Spain, Toledo – Trip for Romance VI

I was excited about Lisbon. Two beautiful bridges, a fortress on a hill, the main street Rua Augusta and vast square with a memorial. Those beautiful ancient trams… I take pictures like crazy. I cant get enough of this all even on the following day. I fell in love with the city instantly. I even start to understand some Portuguese.

I set off to city exit to the north along the coastline. I travel by local public transportation. It goes below beautiful red bridge to royal palace. I hitchhike up to Sintra. The town is home to beautiful Castillo de Pena where I spend a whole day. I didn’t know something so beautiful could be there. Then I travel additional 30 kilometers to the north where I unpack my tent on beautiful beaches for surfers.

In the morning, I headed to Madridu yet before actually getting there I planned to turn to Toledo. I asked a man from Madrid on a gas station. We traveled 400 kilometers together. He wouldn’t even stop me but when I directly asked him he would have felt unpleasant to say no. I stepped off at a turn to Toledo. There a Spanish doctor stopped for me.

Finally we reached fabulous Toledo. My mind is only about the story of Die Jüdin von Toledo by Lion Feuchtwanger. It is a story of King Alfonzo VIII who fell in love with Jewish girl Rachel despite the fact he was already married with Leonor.

History was preserved here in Toledo. Philip II made Madrid the capital instead of Toledo in 1561. The time stopped there. Phillip wanted to get rid of the city constantly reminding him of the Moors. So Toledo slept like Sleeping Beuty. The one who approaches the city with love and understanding would see the city like it was then…

Arabic way of fortification was splendid as the walls of Toledo make apparent. Originally built on the Visigoth foundations they evidence the city was built on a strategy-wise perfect place as it is on a rock with river flowing on three of its sides. First, the Romans lived there. They built the Toletum fortress. In the second half of the 5th century, the Visigoths who came from Germania conquered almost all of Spain. Toletum became the center to culture with its many monasteries and libraries. During the Arabic rule after the year 712 many Goth churches and monasteries were demolished or transformed to mosques. The Arabs called the city Talaitola and it was the residence of emir, a high official serving under caliph. The city became the center of Islamic education.

400 years later under the rule of Alfonzo VI the Brave the territory became again Catholic and free. However, Moor influence was still strong but the Christians were constantly demolishing mosques and building churches. The Arabic language was still common and many Christians have Moor as well as Viziogoth, Iberic, Celtic or Roman blood in them. Their traditions merged to what we call today their traditional way of life.

To be continued...

Text and photo: Sylvie Halouzková