More from Segovia. This neat church dates to the early thirteenth century. Almost all the literature attributes the church to the Templars, which makes sense to a degree. The church is a 12-sided polygonal construction, basically a circle, surrounding a central circular cloister designed to imitate the edicule of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Many Templar churches follow this model.
However, the local historian of the place insists, probably rightly, that the church actually appertains to the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. It really does not make a difference, as the facts remain the same: a crusading order built a Jerusalem-inspired church in Castilla in the early years of the thirteenth century.
The church is surrounded by several older tombs, and a sort of strange dirt area which was full of bone fragments. There were several American college kids out there sifting for human remains to keep as souvenirs. That strikes me as a particularly poor idea.
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