Christmas in Spain - Sevilla

On Christmas day we drove to Sevilla. We first headed east, then north, cutting through the mountains and then when we were beyond the mountains we headed west to Sevilla. It took a little over 2 hours. Sevilla is Spain's 4th largest city. Sevilla's cathedral with it's beautiful Giralda Bell Tower is the third-largest church in Europe and it is the largest Gothic church in the world. It was built in the early 1400's on the site of a mosque and took 120 years to build.

We arrived at the cathedral a little after noon, just in time to enter for Christmas mass. And we were lucky because after mass the cathedral closed for the day. If we had not gone for mass we would have missed it!

We entered through Puerta de San Cristobal (Saint Christopher's - as in Columbus - door).

Attending mass in this magnificent church, in another country, another culture, another language was very special. It was a tangible reminder that, as Christians, we worship in a world-wide community of sisters and brothers in Christ. Ellen and Joseph are both taking Spanish and I used to be pretty good but that was many many years ago. Nonetheless, the three of us understood more of the service than we thought we would. Jeff and Daniel just enjoyed the experience. It was a little strange to sit in the magnificent cathedral on Christmas and hear "Jingle Bells" and "Little Drummer Boy" played during the offertory on the amazing, huge pipe organ but... I sneaked a couple of flash-less pictures during and after the service - they were done quickly and without a flash so they are a bit blurry but they give a reasonable idea of what this beautiful church looks like.

The service took place at the high alter. It is 65 feet tall and contains 44 scenes from Jesus' life carved out of wood and covered in gold leaf. The first carving at the bottom left is the birth of Jesus and at the top is the last - the Crucifixion. It was built from 1481 to 1564.

This is the tomb of Christopher Columbus. He was first buried in Spain, then Santo Domingo and then Cuba. When Cuba gained independence from Spain his remains were moved again (around 1900) to Sevilla. With all this moving there is a question as to whether these really are the actual remains of Christopher Columbus. Modern technology has been applied - DNA tests indicate that there is no evidence to exclude the possibility that these really are the bones of Christopher Columbus. The clock on the shelf above is from 1788 and still works!

















The old Moorish palace, the Alcazar, was closed for Christmas. We knew it would be before coming to Sevilla but had to pick and choose. The outside was beautiful!


















After attending mass and seeing the Alcazar we started toward the Barrio Santa Cruz - the old Jewish Quarter. This area contains lots of very narrow lanes (too narrow for cars) opening up to small plazas. Lots of orange trees line the streets and plazas. The streets here are so narrow they are called kissing lanes. They were actually designed to maximize shade during the hot summers.

The Patio de Banderas with lots of orange trees.






























































All along the Callejon de Agua are apartments with beautiful gardens like this one.

















































A short break for some seafood...yum!
























Plaza Santa Cruz with a beautiful iron cross from 1692. It was once the site of a synagogue that was destroyed by the Christians. Sevilla has quite a history of anti-Semitism dating from at least 1391.

A statue honoring Don Juan (his "hometown" is Sevilla).
...and our own Don Juans :) !





































The convent where Saint Theresa lived.

On the outsides of nearly every other building in Sevilla are tiles, paintings, sculptures, etc. of the Virgin Mother.


A break for some traditional Spanish tapas...yummm!






























The Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza is Sevilla's most famous building. It was built between 1761 and 1881. It holds up to 14,000 spectators. The Prince's Gate is the gate through which triumphant matadors are carried on the shoulders of their fans.

The Torre del Oro or Tower of Gold sits on the Guadalquivir River. It is a Moorish tower from 1220 that formed part of the defences of Sevilla for the Moors. It had a matching tower across the river and a metal chain was strung between them to prevent enemy ships from sailing upriver.

Sevilla is beautiful! We loved it and would have loved to see more of it. However other adventures were calling!

Stay tuned for Christmas in Spain - Gibralter and learn about the piggy-back ride Joseph gave to one of the apes!