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Morocco and Lanzarote

Posted on 5 April, 20145 April, 2014 by pierreo

After a few days in Andalusia, a few more than initially planned, we were finally on our way. Having left Spain late the previous night, we woke up approaching Casablanca, in Morocco, with wonderful sunrise views of the Hassan II Mosque, reputedly the largest in the world outside of Mecca.

As we approached, the views improved and we could clearly see that this was no ordinary place. However, we are here looking at the back of the mosque and the better views are from the front.

There is a large square in front of the building, but still not large enough to be able to take the whole view in one shot, even with my widest angle lens; this is a composite of several photos, which is why this is slightly distorted. The minaret is 200 m high! I am told that the muezzin who goes to the top to call worshippers to prayers five times a day has an elevator to facilitate the task!

This is the only mosque in Morocco which is open to non-muslim visitors and I was really looking forward to the planned visit. However, since we arrived on a Friday, and relatively late on the Friday, we were unfortunately not able to go inside – a real shame. We were therefore limited to taking pictures of the very decorated facade and doors from the outside.

Everything seems gigantic, especially when compared to the human scale – notice the man dressed in white to the right of the gate in the shadows. However, it is very harmonious and quite peaceful and inspiring.

This is all we got to see of Casablanca – we were then bussed about one hour away to Rabat where we whizzed around the Royal compound for a short glimpse at the Royal Palace. We were supposed to stop and get out – we were told we could stop and get out – but at the last moment, it seems that again we were at the wrong place at the wrong time and since a lot of people were going to mid-day prayers, the security officers prevented us from stopping. All I got was this shot of the Royal mosque from the moving bus…

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Culture, Travel

Andalusia 2013

Posted on 1 February, 2014 by pierreo

Our trip to Andalusia continued in Cordoba, another city that was heavily influenced by the Moors who occupied it until late in the 15th century.

Cordoba was ‘freed’ earlier than Granada and Ferdinand and Isabella established their royal seat here while they were fighting for Granada. They lived in a former Muslim palace which is now known as the “Alcazar de los Reyes Catolicos” or Palace of the Catholic Kings. It is clear, however, that the origin of the buildings and gardens has nothing to do with catholic kings.

One look at these gardens and you know immediately who designed them.

The palace itself is not very interesting, and there has not been a significant effort to make the interior look like it must have either during the Moors’ occupation, or the later royal affectation, which was not very long as the royal court eventually moved to Granada instead.

However, the gardens are the real attraction of this palace.

There are fountains everywhere and several different levels which are all just slightly different from each other.

This group was added later, I am sure. It is the representation of Christopher Columbus requesting funds from Ferdinand and Isabella for his trip to India via the Atlantic Ocean. We all know how that ended.

However, there were conflicts in what we heard from different guides. Granada was freed from the Moors in January 1492 and the court moved there soon thereafter. So in Granada, they claim that this discussion took place in the Alhambra. In Cordoba, they claim that this occurred before the court moved and therefore it happened in Cordoba. Looking at several sources of information (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikipedia and Royal Greenwich Museum) there is consensus that the decision to go West was made in January 1492 but only Wikipedia mentions that this occurred in Cordoba while Britannica does not say where the final agreement took place. It could be that it is not documented and therefore both cities have a legitimate claim!

The other major attraction of Cordoba is the Mezquita, the most confused building in the world. It started life as a Mosque and is now the Cathedral of Cordoba. There are contrasting views throughout the building, with clearly Muslim architecture surrounding obviously catholic details.

When they established (and built) the cathedral inside the old mosque, a lot of the building was left unchanged. There are thousands of columns supporting the roof around the core which is now the cathedral. This is an “illegal” photo! I took it with the camera sitting on the floor so that I could have a longer exposure. Immediately after I took this photo while sitting on the floor, I was told to stand up as sitting is not allowed!

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Culture, Travel

Granada 2013

Posted on 17 January, 201426 January, 2014 by pierreo

I first came to Granada, in Andalusia, Spain, in 1999. I only spent 2 nights there on a tour of Andalusia.

The pictures I took back then can be seen on my other site: www.twimpg.net

Bee and I stopped in Granada for 4 nights before our Eclipse Cruise – more on that later. It was a great opportunity to see the Alhambra again, and discover more of this wonderful historical city.

We arrived just before lunch – lunch time in Spain that is, so got to the hotel around 1:30 PM. We stayed at the Alhambra Palace, just a stone throw away from the Alhambra itself. On the way to the restaurant for lunch, we saw our first glimpse of the outside wall of the complex and the imposing fortress.

In the afternoon, we went to visit the town and stopped at the main cathedral. It is a very impressive building that was designed and built after the moors were chased out of Andalusia and Granada was the seat of the Spanish Royal family.

We discovered that, on week-ends, the gardens of the Generalife are opened to the public in the evening, after sunset. We had therefore booked for going there on our first evening.

We tried to be early (I did not have to try very hard!) so that it would not be too crowded and we succeeded. The one palace on the Generalife was almost empty and very peaceful.

It is amazing that this was built in 1400 when the rest of Europe was in the “Dark Ages”! Granada was actually a place of great learning during that time, with scholars from all over the known world visiting and lecturing thousands of ‘students’ who came there to learn.

From the Generalife, we had a good view of the Alhambra complex, but could not go there. Actually, we probably could have walked around there too as most of the area around the Alhambra is public, but we only found that out on the next day, during our daytime visit of the palaces.

The detailed work of carving on the stone and the wood is always incredible in these buildings. It is amazing that this survived during the last 700 years. Notice how the patterns are different on top of each archway over the doors! Continue reading “Granada 2013” →

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Culture, Travel

Barcelona at New Year

Posted on 22 February, 201222 February, 2012 by pierreo

I have accumulated a little backlog keeping my blog updated. I do apologise to all my readers.

My last trip was a short week (it sounds better than a long week-end when you talk about 5 days) in Barcelona for New Year. After much considerations, Bee and I settled on the Hostal Goya as the right place to stay. It is a high recommendation in the Lonely Planet, and is located right in the heart of Barcelona, just a few minute walk from the Barri Gotic, the historical center of Barcelona. The hotel was a success but you have to know the exact address in order to find it as there are no visible signs on the outside. It is one floor in a 5 story private building – never stayed at a hotel like that. More details about it and the restaurants where we ate at the bottom of this post.

Here is a panorama of the city from Parco del Mirador de Migdia on Montjuic Hill. We actually went there on the last full day, but it is a good way to start exploring the city. In the forefront, you can see the top station of the cable car we took to get there. The Mediterranean Sea is on the right, with the Marina District. Barcelona is surrounded by hills and you can see some of them in the background.

Here is a more focused view with, in the center, the Sagrada Familia, without a doubt the most ‘interesting’ building I have ever seen!

Getting closer and closer, the rear facade of the Sagrada Familia, still being constructed more than 70 years after the death of Antoni Gaudi who designed it. This is the “Nativity Facade” facing East. Construction began in 1882 with the crypt under the direction of Francisco De Paula del Villar who had designed it as a standard gothic church. Gaudi began work on it in 1883 and quickly replaced Villar. Needless to say, he changed the design somewhat.

The visit of the Church begins with a trip up one of the completed spires. You can move up and down in staircases that are built around the hollow core of the towers. This is looking down from about 1/2 way up.

The details are incredible. There are fruit ornaments everywhere, in most cases, nobody will ever be able to see these.

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