ANDALUSIA, SPAIN
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The Hall Of The Abencerrajes was named after the noble family that was massacred here just before the fall of Granada. The dome is an eight point star shape with sixteen windows that have beautiful fretwork. The interior of the dome has exquisite mocarabes (carved wood and plaster designs resembling stalactites).
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The myriad arched openings in the Courtyard of the Lions helps create the impression that this is a house built in a garden. The Nasrid motto "The Only Conqueror is God" is repeated as an epigraph in the frieze above the arches.
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The Interior of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Granada. It was begun at the height of the Spanish Renaissance in 1529 and took 181 years to be completed.
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A hooded penitent in a Holy week Procession in Granada, Spain. These hooded costumes date back to Medieval times and should not be confused with the more sinister hooded robes used by the American KKK.
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Spanish Ladies in the Holy Week Processions. Granada, Spain
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An evening Holy week procession in Toledo. Holy week is celebrated in the week leading up to Easter. There are processions of pasos, floats of wooden sculptures depicting scenes from the passion, or images such as this one of the Virgin Mary grieving for the torture and killing of her son.
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San Francisco Monastery now known as Hospederia De San Francsico Hotel is located in the small town of Palma del Rio just outside of Cordoba on the road to Seville.
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It was a delightful getaway and exuded charm from the lovely gardens to the immaculately preserved cloister. Dinners are served in the original monks dining room.
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The monastery seemed to emanate peace and tranquility from every nook and corner.
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A pasos depicting the Virgin Mary against the backdrop of Seville Cathedral, otherwise known as Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See.
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Another pasos in a Seville procession depicting a scene from the Passion.
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One of the most majestic areas in Andalusia, and all of Spain for that matter, is the Route of the Pueblos Blancos or road of the White Villages. There are actually several different circuits that tourists can map out when they plan their itinerary.
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These threatening dark gray skies seemed to be forever coming and going across the mountains. It created a beautiful light and accentuated the ruggedness of the terrain.
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One of the more famous of the Pueblo Blancos is Arcos de la Frontera. Laid out in a typical fashion for these villages the narrow alleys and roads create a maze in which a visitor, even in the smallest towns, can get lost.
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A typical street scene in the villages. The Pueblos Blancos gets its name from the white washed walls of the buildings which are painted with a lime wash. During curing it hardens the substrate as well as itself creating a very durable surface. White is the perfect color for keeping the buildings cooler in the hot Spanish summers.
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A view of Ronda, probably the most famous of the Pueblo Blancos. It is considered the birthplace of modern bullfighting. Ronda fell to the Moorish conquest in 713. With the Moorish decline in the 14th and 15th centuries Christians began retaking towns across Andalusia. Ronda was one of the last to fall in 1485.
