Córdoba

Códoba is a neat town. The heat is impressive, and the humidity is a bit higher than in Castilla. The town is not unlike Ravenna, in that both reminded me of Florida. Our hotel is fantastically close to the Mezquita.

Andalucia

Andalucia is a distinctly different region of Spain than Castilla. The z and the c seem to retain their soft pronunciation here: gracias is pronounced “grasias”, not “grathias”. The agriculture has changed a little too. Castilla grows the Roman trifecta: grain, grapes, olives. Andalucia has a lot more olive orchards, as well as citrus. There are still grain and grapes, but in lower quantities. Sugar cane and sunflowers abound as well.

Las Navas de Tolosa

The Las Navas de Tolosa site was a bit disappointing. Unlike the American obsession with the “hallowed ground” of military conflict, the most significant battle sight of the Spanish Middle Ages is largely unmarked. That is not entirely true; there is a fairly run-down village named Navas de Tolosa at the approximate location of the battlefield. There is also a memorial, from the Franco era, commemorating the victory (though on the modern road, not necessarily on the battlefield).

The actual sight itself has been a matter of some debate. The geography, however, limits the options: the region is just beyond the Despeñaperros Pass through the Sierra Morena, and is in very hilly countryside. The cow pastures surrounding the village are the only real plains (Navas) around. There are also the remains of a Muslim-built watch tower that the Christians renamed the Castillo de Las Navas de Tolosa.

Shave Machine

I can’t get over the number of really poor translations from Spanish to English which we keep stumbling on. Valdepeñas offered some really nice examples. In the commercial district of this town’s very pleasant downtown, we discovered a clothing store called “New & Clothes”. I assume, given the fact that the Statue of Liberty graced their logo, they meant it to be a pun on NYC, with the Spanish word for ‘and’: New y Clothes.

Even better, our bizarre hotel, La Plaza, offered a couple of nice lost-in-translation moments among the complimentary toiletries. The best was the “Shave Machine”, though “Sponge of Bath” was also pretty entertaining.

Castle Day, part 4

The last two castles we visited sit across a valley from one another, on the northern edge of the Sierra Morena.
The older, ruined, and inaccessible of the two is the castle of Salvatierra. Salvatierra sits on a rocky hill, built in to the surrounding rock-formations. After the loss of Calatrava la Vieja, the Knights of that Order chose Salvatierra for their new forward position in the Campo de Calatrava. They took advantage of the truce between the Almohads and the King of Castile to fortify the position. When the truce expired after 1208, the Calatravans began raiding from Salvatierra against Muslim defenses. In 1211, the Almohad Caliph attacked the castle. The Knights held out for several weeks during the summer, but in the end were forced to capitulate. The castle was ruined, but retaken by the Christian forces during the following year.
The second castle was the Calatravan’s replacement for their damaged castles. In the years after Las Navas de Tolosa, the Order wanted to establish a new headquarters in a forward position on the frontier. They chose an impressive mountain-top across the valley from their ruined fort for their new Calatrava (la Nueva). The new castle fortified an entire hilltop, in order to build not just a keep, but a large church and chapter house for their Order. The Cistercian-style church and most of the keep remain mostly intact, and make for an impressive visit. Credit to Gretta for the successful panoramic picture.

Castle Day, part 3

The third castle we visited was the ruins of Alarcos. I am almost 100% certain that part of the movie Gladiator was filmed here.

Alarcos sits on a stout hilltop over the headwaters of the Gudiana River, several miles to the west of Calatrava la Vieja. The sight was originally occupied by Iberians, the pre-Roman, pre-Carthaginian people of Spain, as early as the sixth century BC. It remained occupied for several centuries, with at least two different phases of construction.

In the twelfth century, Alfonso VIII of Castile decided to fortify the site and construct a new city in the region. On the uppermost part of the hill, the foundations of a large castle were laid out, and the lower flanks of the hill were occupied with the structures of the new town. In conjunction with Calatrava la Vieja, the two forts would allow the Castilians to control the entire Campo de Calatrava, which at the time was the central frontier with Almohad-controlled Al-Andalus.

In 1195, the Almohad Caliph decided to challenge the Castilian defensive system, and sent an army against Alarcos. Alfonso VIII rushed his forces south from Toledo to defend the site, without waiting for promised reinforcements from his cousin, Alfonso XI of León. The Castilians were badly beaten on the plains south of the new castle. The King barely escaped, and his alferez (standard-bearer), Diego Lopez de Haro, defended Alarcos against the besieging Almohads for several days, until he negotiated a surrender which allowed him and his forces to retreat.

The defeat at Alarcos badly affected Alfonso VIII, and left Castile open to attacks from the Almohads. Calatrava la Vieja fell shortly thereafter, and soon the Muslim forces were harassing Toledo itself. Alfonso was forced to negotiate a ten year truce, which accepted the Muslim conquest of La Mancha.

In 1212, Alarcos was recaptured by the Castilians, though it was decided soon thereafter that it was not an ideal site for a new city. The colonial experiment was moved a few miles to the east, to the present Ciudad Real. Only a small hermitage remained at Alarcos.

Castle Day, part 2

This is the doorway of the alcazár of Calatrava La Vieja. The name means "old Calatrava", and the word itself derives from the Arabic Qalat Ribat. A ribat is a frontier monastery where people devoted to the physical jihad could live and fight.

Calatrava was captured by Alfonso VII in 1147, who gave it to the Templars to occupy. The Templars were reluctant to occupy themselves with the troubles of defending the Castillian frontier, but made an attempt to hold the fortress. They built a tiny round chapel inside the castle, perhaps in imitaion of the Holy Sepulcher. However, after a few brief years, the Templars asked to be excused from duty at Calatrava.

In 1158, the responsibility passed to a monk named Raymond from the Cistercian monastery of Fitero took up the challenge of defending the sight. He organized a garrison, and got permission from the church to organize his men into a monastic order of knights on the model of the Templars. Thus the Order of Calatrava was born.

The Knights held Calatrava and used it as their headquarters for raiding the countryside of La Mancha. They held it until 1195, when it was captured by the Almohads in the aftermath of the defeat at Alarcos. The castle was not recaptured until 1212, during the Las Navas campaign. However, due to the changed strategic situation after that victory, the Knights decided to build a new fortress for themselves several miles to the south, closer to the frontier with Al-Andalus.

Castle Day

Today we traveled south from Toledo, tracing the path that the combined Christian armies followed on their way to meet the Almohads at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
On their way south, the army besieged and captured four castles, all of which we visited today.

Above is the first, the castle of Malagón. It is just a few miles south of Toledo, at the entrance to the Campo de Calatrava, the region of La Mancha controlled by Castile's native military order (the Knights of Calatrava) in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

The above castle was unfotunately unapproachable; all we could do was take pictures from a nearby picnic ground. The castle underwent some modifications after it was captured by the Christians, as it is of a somewhat later style than many of the others which we visited.

Lull in Activity

Gretta and Gail arrived yesterday. I had a rather full day of fetching them from Madrid and returning to Toledo with our rental car. I had a nice time showing them around Toledo, but the whole thing prevented any blog updates yesterday.

Mozarabic Mass

I attended the Mozarabic Mass this morning in the Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) Chapel of the Cathedral this morning (the shorter tower, on the right). The mass, Western Christendom's oldest, is celebrated every morning at 9 AM. The entire mass is sung in Latin by eight priest. Only three people were in attendance: myself, a drunk, and a very sad looking local man. It was a terrific experience.

The mass was very different from the Roman Mass which anglophones are familiar with. It is in Latin, of course, and is sung, which really adds to the whole ceremony. There are various other differences, mostly surrounding the presentation of the host. It does have the familiar recitation of the Creed, exchange of tokens of peace (handshakes), and readings from the Bible (Luke and Paul to the Galatians today).

The Mozarabic Rite has a very interesting history. Presumably, this was the last form of the Catholic Mass celebrated in the Visigothic Kingdom prior to the Muslim conquest in 711. It survived among the Mozarabs, the Christians living in Al-Andalus, and among the Asturians of the far north. In 1085, when Alfonso VI captured Toledo. In the wake of the celebration of Christian expansion, the Roman Mass was imported into Spain, and it replaced the Mozarabic Mass in all but the six parish churches of Toledo itself. Over the years, the native practice was neglected, but Cardinal Cisneros, the foremost Spanish political and ecclesiastical figure of the early sixteenth century, restored it to its proper place. In a move very much in line with Reformation-era philosophy, Ximenez de Cisneros dedicated a chapel in the Cathedral to the Mozarabic Mass, and published new missals and breviaries for the ceremony (remember, Jan Hus, one of the foremost proto-Protestans, called for national, rather than universal, churches).

So today we still have this unique Catholic ceremony, which dates to the seventh century. Having never seen the Mass in Latin, I found this to be a fantastic experience. In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti.

My Toledo Local

I have been here long enough to become a regular at Casa Martino, the sidewalk cafe in the beautiful park beside my hotel. Señor Martino and his family run the place, and have been exceedingly welcoming to me. I, for my part, have been happy to keep buying his nice, cold pints of Mahou (Spanish-made lager), and more than a few bocadillos de jamón.

Barça!

Barcelona just defeated the Red Devils (Man. U.) 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League finals. It is another signal moment for Spanish athletics and it should be a good week, given that Nadal is tearing up Roland Garros at the moment.

Since that Barcelona indirectly ruined my Real Madrid game, by clinching La Liga and making the home team listless and disinterested, it was nice to see them win tonight. Everyone is very excited here, with various private fireworks displays happening.

Birds!

Toledo is a bird paradise. There are, of course, millions of pigeons. There are also a large number of ravens or crows (which ever one we don't have at home... these birds are a bit different). But the most ubiquitous bird is the swallow. They are everywhere, usually in swarms, and they seem to never stop moving. I actually caught one sitting on an antenna today.

Later I will try to photograph the partridges in the park, but they don't come out until dusk, making it a bit tricky. They are like triple-sized pigeons. For now, enjoy another video of the swallows swarming around the Cathedral.


P.S.- If someone can tell me how to make this video straight, please advise.

Baths of La Cava

Here we have El Toro and Cervantes visiting the Baño de La Cava. This ruined bathhouse is one of the lesser known artifacts from the Caliphate era in Toledo. I am not sure what exactly it was supposed to be... perhaps a protected access to the river for elites wanting to take a dip? It wasn't a proper bath, in the Roman sense.

Anyway, this little tower/bathhouse sits along the banks of the Tajo in one of Toledo's two neglected parks. Some of Toledo's parks, such as the one near my hotel, are beautifully kept. Others, like this one on the riverbank, or the park below the Alcázar, have not been weed-eated in months. I literally watched a teacher tell a kid to piss on a bench in that park yesterday. The river park is nice, as it follows the course of the impressive gorge, but also strikes me as somewhat dangerous. At any rate, someone has been using these ruins as a toilet. Note the appropriately situated Nazi graffiti.

I like this town

Toledo has been very nice. This town is about the same size as Asheville, and has many of its more endearing qualities, especially a quaint, walkable downtown. Everything here is straight up or down hill as well. And, much like Asheville, the town is nicely paced and full of friendly people, a stark contrast to the frantic Madrid.

My time in the archives here has also been very pleasant and productive. I don't think I found anything revolutionary, but I did find a number of useful items. We'll have to see how it all plays out. The staff at the Archivo Capitulares have been fantastically helpful and welcoming. I don't think I could have asked for a better experience. I am saddened that I only have one day left there, though in reality I may have to return a little later, depending on what I find in Madrid.

So I will spend the next forty-eight hours finishing my work and lingering a little in the nicer parts of Toledo. I will definitely miss this dusty, stark, but beautiful center of Castilla and will look forward to coming back and spending time here again.

Templars in Toledo

The Order of the Temple became involved in Spanish affairs in 1134, when Alfonso I of Aragon left part of his kingdom to them in his will. They quickly became favorites of Peninsular monarchs, who showered the Order with gifts of properties. The kings of Aragon and Castilla-León tried to involve the Templars in the defense of their borders with Al-Andalus.

Though the Templars willingly involved themselves in the affairs of the Christian kingdoms, they generally viewed Jerusalem and the Holy Land as their main area of activity. Western Europe was a place to raise funds and recruit soldiers. Therefore, the Templars gradually gave much of their Spanish property, especially castles and towns along the frontier, to the native military orders, which were inspired by the Templars. Moreover, the Templars in Spain gradually became very much a native group themselves, with Spanish-born knights and clerics, who attended to Spanish affairs first, and the larger business of the Order second.

So it is therefore not suprising that the Templars had a presence in Toledo. The area immediately to the east of the Alcázar was the headquarters for the Order here, and presumably in the kingdom of Castilla. Not a lot remains: there is one house which was part of their compound (pictured above), and the lower level of the church of San Miguel (mostly baroque, pictured below) contains what was a Templar cloister. There is a nighttime tour of these buildings which I would like to take, if I can ever find a schedule.

Partido de Fútbol

I attended the final soccer game of the season at Santiago Bernabéu, el estadio blanco, between Real Madrid and Majorca.

Real Madrid is one of a number of royally sponsored sports clubs dating from the reign of Alfonso XIII, one of the few essentially likable monarchs between Napoleon and our current Juan Carlos. At any rate, they have been the premier soccer team in Spain for about 80 years.

This year, Real lost out in the La Liga standings to Barcelona, who are having a historic year. Last weekend (May 23) Barcelona clinched first place with a Real Madrid loss.

The insignificane of the game did not stop 30,000 Madrillenos from turning out into a crisp Sunday evening to cheer on their team. Their were fanatics applenty: the Orgullo Vikings Club in the upper sections, and a miscellnious collection of hooligans behind the home goal. These guys were great: they had a cheer leader with a bull horn, various flags and banners, and lots of chants that ended with fascist salutes, or attacks against their neighbors. They turned out to be the best part of the evening.

So unfortunately, the home team did not give a damn yesterday in their match against the inferior squad from Majorca, who was playing for pride. Apparently pride beats disinterested skill, because Real Madrid went down 3-1 to the plucky islanders. The Majorca squad had an Guinean winger, Alhassane Keita, who could not have stood more than 5'6", but could run like the wind. He scored a fantastic third goal for his squad. Good for them, bad for Real Madrid, and my second all time European soccer experience.

Hasta el cuarenta de Mayo no te quites el sayo...

One of my grandmother's proverbs. For the last 24 hours, the previously hot and dry Castilla has become a rainy, cool part of Europe. I think it was about 50 degrees this morning, and it is certainly under 60 right now. Well, until the fortieth of May, don't take off your jacket.

Church and Mosque of El Salvador

I accidentally stumbled on a tour of the Church of El Salvador by Toledo's Art Council. It was free, and I have been searching high and low for chances to get into some of these old churches, so I happily stood in line for 30 minutes for the free tour.

The church, it turns out, was a mosque. You can tell because the bell tower stands separate from the church itself, or at least it did until the 1550 remodeling. This is typical of mosques, where the minaret is always its own building.

So inside the otherwise usual looking Mudejar/Romanesque church is a very carefully restored mosque, complete with horseshoe arches, recycled Roman and Visigothic columns, and the lovely geometry of Islamic architecture.

The most interesting detail was the recycled Gothic column which was decorated with scenes of the miracles of Jesus. The Muslims liked the story and placed the column front and center in the mosque, but there was the little issue of graven images. So they destroyed the faces of all the figures, but left the rest intact to continue to commemorate the story of Jesus, without dishonoring him by pretending to know what he actually looked like (that's the gist of the whole image issue). Very neat to see.

El Greco

Doménikos Theotokópoulos, known to his adopted Spain as El Greco, was born in Crete in the mid-sixteenth century and became one of the Western world's most important painters. He is certainly Toledo's most famous citizen. There are two separate museums devoted to his work, and numerous churches with altarpieces or in-situ paintings. His style is distinctive and strange. He was apparently quite well aware of the importance of his work in his own lifetime, and intentionally accentuated his unusual style, especially his weird use of light. El Greco's work is magnificent and unmistakable... once you have seen a couple of his paintings, you can pick his work out at fifty yards.

*-Picture stolen from the internet... turns out they don't let you take photographs of famous art work in museums.

Sefarad

So obviously the most famous part of Spain's Jewish history is the expulsion of 1492, and unfortunate overreaction on the part of the Catholic Kings which obscures an otherwise fascinating history. Jewish Spain (Sefarad is the Jewish word for Spain) lasted from at least the Roman period up through the entire Middle Ages. Spain had one of the largest Jewish populations in the world, perhaps as many as 600,000.

Toledo had a large Jewish quarter, essentially the entire southeast of the city. There are two synagogues still standing, the Sinagoga del Transito, and the Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca. As the names reflect, both structures survived because they were acquired by the Church. Both are very nice Mudejar buildings, from the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries respectively. Unfortunately, there is no picture taking in Santa Maria la Blanca, the more ornate of the two.
The other synagogue, El Transito, now holds the Museo Sefardi, which is quite well done. This is the western wall of the main chamber of the synagogue.