“aku rindukan zaman kebangkitan
‘pabila nurani bersulamkan fikiran
seganding dan bersatu”

– andalusia, m. nasir

0045hrs, c/ San Roque, Sevilla
andalusia. the farthest muslim bastion of the bani umaiyyah in the 8th century AD. for some reason, i have been waiting eagerly for this part of the trip. to see and feel spain, along with its rich history and pre-reconquista muslim heritage. really. not going all travel channel here. honest.

left the hotel at 9-ish since it would be a good time to try the tapas at plaza de la alfalfa which came highly recommended. and only a few steps away, we stumbled across a procession. semana santa is in april and i just wondered what was going on this time of the year. apparently it was a procession of the venerada imagen de nuestra señora del carmen del santo angel y del milagroso niño jesus de praga – phew (my best bet it’d probably mean image of the venerable mary and child, i think). the only time i saw something like this was in the little italy flashback scene in godfather part 2 when robert de niro blew out the brains of the local mafiosi.

one thing that surprised me on the hunt for tapas was the streets were lined by orange trees. if you took a deep breath, you could smell the subtle zesty aroma in the evening air! there were a few bars at the plaza and the obvious pick was the one with a free table (all the bars were packed so you won’t go wrong!). as we were now in the south, we had to order using our measly spanish vocab, especially without anuar around! despite our limited vocab, i’m glad we’ve not ordered tapas babi yet. the tapas here is cheaper (about €1.60 to €3 per tapa) and is pleasantly sumptuous. at last, the real thing! tapas is simply their version of our tepi jalan mamak stall food. and to think people ooh-aahing over upmarket tapas eateries in KL. that’s like eating nasi campur at a place call le tempoyaque or cucur bawang at d’lempeng. oh wait. there are people who swear by those eateries.

sevilla nightlife is always alive and no matter how narrow the streets are, they are well-lit and you see so many people milling about, may it be travellers with maps or families looking for a place to have a meal. we felt safe as houses. and another thing. andalusian women are hot. ninie would help me spot one by uttering the non-existent word scorchio. hehe. beat the ones i see in madrid and barça by a long shot. las chicas scorchio, indeed.

after having our fill of calamares (a recurring item on any of our tapas order!), merluza (hake) and bucketloads of coke con hielo, we decided to look for la carbonería, a difficult-to-find establishment in sevilla’s jewish quarter (barrio de santa cruz) where you can check out genuine flamenco until 4 am. for free. don’t bother with the brochures of flamenco shows in town as they cater for tourists and tend to be rip-offs. we got onto calle levies where it was supposed to be, but we couldn’t find an entrance nor could we hear any music. and there were no people about. is the 2005 edition of our lonely planet guide out of date already?

we then started to walk back to the hotel, a tad disappointed, until we stumbled upon the reales alcázar and la giralda by accident. one thing about seeing sights in the evening is the lighting, and i obviously whipped the 350D out and took some shots at the plaza del triunfo. and you’d never guess to see tourists at this time of the night escaping the hot noonday sun doing the same. we found out that we could visit the alcázar at night but since we were gonna do that later in the day, we decided to head back. hey, we were literally in barcelona only a few hours ago!

and feliz cumpleaños! to ninie!

1915hrs, c/ San Roque, Sevilla
visiting la catedral and la giralda (previously la mezquita almouhade) today filled me with awe, pride and sadness at the same time.

the awe of seeing the gothic interior of the cathedral yet the sadness of the realisation that this was once a great mezquita (mosque). what was left of the mosque was la giralda, the minaret which showed an abundance of muslim (mudéjar) design in its stuccos and archways, despite being converted into a bell tower after being christianised in the 13th century. outside the cathedral was a patio where people would perform the wudhu’ before solat. there were small disc-shaped fountains where ornate drains leave each fountain to water the 40 orange trees (patio de los naranjos). it was the 500th anniversary of columbus’ (cristóbal colón to the spanish) death and there was a special exhibition, including one of forensic evidence that his real resting place is not in sevilla but in the dominican republic.

exhibitions abound today, we had the pleasure to view another one at the alcázar, this time that of the muslim scholar ibn khaldun. the interior of the alcázar gave us a taste of the visits to come – those to córdoba and granada. speaking of which, on entering the alcázar, we entered the patio de la monteria which was lined by nicely-trimmed pomegranate (which is called granada in spanish) bushes. we deviated from the usual path to visit the gardens, followed by the palacio de don pedro, which houses the impressive patio de las doncellas (courtyard of the maidens) with its surrounding salóns (rooms), where ridley scott filmed the dinner scene at the king’s palace in jerusalem from kingdom of heaven. yes, if the cities has an abundance of plazas, you get confused with the numerous patios in spanish palaces!

now, back in the hotel, i just realised with only had a croissant and orange juice each for breakfast and nothing else. here’s hoping that we get to find a decent place for flamenco post-dinner!

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for previous spain travelogs, click here:
– madrid days 1 and 2
– barcelona days 3 and 4