Galloping up a bell tower

Staying at Ørnulf's niece's apartment we get a glimpse into the long working hours here and how that affects a young Spanish family. We also get to play with 1 1/2 yr. old Andrea in the evening. A very charming young lady!!

Seville has fantastic gardens and elegant buildings with their Arabian origins evident in the intricate designs, tiles and carvings. Their huge gothic cathedral (world´s biggest gothic!) also has Islamic roots. Its enclosed cloister, the orange tree garden, was the mosque´s "sahn". The square bell tower was a minaret. To climb it you go up a series of ramps, not steps. Apparently it was built like this so the ruler could ride his mount to the top to proclaim victory over the enemy!

And there was has been a series of victories and defeats. A Visigoth temple was built at this site, a series of mosques, then cathedrals. The huge mosque here was, in 1248, converted to cathedral without knocking it down and rebuilding. It was the earthquake in the 1300´s that pulled it down. Then they decided to build a new cathedral, "so big they'll think us mad". And they did. The interior space is badly cluttered with Baroque inventions, marble structures, organs, golden alters full of cherubs and saints. High iron fences block the view of all the alters. Black plastic chairs are scattered around the base of the "elephant-leg" pillars. A sarcophage, supposedly containing the remains of Chris. Columbus, occupies one corner. There's no gothic feeling of space, no stretching towards heaven, no pull towards the alter. Just a confusing, broken-up jumble.

The cloister garden, with its orange trees, is lovely. Here the Arabian origins are abundantly evident. In the horse-shoe arches, tiles, intricate stone relieffs. The tower, The Giralda, or weather-vane, has the same Islamic sebka decor. The vane is a huge, 4 meter high, bronze statue: "Faith". She holds a huge shield, catching the wind and revolving.

The nearby Royal Palace-Fortress, Reales Alcazares, has a simular historical record: from Roman-Christian (5th cent.) to Arabic (8th cent.) then Norman Govenors' Palace, Syrian built, (12.cent.) before Fernando II´s victory in 1248 made it the royal home. Muslim and Christian craftsmen, side by side, created this lovely paradise of richly decorated rooms and gardens. Again, geometric patterns of tiles and carved stones, bright colors and gold. Fountains, orange trees, decorative shrubs, palms in garden upon garden.

I wouldn't wonder that both Moslem and Christian might imagine they'd already reached the promised paradise, I know we did.