Tuesday January 15

Went to the Real Alcázar this morning with my class. I had NO idea the Alcázar was so big – from the outside it looks like just a wall or two. It is an entire interconnected palace of courtyards, private rooms, fountains, and huge gardens. It was originally built between the 9^th and 13^th centuries, when the Almohads were in power in Andalucía (they took power in 711 and remained in Seville until 1248, though they didn’t leave Andalucía entirely until 1492). Alcázar is an Arabic word meaning something like “fortified palace”, which makes sense because the building, located in the southernmost part of Seville, was used as headquarters for military, government and administration.

The palace was at its peak during the 12^th century, featuring both horseshoe and plaster arches, endless walls of azulejo tile patterns, ornately decorated and gilded dome ceilings and a labyrinth-like interior plan which keeps you guessing about where you are and where you’re going – this is partly why it is hard to judge the size of the Alcázar from the outside. The Alcázar also features an underground bathing space – which was very rarely used by the Christian rulers, who were very suspicious of anyone who bathed on a regular basis. Supposedly one of the kings had a very promiscuous mistress who often bathed naked in the bathing room, and everyone could look through the grates in the floors and see her. When Christian rulers took Seville from Muslim rule in 1248, the Catholic king Fernando III moved into the Alcázar and began making his own contributions to the structure. Three kings of Spain are currently buried in the Alcázar.

Afterwards Beth and Jillian and I got coffee, went home for lunch and reunited later that day for class at the CIEE building.