Although seeing Seville from a tour bus is convenient, to get a feel for the real heart of a city, be prepared to set your feet on the ground and walk through the narrow streets. In the narrow streets of the Santa Cruz district, you will never see a tour bus..
This picture makes me think of the narrow halls in an apartment building. This is better because the ventilation is superior.
Just to make sure we made it back to the hotel in time, a special city guide was hired for us. Notice how these guides are always counting noses.
Yes, that is an orange in the tree. The Oranges that grow in Spain are not the sweet variety. They are actually very bitter and although they are not eaten raw, they are made into marmalade. You have heard of Seville Marmalade, haven’t you? Another crop of Spain is olives. They grow well alongside the grape vines and sometimes the oranges are pressed together with the olives to provide a unique
Sometimes the narrow streets open up into lovely little squares which lead into more narrow lanes.
Seville was once a Roman city. The Arabs took over, then the Christians. The Christians originally cooperated with the Jews to develop the city but kept them walled off in their own part of the city. Conflict developed and eventually, the Jews were exiled in 1493. See the link to the history at the bottom.
The tour led us through the area that was once a thriving Jewish community. The synagogues that were originally here were converted to
Sometimes what you will see on your walking tour is so big that it requires a special wide angle lens.
– Where do you want to go today? –
Link to history of Seville.
Loved those pix! Reminds me of many an ‘old city’ roads. And, yes, on foot is best.
Oh, yeah- thanks for the link to Jewish Seville. (We hailed from Toledo, but the story is about the same.)