Alcázar y Más

Today we visited and were given a tour of the Alcázar. This is an old palace that is open mostly to tourists during the summer months. However, it becomes come to the King (Felipe VI) whenever he decides to come stay in Sevilla. Our tour guide that his sister was married in the Catedral and had all of her wedding festivities in this palace. Keep in mind when looking at these pictures that Sevilla is indeed a Spanish city but it also contains a lot of architecture that is mixed with arabic culture. This Sevillano and Muslim mix has created the population and the culture of the "Moor." This is also that reason that a lot of the building in Spain have intricate domes and lots of tile in them. There is a lot of Gothic Catholic and Muslim Arabic mixtures in the buildings here. Specifically, the Alcázar was a Muslim palace but has since been converted into the King's home on occasion, as well as a Christian palace of sorts. The Alcázar has a lot of reflective pools in it also. These reflective pools are in place due to the Muslim belief that flowing water and reflective pools symbolize eternal life and overall wellness.

Entrance to the Alcázar

First Reflective pool area in the palace

Main Palace Center 

Another view of the center of the palace entrance

Capilla (Chapel) de la Virgen en Alcázar

Roman arches in an originally Muslim Palace

Muslim herradura (horseshoe) arches inside Alcázar 

Herraduras Arches in Alcázar

Ceiling in the throne room; This is also called the "media naranja" and it translates to "my other half" or "my better half"

Gardens and more reflective pools in the Alcázar

All the tiles in the Alcázar are hand painted 

Ceiling of a room in the Alcázar

Start of the Gardens of the Alcázar

Me and Sara in front of the fountain in the Alcázar gardens

Baños de María de Padilla (Old Roman Bath Houses)

Gardens of the Alcázar

Garden of the Alcázar

Garden of the Alcázar

Grape vines (uvas) in the Gardens of the Alcázar

Exit of the Alcázar

Fountain (fuente) in the Plaza de Trifuno