We were all looking forward to seeing Seville, though feeling a bit exhausted after the whirlwind tour of Andalusia. We met our local guide, Lola, who took us on a walking tour of the old town, ending up at the Cathedral.
Walls of the Alcazar
We were taken for a stroll through the Jewish Quarter with its lovely houses and narrow winding streets. The Jews were originally protected and housed next to the Alcazar. Water came via a Roman aqueduct to pipes along the Alcazar wall, so it is known as Water Street:
Old Jewish house, later confiscated by Christians after the Jews were expelled from Spain. The Jews originally came to Spain from Judea in the First Century and called it Sefarad, which is why Spanish Jews were known as Sephardic Jews. Their Hebrew emblem, which we also noticed in Córdoba, is on walls and pavements in brass and means "never forget".
We also saw the elaborate building of the Royal Tobacco Factory, scene of Carmen, where all the tobacco from the New World was processed and made into cigars. It is now the university.
Next stop the Cathedral and the Giralda bell tower. The crowds were assembling - hundreds of noisy schoolchildren milling around. The long climb up the Giralda (a slope that could be done on horseback) was slow - about 20 minutes - with out of control kids running up and down, making as much noise as possible!
View from the top!
Bells - very loud!
Inside the largest Gothic cathedral
Tomb of Christopher Columbus, but only 150 grams of him is inside!
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