gates which the mob rushed through simultaenously, to prevent the unhappy Jews from leaving. Men, women and children had their throats slit without mercy, in their own homes, and in the synagogues. The massacre lasted an entire day and cost the lives of a huge number of people, 4000 souls. The judería, which had had more than 5000 inhabitants, was reduced to a few dozen. The diminution of the Jewish quarter was so marked that by the end of the 15th century practically no Jews remained in Seville, and for this reason the decree of exulsion of 1492 affected Seville much less than other cities of the kingdom. Almost no one was expelled from Seville, as there were practically no Jews left there.

A monument to Christopher Columbus in the park which we walked through.

Housing in the Jewish district. One house like this is for one family. It's freaking huge!

When you enter, it's a patio with a garden and all that.

Plaza de las Tres Cruces where there are three wrought iron crosses in the middle of a triangular square.

Those things hanging from the ceiling are dried meat. Too strong for my taste.

Walking through the Jewish district.

A typical small provision shop that sells everything under the sun.

After touring the Jewish district, we went to the Cathedral of Seville, where Christopher Colombus was laid to rest. The Cathedral of Seville, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See is the largest Gothic cathedral and the fourth largest Christian church in the world. The Cathedral was built to cover the land previously occupied by the Almohad Mosque. The builders 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 representing Faith. The Giralda is the city's most famous symbol.