CinX's Travels 2015

CinX · January 01, 2016, 07:33:21 PM

Last lunch before the next destination, Seville

Córdoba by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · January 03, 2016, 04:09:31 PM

Seville (/səˈvɪl/; Spanish: Sevilla [seˈβiʎa], locally: [seˈβi(ɟ)ʝa]) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, after the Roman name of the city, Hispalis. Seville has a municipal population of about 703,000 as of 2011, and a metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the fourth-largest city in Spain and the 30th most populous municipality in the European Union. Its Old Town, the third largest in Europe with an area of 4 square kilometres (2 sq mi), contains three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Alcázar palace complex, the Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies. The Seville harbour, located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain. Seville is also the hottest major metropolitan area in Europe, with summer average high temperatures of above 35 °C.

Seville was founded as the Roman city of Hispalis, and was known as Ishbiliya[2] (Arabic: إشبيلية‎‎) after the Muslim conquest in 712. During the Muslim rule in Spain, Seville came under the jurisdiction of the Caliphate of Córdoba before becoming the independent Taifa of Seville; later it was ruled by the Muslim Almoravids and the Almohads until finally being incorporated into the Christian Kingdom of Castile under Ferdinand III in 1248.[3] After the discovery of the Americas, Seville became one of the economic centres of the Spanish Empire as its port monopolised the trans-oceanic trade and the Casa de Contratación (House of Trade) wielded its power, opening a Golden Age of arts and literature. In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan departed from Seville for the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Coinciding with the Baroque period of European history, the 17th century in Seville represented the most brilliant flowering of the city's culture; then began a gradual economic and demographic decline as silting in the Guadalquivir forced the trade monopoly to relocate to the nearby port of Cádiz.

The 20th century in Seville saw the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, decisive cultural milestones such as the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and Expo '92, and the city's election as the capital of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia.

There are numerous sights and landmarks of Seville. The most important sights are the Alcázar, the Seville Cathedral, and the Archivo General de Indias (General Archive of the Indies), which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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CinX · January 03, 2016, 04:15:03 PM

The Andalusian Parliament is the legislature of the Spanish Autonomous Community of Andalusia instituted by the Andalusian Charter of Autonomy of 1981. It is elected by the residents in Andalusia every four years. The Andalusian Parliament is, with the Basque, Catalonian and the Galician parliaments, one of the four regional legislatures in Spain that can call for elections independent of the regional and municipal elections, upon decision to dissolve the house by the Regional President. After the Andalusian parliamentary election, 2015, the leader of the PSOE-A, Susana Díaz formed a minority government, after being in coalition with the United Left Party.

Sevilla - Hospital de las Cinco Llagas - Parlamento Andaluz by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · January 03, 2016, 04:16:23 PM

Sevilla - Hospital de las Cinco Llagas - Parlamento Andaluz by cinxxx, on Flickr

Sevilla - Historic Center by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · January 03, 2016, 04:17:40 PM

Sevilla - Historic Center by cinxxx, on Flickr

CinX · January 03, 2016, 04:24:16 PM

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville (Andalusia, Spain). It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. It is also the largest cathedral in the world, as the two larger churches, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida and St Peter's Basilica, are not the seats of bishops. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies.

After its completion in the early 16th century, the Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The cathedral is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus. The Archbishop's Palace is located on the northeastern side of the cathedral.

The Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville. Its height is 343 feet (105 m), and its square base is 23 feet (7.0 m) above sea level and 44 feet (13 m) long per side. The Giralda is the former minaret of the mosque that stood on the site under Muslim rule, and was built to resemble the minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, Morocco. It was converted into a bell tower for the cathedral after the Reconquista, although the topmost section dates from the Renaissance. It was registered in 1987 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The tower is 104.5 m in height and was one of the most important symbols in the medieval city. Construction began in 1184 under the direction of architect Ben Ahmad Baso. According to the chronicler Ibn Sahib al-Salah, the works were completed on 10 March 1198, with the placement of four gilt bronze balls in the top section of the tower. After a strong earthquake in 1365, the spheres were missing. In the 16th century the belfry was added by the architect Hernán Ruiz the Younger; the statue on its top, called "El Giraldillo", was installed in 1568 to represent the triumph of the Christian faith.

Sevilla - Historic Center by cinxxx, on Flickr

Sevilla - Catedral de Sevilla by cinxxx, on Flickr

Sevilla - Historic Center by cinxxx, on Flickr