Sevilla's Amazing Alcazar

I toured Sevilla´s Alcazar (castle) on Sunday and was absolutely speechless the entire time. Feeling a bit castled-out, I had actually considered skipping Sevilla´s castle since from the outside it isn´t terribly enticing. What a tragedy that would have been. This castle is entirely different than the others I have seen, and absolutely, unbelievably gorgeous. It was commissioned by King Pedro I, aka Pedro the Cruel. By all accounts, he was a despicable human being, killing off anyone who got in his way, including his own siblings. But golly gee did he leave us a purty castle to look at.

After much effort, I find myself entirely incapable of editing down my photos to a digestible quantity, so I will keep my commentaries short and let the photos speak for themselves. Please do click on the images to enlarge them. You need to see the detail in order to really appreciate it´s beauty.

At top is a photo of the main inner courtyard--¨the Patio of the Maidens¨. Below are some detail shots of the interior of the palace, including the exquisite doors:

the beautiful interior rooms:

and close-ups of all the intricate detail. I am guessing the builders and designers never uttered the words ¨let´s ask the King to pick which design he likes best.¨ If one design is good, five is better. And yet it works so beautifully here.




Underground Banos

In a cavernous space under the castle is a stunning luminescent orange reflecting pool. I didn´t go on a guided tour of the grounds, and my guidebook was woefully inadequate for this site, so I have absolutely no idea if the pool served any purpose other than being a sublime place to bathe. All I know is that it´s called ¨Banos de Dona Maria de Padilla¨ and it is a sight to behold.

[By the way, contrary to what most gringos think, bano is not bathroom in Spain, it´s bath. These are not the castle toilets.]


Jardines
The palace also has large beautiful gardens,

including a real labyrinth. Fun! In the picture below, find the heads popping up above the hedge...that´s how high the passage ways were.

But the best is yet to come...
As breathtaking as this castle was, from what I hear, Granada´s castle (´the Alhambra´) is even more beautiful that Sevilla´s. I can´t wait.