andalucia parte III - Sevilla

**it's snowing outside..hati senangggg..haha

k our next destination was Sevilla. It was jst a 2++ hrs drive frm Malaga. Our stay in Sevilla was indeed one of the best!owh but here ws when the drama began. NOTE: dnt travel like us, main redah je..with no map at hand..depend solely on our gps..so sang gps ni pn bawakla ke our hostel..n to our surprise..the street was very narrow!n in fact too narrow for a car!no wonder bila kitorg masuk diz one paved street, no one gave us a weird look since it ws very normal there.

then kitorg jumpe diz one free space in front of a building..so we jst happily parked our car there la since it was super duper difficult to find a decent parking space near our hostel. dahla tuh,it was raining very heavily too!pastu we checked-in at Seville Inn Backpackers..met a group of msian students frm Cardiff there. Then at night, we watched a short performance of the famousFlamenco dance. after the show, instead of went straight to hostel, we wanted to get some food frm our car..terkejutnyer bila tgk the side mirror on the driver's side was severely broken n the there's a long scratch on the side too. adding to the shock, ade ticket saman worth 120euro skali!

Flamenco dance

our hostel area

Gitu-gini after calling the 24hr service, the tow truck came at around 12-ish midnight to get our car..communicate mcm ayam ngn itik dgn pakcik tu, when we showed him the ticket we was jst like ahhh wutever *sambil membuang ticket tu ke tanah*..apakah?but we're happy!haha!

k enough of tht, and now a lil bit of sevilla history. The legends tell tht Seville was founded by Hercules. tp x taula kan..After the conquest by the Moors, its Roman name, Hispalis was changed to Arabic name, Isbilya. Now Sevilla is one of the 4 largest cities kat spain if im not msitaken..correct me if im wrong. And was the second most important after Cordova during Moorish empire. Lepas kejatuhan Caliphate system, Andalusia was divided into almost 30 smaller kingdoms called Taifas or so called 'Party Kings' (muluk al tawa'if). The only strong state was tht of Sevilla founded by former governor Mohammed ibn-Abbad. During his legacy, Sevilla gained supremacy over other kingdoms including Cordoba.

All of these Party Kings were unable to work together due to complex political games n wars, so it really was a party for the Christians. So they had to pay heavy tribute to Christians kings present during tht time (Alfonso IV). By this time, an appeal was made to Almoravids (Al-Murabitun-the warrior monk) by some Taifas rulers(including Sevilla and Granada). Almoravids dynasty was of a Berber origin n very successful in establishing a kingdom in Maghreb (Morocco now). Almoravids ni was not very popular among the ppl coz they're said to be religious intolerence.

Then Almohads (Al-Muwahhidun-upholders of divine unity) from Cadiz pula conquered Al-Andalus and made Seville the capital of its kingdom. Almohads who were said to be somewhat more tolerant also restored the prosperity and relative peace of the region. Masa ni la terbinanya central mosque yg kini dah jd the largest gothic cathedral. Although the mosque was no more, an idea of its grandeur however can be seen frm the surviving spacious orange trees courtyard and its minaret with decorative brickwork. Minaret ni menariknya, has got no stairs..but shallow ramps! bkn sbb muezzin dlu malas naek tangge, tp bayangkn nk azan 5 kali sehari..naik menunggang kuda lg cpt kan..so sbb tu lg practical buat ramps je, xke bijak tu? n orange trees courtyard mmg very typical kat mosques in andalus, pastu ade small aqueducts utk salur air for the trees..pastu in the middle ade fountain 4 ablution..so mase ambil wudhu' tu mmg wangi jer..

the gothic cathedral n on the right is La Giralda tower or the minaret

tomb of Christopher Columbus inside the cathedral..he was unfortunately in exile after his death so his bones were everywhere..n the only thing in the tomb is his finger.

view of Seville city from La Giralda

Orange trees courtyard

La torre del oro (The Golden Tower) - built by The Moors at the banks of Guadalquivir river as a watchtower. Takes its name frm the gold tiles tht covered its exterior wall.

Sevilla was important dlu as a pit stop for any kapal yg nak gi Cordoba..they had to stop in Sevilla first (by the watchtower if im not mistaken) lebih kurang mcm "toll" laa..

Then after awhile, Almohad power started to decline and was captured by Alfonso's son, Fernando III. After their conquest that they demolished the mosque and built the cathedral, n also added a huge statue of Faith as a weathervane on top of the minaret. The name of the weathervane is La Giraldillo (now given the name of the tower as a whole)-it's still turning with the winds though as said by our tour guide.

.....to be continued