Andalusia Seville Cordoba Granada

Plaza Espana resides inside the Parque de María Luisa, which was once the private grounds of a palace. It was created for the 1929 Ibero-American Exhibition.

Seville – Plaza de Espana

Seville - Catedral de Santa Maria de la Sede. This enormous Gothic cathedral, about 400 by 600 feet, replaced the Almohad mosque that occupied the same site. It is claimed that it is the largest church in the world, bigger than St. Peter's in Rome in volume.

The Giralda ( ) which is now its bell tower, was originally a minaret of a 12th Century Moorish mosque, it is 322 feet tall if you include the bronze statue of "Holy Faith" at its peak. This minaret has two twins: one is in Marrakech and other is in Rabat. The three are the oldest surviving Almohad minarets.

The rose window above the main entrance; the fence of Roman columns joined by chains surrounding the huge structure

The Door of the Birth The terra cotta figures were sculpted by the French artist Lorenzo Mercadante de Bretaña and Pedro Millán in the late 15th century. The Visitation of the Magi, this depicts the third king as African, a way of indicating that the whole world worships the Christ child.

Seville: A Synagogue converted into a magnificent church

Seville - Patio de las Muñecas the intimate area in the Palace of D. Pedro.

Patio de las Muñecas One of the doll's heads The four small heads, on the arch which leads to the entrance hall of the palace, give this patio its name.

Seville - Patio de las Muñecas in Palacio del Rey Don Pedro

Casa de Pilatos Currently owned by the Medinaceli Dukes, the palace was built in the 16th century by a wealthy aristocrat Marquis de Tarifa after returning from a voyage to Jerusalem, where he got enchanted with the house of Pontius Pilate

Casa de Pilatos - The construction is a blend of Baroque, Renaissance and Mudéjar styles

Palácio de San Telmo, constructed in 1682

Seville's Maestranza Bullring was completed in 1763 and can accommodate as many as 12,500 spectators

"Patio de Los Naranjos" (Orange Trees courtyard), Before entering the Great Mosque of Cordoba The Great Mosque of Cordoba

The construction of the Torre del Alminar (93m), the bell tower, began in the 16th century over an Islamic Minaret and was finished in the 17 century. An old entrance to the Mosque. In 784 the Mosque was one third of its current size

The Mihrab: The prayer niche where an original copy of the Koran was stored, constructed between AD

In 1371 the Christians build the Capilla de Villaviciosa in the Mosque using Moorish craftsmen so that it would blend in with the Mudejar architecture. The Mosque contains 850 columns and is made of jasper, marble, granite, and onyx.

In 1523 an inconsistent Baroque cathedral was started in the center of the Mosque. This was sanctioned by Charles V but he was reportedly horrified when he saw the results.

"Mezquita de Cordoba" was begun in 784 by Abd al-Rahman I when he bought the Visigoth basilica of San Vicente which was then torn down and the mosque was built on the site. Three periods of additions from 784 through the 16th century brought it up to its current glory

Baroque Cathedral in the Great Mosque of Cordoba

The Great Mosque of Cordoba over the old Roman Bridge on the Guadalquivir river.

Mohammed I, the first king of the Nasriden – a Moorish dynasty in Granada, converted a 9th-century castle into his private royal residence, and it is this which we now know as the Alhambra. The structure, which covers an area of 13 hectares, is renowned for its stunning frescoes and interior detail. The building is one of the finest examples of Moorish architecture in the world The Alhambra

The Lion Court (Patio de los Leones) at the Alhambra. The Fountain of Lions is a magnificent alabaster basin supported by the figures of 12 lions in white marble, which once functioned as a clock with water flowing from a different lion at each hour.

Mirador to the Lindaraja courtyard Patio de los Leones – there are in total 124 thin marble columns

The Alhambra Palace –adornment of filigree foliage and Arabic inscriptions.

Alhambra -Vault at the Hall of Ambassadors ( Salon de los Embajadores ) in the Torre de Comares

Courtyard of the Maiden ( Patio de las Doncellas). This name perhaps reflects the annual gift of 100 virgins to the sultan

Jardin del Estanque – frescoes in the niches.

Granada - The nave of the Cathedral

Granada: the massive organ inside the Cathedral

Granada - La Cartuja Monastery of the Carthusian monks, the 17th century construction is in Baroque style, with a plain aspect in the outside.

Granada: The Cartuja monastery