Paul Walters

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Toledo, A City with A Heart Made of Steel.

Toledo, A City with A Heart Made of Steel.


Perched atop a series of rocky mounds that rise from the arid plains of Don Quixote’s La Mancha, the small city of Toledo is a veritable giant when it comes to Iberian history. Until the 16th-century this was the seat of government before Madrid took over the reigns and began running the country.


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Over a rather bloody two thousand years, Toledo’s tortuously steep, cobbled streets and lanes were variously trodden by Romans, Visigoths, Jews, Arabs and Christians, all of whom left their indelible mark on the city’s architecture, culture and general way of life.

The old, walled city is protected on three sides by steep gorges and the fast flowing Tagus River which proved a formidable barrier to invading armies over the centuries. Standing on the opposite bank of the river and looking back at the city, two vast structures will catch the eye. The first of these is the imposing fortress of Alcazar ‘perched’ on the edge of the hill for centuries guarded the region and, when armies were housed here it’s vast subterranean stables were able to accommodate over 2000 horses!

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Look slightly to the left and the eye is instantly drawn to perhaps one of the greatest cathedrals in all of Europe. Toledo Cathedral’s spire alone rises majestically a dizzying ninety- three meters over the myriad of terracotta-roofed houses that cling precariously to the sides of the hill. Each evening the spire is floodlit so that it resembles an elaborate and elegant finger pointing directly towards heaven.

Toledo Cathedral, or to refer to it by its historic name, the Santa Iglesia Cathedral, constructed over a period of 270 years stands testimony to Spain’s divine destiny. Only when one has passed through the unimposing hinged doors does one begin to comprehend the vast expanse of the interior with its seven bays and twenty - seven ornate gilded chapels.


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The almost overwhelming size of the structure has about it a feel of a military academy as if one has stepped into the epicentre of a giant war machine. Within these cloistered halls, journeys of conquest were planned whereby armies were dispatched to countries far and wide to conquer the Moors and other ‘unbelievers’ in the name of God.

Underfoot, long dead cardinals lie entombed while overhead their sacred caps hang from the transepts like faded battle flags. Galleries, resplendent with works by El Greco, Reubens and Raphael depict these self-same cardinals whose portraits resemble generals fresh from far-flung wars.


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This imposing edifice is almost too much to take in, rather like St Peter’s or the Vatican in Rome, with its gilded cherubs and angels gazing down from on high coupled with the throngs of tourists and day trippers who crowd its filigreed cloisters.

After a couple of hours, I retreat to the impossibly narrow cobbled lanes and take sustenance at one of the many bars which line the streets sitting cheek by razor-sharp jowl with sword and knife emporiums.

Toledo has, for centuries been renowned for its swordsmiths and now, in modern times their skills are devoted to the crafting of chefs knives and the manufacture of swords for the Matadors and bullfighters around the country.


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I watch as citycouncil workers busily festoon the walls with crimson banners and string elaborate canopies and ornate lamps along a certain route throughout the city. In a few weeks, the town will celebrate their holiest of days, ‘Corpus Christi” when precious icons from the cathedral will be paraded past worshipers and the streets will become black with priests.


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I have been here now for just four days and have visited several Michelin starred or Michelin recommended restaurants that are tucked away down laneways with barely a sign to advertise their presence. I feel that without the steep streets to walk ‘home’ by, I would resemble the Michelin Man myself before I depart this fair city.

As I wander these laneways I let my hands wander along the walls, some of which predate the birth of Christ and wonder what these anceint stones have witnessed. This is a city with a violent past which has succumbed to sieges, invasions and intense bombing during the Spanish Civil War

In, addition Toledo could not escape pestilence and plague when on August 23, 1580, a great epidemic of catharro swept through Castile and took its toll on the citizens of Toledo as I learn from Antonio de Villacastín’s  memoirs:

“Neither there was a doctor who visited or just a crier to administer the sacraments, and they buried the dead without bells and in the graves, they put 7 and 8 and more in each one; In the month of October of that year a third of the people in the city perished.”


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It seems it is a place of devotees coupled with terrible atrocities of which the Spanish Inquisition was one, where, in Toledo it is said that over 20,000 ‘heretics’ were burnt at the stake although my trusty city guides were loathe to speak of a period of history that it’s citizens seemingly would rather forget.

Toledo seems never to be far away from warfare as the city was a prime target during the Spanish Civil War. Towards the end of a protracted siege, Colonel José Moscardó Ituarte held the coty against overwhelming Spanish Republican forces during the Siege of The Alcazar. The incident became a central piece of Spanish Nationalist lore, especially the story of Moscardó's son Luis. The Republicans took 16-year-old Luis hostage and demanded that the Alcázar be surrendered or they would kill him. Luis told his father, "Surrender or they will shoot me." His father replied, "Then commend your soul to God, shout 'Viva Cristo Rey' and die like a hero”.

Toledo, if you visit Spain be sure to stop by, I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

19th May 2018

Paul v Walters is the best selling author of several novels. When he is not cocooned in sloth and procrastination in his house in Bali, or “on the road,” he scribbles for several international travel and vox pop journals.


Komentar

Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸

5 tahun yang lalu #18

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@javierbebee/spain-tourism

Paul Walters

5 tahun yang lalu #17

#21
Debasish Majumder . thank you as always, much appreciated !!

Debasish Majumder

5 tahun yang lalu #16

i vicariously enjoyed your vivid buzz Paul Walters! enjoyed and shared. thank you for the buzz.

🐝 Fatima G. Williams

5 tahun yang lalu #15

A great description of what Toledo has to offer. Just by listening to how grand the cathedral looks makes me wanna go there. Thank you Paul Walters for the virtual tour of the beautiful Toledo :)

Jerry Fletcher

5 tahun yang lalu #14

Thank you Paul. I now have added one more city is Spain to visit on my next foray into Europe.

Paul Walters

5 tahun yang lalu #13

#17
Thanks Javier...good luck raising the cash!!!

Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸

5 tahun yang lalu #12

#14
Paul Walters can welcoming you ! :-)

CityVP Manjit

5 tahun yang lalu #11

When I first saw title my most immediate thought was whether you had eaten too many nuts on international flights because naturally I have always associated Toledo with an industrial age town in Ohio, USA. http://toledocitypaper.com/news/the-most-dangerous-city-in-ohio/ Ah! but then I actually read the buzz and you were referencing Toledo in Spain, which is the antithesis of Toledo in Ohio, USA. Order was restored, you are still visiting fascinating places in the world, you have certainly not been consumed or affected in anyway by airplane nuts :-)

Gert Scholtz

5 tahun yang lalu #10

Paul Walters My bucket list of must see places has become a huge cauldron - thanks to your descriptive and interesting posts. Many thanks Paul, Toledo looks absolutely fascinating.

Paul Walters

5 tahun yang lalu #9

#12
Javier \ud83d\udc1d beBee Thank you. Are you back in Madrid in the next 10 days? If not I would like to visit your offices anyway as I am in Madrid now .

Javier Cámara-Rica 🐝🇪🇸

5 tahun yang lalu #8

Great buzz !!! A hug from Singapore !

Ken Boddie

5 tahun yang lalu #7

Sounds like you've hit the jackpot of 'splendide' this time, Pak Paul. All that death and glory. But I can't get past the 2000 subterranean equine lodgings. Gives 'mucking out' the stables a new perspective and a helluva lot of fertiliser for the roses. As for the 20,000 so called 'heretics', did this place invent the Sunday roast?

Paul Walters

5 tahun yang lalu #6

#4
Pascal Derrien unmissable and just 30 minutes by train from cenyral Madrid

Paul Walters

5 tahun yang lalu #5

Randall Burns They’re in the post!#3

Pascal Derrien

5 tahun yang lalu #4

How come I have missed that gem on my numerous trips to Spain !!??? Now I know where to go the next time :-) Another great one from Paul Walters :-)

Randall Burns

5 tahun yang lalu #3

Another great post about paradise Paul Walters Yes they make excellent knives there and if you're ever wondering what to get me for Christmas... well there it is! :-)

Paul Walters

5 tahun yang lalu #2

CityVP \ud83d\udc1d Manjit

Paul Walters

5 tahun yang lalu #1

Don \ud83d\udc1d Kerr

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