España 

Historic Spain

This Roman Theater is currently being renovated at the foot of the Castle of Gibralfaro in Málaga, Spain.  The Romans began their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 218 B.C.  By 10 A.D., the conquest was complete and Spain became part of the Roman province Hispania (from which we get such words as Hispanic).  Hispania existed until 414 A.D., when it was conquered by the Visigoths,  making this theater  more than 1,600 years old.
	The Iberian Peninsula was ruled by the Arabs between 711 and 1492 A.D.  The Alhambra, a Moorish castle and fortress in Granada, is an example of the Arab people's beautiful architecture and decorative art.  Next to the Alhambra are gardens called the Generalife.
This is El patio de los leones - The Lions' Patio.  Located within the Alhambra, it is a fountain laid on the backs of twelve lions.  The castle was at its glory between the XIII and XIV centuries, and it was the last place from which the Moorish rulers were driven by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel.
	The Moors also built a famous mosque called the Mezquita in Córdoba, built between the VIII and X centuries.

The Christian Kings Unite Spain

In 1492, the Christian Kings, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel, conquered Granada, the last Moorish stronghold, uniting Spain under one kingdom.  The Spanish Inquisition soon followed, leading to the death and banishment of non Christians and other groups from the country.  The famous Mezquita mentioned above was converted to a Catholic cathedral.  This is a portion of the ceiling (which the Christian's decorated) above the alter where mass is held.
	Spain's population continues to be 98 to 99 percent Catholic.  There are beautiful churches and cathedrals throughout Spain dating to the XV century.  This is the rotunda of a small church in Málaga.
The churches have magnificent alters created by famous artists of the finest materials.  This alter is in a church in Ronda, a small town in the province of Málaga.  It is most likely made of gold.
Famous artists also sculpted images of Christ, the Virgen Mary and Saints that stand in the Catholic churches.  This Virgen Mary is in the same small church in Málaga whose rotunda is shown above.  The dress of many of the virgins is decorated with gold spun thread and precious stones such as rubies, diamonds and sapphires.
	Semana Santa (Holy Week) is celebrated the week preceding Easter.  At this time, the various images are taken out of the churches on huge platforms called thrones that weigh hundreds of pounds.  With candles and incense burning, men carry the platforms on their shoulders in processions through the streets.  In Málaga, there is even a throne representing the Last Supper with all twelve apostles.  The processions begin around 5:00 in the evening and continue through the early morning.  On Saturday night in Málaga, an image of Christ in a glass coffin is carried through the streets.  As it passes through the city, all of the street and building lights are turned off, leaving the throne's path in darkness.  On Sunday, one final throne is carried - that of the resurrected Christ.

Other Famous Places
 

	Ronda is a small town located in the mountains of the province of Málaga.  It is surrounded by a deep ravine (left).  Because of the protection the ravine provided, Ronda formerly served as an effective hide-out for bandits.  There are two bridges over the ravine, the Old Bridge and the New Bridge.  This is the New Bridge:  it was built in the 1700's.  To the right is a patio of a private residence in Ronda.

On the southernmost tip of Spain is the Rock of Gibraltar (ever see the Prudential commercials?).  Gibraltar actually belongs to Great Britain.  It formerly served as a very strategic military site, and is still an occasional source of contention between Spain and Britain.  To trek to the top you climb about a third of the way before beginning 600 narrow, steep stairs.  At the top you will find a population of tailess monkeys known as Barbary macaques.  You can coax the small ones on your shoulder by offering raw pasta.  At the southern tip of the Rock of Gibraltar is the Point of Europe from which you can see the mountains of northern Africa only sixteen miles across the Gibraltar strait.

Spain controls two cities in northern Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.  This is a picture at the top of a mountain in Ceuta.  If you look behind us, you will see the profile of a woman laying down in the mountains.

La vida diaria:  Lifestyle
 

In every city I visited in Spain, there were beautifully maintained gardens and parks.  In the evenings and on weekends, well dressed people could be found walking and talking down stone streets and through parks and gardens.  This garden area is in the center of a traffic circle in downtown Málaga.
	This is Málaga's bull ring.  Although controversial, bullfighting is still an important traditional sport.  Bullfights are held throughout the summertime and during festivals and holidays.  Surrounding the bull ring, you can also see apartment buildings.  There are few free standing houses in the cities; most families live in apartments.  In the background is the Mediterranean Sea.
In addition to regular supermarkets and grocery stores, there are also fresh, open markets throughout Andalucía.  This is a permanent open market in Málaga that shows Arab influence in its architecture.

 
 

Andalucía has many valuable natural exports including wine and olive oil.  For example, Sherry is made in  Jerez, a southwestern province bordering the Atlantic Ocean.  Olives, on the other hand, are grown in the landlocked provinces, such as Jaén which is located in the  northeastern part of Andalucía (its capital, also called Jaén, is pictured at right).  Surrounding the city, you can see rows and rows of olive trees.  Olive trees take many years to mature and live to be hundreds of years old.  Perhaps this is why people do not own fields or acres of olives; rather, olive trees are owned individually.  Therefore, one family might own only ten or twelve olive trees bunched together while another family owns a group of twenty or so all in the same field.

To the left is a picture of me helping in the olive harvest, which takes place in February.  The olives are harvested by placing a large netted skirt around the tree and beating the branches with a wooden stick, making the olives fall onto the skirt.  The skirt is then gathered up, and the olives are dumped into a sack.  Traditionally the women, on their hands and knees, then retrieve the loose olives from the ground .  My knees were very sore after two days of that!

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Las fiestas:  Holidays in Spain
 

In the spring (end of February, beginning of March), Spain celebrates "Carnaval," the equivalent of Mardi Gras.  During this time, the people dress in elaborate costumes and party throughout the night, every night, for an entire week.  There is a parade one night and also nightly skits, the purposes of which are to mock current issues and officials.  These photos were taken of the parade in Jaén during the Carnaval of 1999.

 

The Christmas holidays are celebrated a little differently in Spain.  Christmas Day is spent with family, but there are usually no gifts exchanged.  Some affluent families do receive gifts from Santa Claus, who is gaining more popularity, but for the most part the gift exchange portion of Christmas is celebrated on January 6, el Día de los Reyes Magos, or Epiphany.  It is the three kings, or wise men, that bring the children gifts on the night of January 5.  The towns hold a parade that night (pictured at the right) to welcome the Three Kings to town.  Their names are (in the order shown below) Baltasar, Melchor and Gaspar.  Baltasar is the favorite of many as he is said to be the most generous.

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Gracias por visitar.  Thanks for taking the tour.  Hope you enjoyed it!  ¡Espero que nos veamos en España!