Category: Europe

Enclosure of Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Spain

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The walls and the towers ‘albarranas’ of Talavera de la Reina is a defense system that protected the town in the province of Toledo, Spain, and counted on three walled enclosures, the roads were tangential to the Arab fortress but nowadays, there is only a large part of the first enclosure, the oldest, and some remains of the second. “La Villa” (first enclosure) was built in the IX-X centuries by Arabians possibly following the path of a Roman or Visigoth wall. Its main material are stone blocks, there are a lot of reused Roman remains there, even printed stones of that time; and rough stones. We also find semi-circular and square towers; these being the oldest towers and other flanking the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Unfortunately, the doors do not exist except for the remains of one of the semi-circular towers of the Door of Mérida. There still has a shield and a Virgin who presided the Door of  St-Peter, but they were put in the Basilica of Prado. The second walls (XII) protected the Major cities or New ones and the third (XIII) surrounded the old towns. The second enclosure still retained some of the early ones alongside the citadel, and the door of Seville (XVI); the Powder Tower, a part of the door Zamora and a tower in San Miguel Square. The third will keep several coats of arms of the Door of Cuarto and some traces of the foundation. This kind of construction attached to the first fortifications meant that Talavera was considered one of the safest cities for centuries.

Tips

The walls and towers are on free access. It is a walk that can be done without a guide as there are indicators and panels with photos and explanations.
Talavera de la Reina has a tourist office where you can request more information.

Botanical Garden of Padron, La Coruña, Spain

Francois Leave a comment

The Botanical Garden of Padron is next to the N-550 road in the province ofBotanical Garden of Padron, autonomous community of Botanical Garden of Padron. It contains many species of plants, some of them highly developed and mature, being a rarity or a singular plant in Galicia. The garden date from the first decades of the nineteenth century constructed of a farm belonging to the Counts of San Juan. It was built in the pattern characteristic of the time, mixing Italian, English and French styles. The garden has a herbarium, greenhouse and new areas were added to the original structure. We find many monuments like the statue of the fourteenth century of the Galician troubadour known as “The lover” or another as the Castelao bust. There are almost 300 plant species that come from different parts of the world. Many social and cultural events of the village of Padron take place in the garden.

Tips

The garden is a beautiful place to walk, relax on a bench reading something or just enjoy nature and the variety of plants found there.

Blue Mosque, Istambul, Turkey

Francois Leave a comment

The Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet Camii is a historic mosque of Istanbul, known as the Blue Mosque because of ceramic adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the reign of Sultan Ahmet 1 who decide to build it to appease God after the unfavorable outcome of the war with Persia. It has the tomb of the founder, a school and a hospice. It is the starting point for caravans of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca, it has six minarets. Its dome 23.5 meters in diameter is supported by four massive pillars and buttressed by four semi-domes; 260 windows flood the light building. The interior is decorated with 21,043 tiles from Iznik in a dominant blue. The prayer hall is topped by an ascending system of domes and semi-domes, each supported by three porticos, culminating with the large central dome which has 43m high at its central point. The decorations include verses from the Koran. The floors are carpeted, with carpets given by the faithful and are regularly replaced when worn. The most important element in the interior is the mihrab made of marble. The yard is about as large as the mosque itself and is surrounded by a continuous, rather monotonous vaulted arcades. The central hexagonal fountain is rather small in contrast to the dimensions of the court. The monumental door, but wide, to the courtyard is characterized by the architecture of the arcade. Until recently the muezzin calling to prayer or had to climb a narrow spiral staircase five times a day to announce the call to prayer. Today a public sound system is used, and the call can be heard through the old part of the city, echoed by other mosques nearby.

Tips

The Sultanahmet Mosque has become one of the most popular tourist attractions of Istanbul. Large crowds of Turks and tourists gather at sunset in the park in front of the mosque to hear the call to evening prayer at sunset and the mosque is brilliantly illuminated by colored spotlights.
The large backyard has sanitary facilities on both sides.