I am just absolutely amazed by this palace. There are only 2 remaining rooms from the Muslim Alcazar, and the rest was reconstructed by Pedro I, a christian. Although the majority of el Alcazar wasn't constructed under the rule of the muslims, you can still see their influence everywhere!
This arches are typical of Muslim architecture. They are called arcos de herradura or "horseshoes"
This room was built after the Muslims were conquered. You can also see things written in Arab all over the walls---they basically give thanks to allah and Mohammed, but again they were constructed under christian rule---my profesor said that this is because the king was lazy and used molds that the Muslims used when they built their Alcazar.
After leaving the Alcazar I went with some girls from my class to lunch at 100 Montaditos. Yum! Everything is 1 euro on Wednesdays and they are all over Sevilla, including Triana! I have a feeling I will be going back there plenty!
As part of my class we have to visit 4 places on our own in order to complete enough "hours" to have the class be worth 3 credits. Today I went with a group to the Basilica de la Macarena. I had to find out more about it from my señora because my professor wasn't with us as a guide. In Sevilla, La Macarena is one of the Santos that passes through the city during Semana Santa, and La Macarena passed on the night of Good Friday. Near the church is a wall that used to surround the city---it was built by the Almohades (a Muslim tribe that established Sevilla as their capital) to protect Sevilla from invasion.
Here you can see what is left of the wall. Just casually in the middle of a typical Spain neighborhood---a wall build by the Romans!
The beautiful church
A view through the gates
Close up of the wall that surrounded the city.
Got to eat lunch with my señora today because we had the same siesta time going on. Now just study study study until I head back to el centro for a party put on by the university for english and spanish students to meet. I signed up for an intercambio so once a week I will be meeting with a student at the Universidad de Sevilla to speak a little spanish and a little english so we can both work on our language skills. I have already emailed my intercambio, his name is Joaquín. He can't make it to the party tonight--he told me that "he is cold" aka he has a cold! Honest mistake that we can work on this semester! Looking forward to meeting more university students. And I love how my program puts on events at a bar---so much of the culture here revolves around drinking but people only seem to have one or two drinks. It is more of a social occasion than trying to out drink everyone. Much more relaxed.
Well time for my siesta. The Macarena wasn't exactly close, and after probably close to 5 miles of walking already today, my feet could use a break!
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