Real Alcázar

I made another trip to Sevilla with Alex last Thursday-Friday. This time we went to visit the Real Alcázar, one of the oldest royal palaces in the world and originally a Moorish fort. The Almohades first built the palace near the end of the 11th century. It is simply incredible. We spend about 3 hours in the palace, but realistically, could have spent most of the day there.

It is huuuuge, for one. I had no idea about it's mammoth size until we were actually walking through, hallways sprung from hallways and rooms from those hallways and courtyards from those rooms and so on. The architecture is one of my favorite styles-it's mudéjar, a type of Iberian architecture. Basically it's got numerous columns and arches, the floors, doors, walls, arches and ceilings are covered in intricate carved or plaster designs that can make you dizzy if you stare at them too long. Which is actually kind of the point I think. I remember learning in one of my classes at the university that the typical intricate line designs of architecture associated with Islamic buildings was supposed to represent the complexity and beauty of God. The complicated designs were supposed to help you get lost, or meditate on the glory of God. Hmm, I can't remember exactly, but sounds good, doesn't it?

I think my favorite part of Real Alcázar was the gardens. It has huge walled-in outside gardens with fountains, stylized hedges, flowers, winding walkways, different trees, lawns, benches and small, intricately-decorated buildings scattered throughout. The different sections and gardens have their own names. Peacocks and other birds wander about. Also, there was a hedge maze--a hedge maze!! So cool. If we had planned the day better we could have walked around in the gardens for hours and taken a nap in one of the lawns.