Hilltop mediaeval town with one of the most beautiful cathedrals - Historic City of Toledo 379
What and Why
Toledo stands out from other European cities for being a confluence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures, and is hence nicknamed the 'City of the Three Cultures', and it becomes as a result a heritage city with extensive cultural monuments. The city was also the royal residence of the Holy Roman Emperor (Latin: Imperator Romanorum) Charles V (Dutch: Karel V, né Karel von Habsburg (Dutch)) and therefore the city brims an air of imperialism.
Toponymy
Toledo derives from its Latin form Tolētum, which relates to Proto-Celtic with ‘*tol-’ meaning ‘hill’.
See
Plaza de Zocodover, Arco de la Sangre
Zocodover comes from the Arabic term سوق الدواب (suq Al-Dawab), meaning 'animal market', and there was exactly what happened 500 years ago. The area is the centre of Toledo and was the starting point of our day-tour, where all taxis would stop. On the other hand, the plaza was also the notorious centre for the Inquisition or the public execution of the prisoners. Nowadays Zocodover is the hub of the city where many events and celebrations are held, as well as serving as a popular meeting point for its citizens. Apparently there is a famous weekly market being held in the plaza.
In front of the plaza stands a large Art-deco building with a grand horseshoe arch opening, called the Blood Arch (Spanish: Arco de la Sangre), referring to the blood of Christ. It was once a doorway in the old city walls that linked the Alcázar with the rest of the town.
Alcázar
A massively imposing fortress-like squarish building sitting on the highest part of Toledo which dominates the city skyline, Alcázar was built by the Roman in a smaller form during the 3rd century CE, until it was refurbished to its present form during Charles V's reign during the 16th century CE. Many people know that this was the opening scene of the Spanish Civil War (Guerra Civil Española), and was referred to the Siege of Alcázar (Asedio del Alcázar de Toledo) led by Francisco Franco Bahamonde during the 1930s CE.
The castle's name clearly derives from the Arabic word ‘القصر (al-qaṣr)’, meaning ‘castle’ or ‘palace’, and is now the city military museum, especially detailing the civil war.
At the end of the usual museum tour, one ends the tour at the Charles V courtyard.
Toledo Cathedral (Catedral de Toledo)
The highlight of the trip to Toledo is definitely the Toledo Cathedral (Catedral Primada Toledo), officially the Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo (Catedral Primada Santa María de Toledo), which is widely considered as the masterpiece of Spanish Gothic architecture. Hands down, I have to say this is easily one of the most magnificient churches I have ever visited, as its splendour reflects its status as the spiritual heart of church of Spain (España). I have to admit my stupid camera does not do any justice to the actual cathedral. Moreover the cathedral outer facade is not as impressive from the outside as it is inside, and it is cramped in the middle of the urban area and surrounded by other buildings and hence a proper picture of the cathedral outer facade is very difficult, if not impossible.
The church was first erected in the 6th century CE until it was reconstructed to convert to a mosque sometime in the 10th century CE. When the city was reconquered by the Spanish in the 11th to 12th century CE, the mosque was reconstructed again and was modelled after the Bourges Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges), with conspicuous plan and intention to cover all of the sacred spaces of the mosque, while retaining some characteristics of the Mudéjar architecture, especially the cloister and the current bell tower, replacing the minaret.
One usually enters from the side-door Portal of the Lions (Puerta de los Leones) and is led to the side nave.
Inside the main chapel, one can easily notice the interior chapels: Chapel of the Sepulchre which houses the crypt.
The retable (reredos) of the main chapel is probably one of the most beautiful and most elaborate altars I have ever seen. The retable rises to a great height above the altar and resembles an iconostasis with its five panels of pictures presenting the stories of Christianity.
Other notable rooms inside the church include the chapterhouse (sala capitular).
And also the choir.
Other altars in smaller chapels are equally impressive.
Just above this particular chapel stands one of the most impressive daylighting architectural feature known as the El Transparente, where various holes are cut to allow skylight to light up art of the altar through a hole. If you look up it looks like you are looking at the heaven through a transparent glass with the white ray shining through!
The cloister vaults outside the main chapel.
Iglesia de Santo Tomé
The Iglesia de Santo Tomé is a church constructed on the site of an old mosque of the 11th century CE. In fact one of the remarkable part of this church is that it was actually used as a church without major construction changes, amplified by the Mudéjar bell tower converted from the minaret. However, the mosque was in a ruinous state and hence the church was rebuilt at the beginning of the 14th century CE. Not the most remarkable of churches, but its fame is mainly due to the fact that it contains the painting The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz) by El Greco (Greek: Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος, Doménikos Theotokópoulos) which is why most tourists come for.
Santa María la Blanca
The synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, is a museum and former synagogue erected in 1180 CE, according to an inscription on a beam. It is considered the oldest standing synagogue in Europe still standing. The synagogue was taken over as a church, without any reconstruction in the early 15th century CE.
It carries a symbol and message of cultural and religious harmony as it was constructed under the Christian Kingdom of Castile (Castilla) by Islamic architects for Jewish use during the Middle Ages. The Mudéjar construction, especially the arches in the hall, reminds us of the Mosque-Cathedral (Mezquita-Catedral) of Cordova (Córdoba).
Saint John of the Monarchs Monastery (Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes)
The Monastery of Saint John of the Monarchs (Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes) is an Isabelline (Isabelino) style Franciscan (Latin: Franciscani) monastery. Isabelline style was the dominant architectural style named after Queen Isabella I (Isabel I, née Isabel Trastámara) during the era. The interior of the monastery, especially the cloister as shown, is extremely ornate to the direct opposite to the imposing outer facade.
Church of San Idelfonso (Iglesia de San Idelfonso)
The Church of San Ildefonso (Iglesia de San Ildefonso) is a Baroque church consecrated to Saint Ildefonso (Latin: Ildefonsus), patron of the city and Father of the church. The church facade looks more like a theatre than a temple.
Cristo de la Luz
Cristo de la Luz is a former mosque built in 999 CE, and converted to a church during the 11th century CE. Similar to other Islamic building inside the city, it carries a Moorish architectural style reminding everyone of Cordova.
New Bisagra Gate (Puerta de Bisagra Nueva)
Kind of the main entrance of modern Toledo, the New Bisagra Gate (Puerta de Bisagra Nuevo) is a massive fortified gate, shaped like a fortress.
Sun Gate (Puerta del Sol)
Sun Gate (Puerta del Sol) is a city gate built in the late 14th century CE by the Knights Hospitaller (Latin: Fraternitas Hospitalaria). The medallion above the arch of the gate depicts the ordination of Saint Ildefonso. This gate was named because of its orientation to the east, where the sun always rises.
Buy and Do
Toledo is well known for its swords, and many visitors come to look for a conquistador sword. Swords cannot be brought onto a plane though.
Due to its history of sword-making, another famous souvenir is the damascene, which is frequently used as a plaque in shops in Toledo with algorithmic art frequently themed.
Eat and Drink
Marzipan (Mazapán)
Toledo is also renowned for its marzipan (mazapán) and the almond confection is available almost everywhere. The etymology of marzipan comes from 'marchpane', meaning ‘the bread of March’ with unclear origin.
Jamón
While we stayed in Madrid, we simply could not resist the temptation of one of the treasures of Spain, jamón. Jamón is pronounced /xa-mon/ and thus the /ha/ sounds eventually make it to the English lexicon as the word ‘ham’. Jamón, of course, comes from the French word ‘jambe’, meaning leg.
Jamón is made simply by air-drying a chopped pork leg in the clean air in the mountains of Spain, after being salted for two to three weeks. The whole leg is left in open air for two to four years and is then eaten raw. From the butchers whom I had the conversation with, the finest is the jamón bellotta, in which the pig is fed purely with acorn / olives. These pigs are always encouraged to run around to ensure the meat is not overly tough.
The interesting thing is that you actually can taste the meat to taste slightly differently with the meat sliced from different parts, the thigh has a stronger fruity flavour but softer in texture while the leg part near the trotter is meatier and tougher. Different jamón also gives different aromas, fruit tastes, textures coming from all sorts of pig diets. The good ham is well marbled with distinctive layers of fat.
We bought most of our hams from this place called Museo del Jamón in Madrid. Obviously it is not a real museum, but it does have a vast display of various types of ham. We were trying to screw one of our friends to do the stupid act of buying an entire leg and bring home. The entire leg is around 5 kg and is sized like a huge tennis racquet. How the heck that would pass the airport security and the sniffer dogs was beyond us, but we were just having a great laugh.
Getting There and Around
Toledo serves as a great day-trip from Madrid, and from Madrid it is merely an hour bus-trip. All these sites can be completed in a full day. Toledo's mediaeval streets are labyrinthine, so it can be quite easy to getting lost. After all it was at one time an Arabic medina and hence the lack of urban design. The entrance fee to the Toledo Cathedral is EUR 5.50€.
UNESCO Inscription
Successively a Roman municipium, the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom, a fortress of the Emirate of Cordoba, an outpost of the Christian kingdoms fighting the Moors and, in the 16th century, the temporary seat of supreme power under Charles V, Toledo is the repository of more than 2,000 years of history. Its masterpieces are the product of heterogeneous civilizations in an environment where the existence of three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – was a major factor.
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