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Thursday, February 11, 2010

¡Al-Andalus!

Posted by Bri Lauren


I still don’t understand why people think it is socially acceptable to fart in closed areas. After a six-hour bus ride to Andalucía, I can now identify my classmates by more than just their faces. There was a phantom crop-duster through out the excursion to Al-Andalus. My favorite occurrence was in the presents of Cristóbal Colón’s remains. The professor’s explanation of the tomb was forcefully interrupted by what sounded like an ancient trumpet. Unfortunately the culprit could not be pin pointed because there was an echo in the cathedral. The crop-duster still hasn’t claimed their farts.
All of the churches, gardens and castles are witnesses of thousands of years of history. An ongoing joke the Spaniards like to tell is, “This Church is older than your country!” In order to fully understand what it feels like to step into a piece of history, you need to experience it in person. A breeze of crisp cold air immediately strikes you when you enter a cathedral. There is an overwhelming amount of stimuli that hits you from the intricacy of the architecture. Every last detail from the floor to the ceiling tells a story of the many cultures. La Mezquita de Córdoba was constructed in the year 785 by the Muslim rule in Spain, but was later concurred by Christians. The architecture consists of Muslim influence represented by large windows, mosaic tiles and vibrant red and beige brickwork. Chapels with high rounded arch’s and ceilings covered in hand carved stone angels symbolize the Christian regime. It is hard to understand how these cathedrals where built in a time with out technology.
Every door way consists of perfectly rounded stone arch’s, chiseled with intricate patterns. There are ceiling in the Cathedral de Sevilla as high as 96 meters! It is amazing that after thousands of years these buildings have survived. Al-Andalus holds a significant amount of history in España and in the founding of the United States. Sevilla and Córdoba are some of the most ancient cities in Europe and Al-Andalus said to be the heart of España.

2 comments:

Travis said...

If I were with you in Spain, I'd crop dust every famous building we went into. Have you heard the 'This building is older than your country' line a lot? I feel like that would be a recurring theme because everything there is a 1000 years old.

Bri Lauren said...

This building is older than your country is something that is taugh in elementary school... along with the phrase, "stupid american"(with a strong spanish accent)

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