Thanks For All The Wishes

This is what I send out on emails last night.

I would not be able to thank everyone personally, so this email.
We are all right and so is everybody I know whom I have been in contact with.

By the time I woke up this morning, it looked  as anticlimax as there was not much wind or rain. Just the light was gone, so it is even now. A tree and a half were the level of our damage.

Only later in the day I realized how much of a damage was done. It took me hour and a half and sixth alternate route to reach my sister's house which is just two miles away. Closed roads, fallen trees, full length or dangling on the electric wires.

My son, who lives in the city, East Village, south of 14th, had to change two apartments of friends to be in a dry land with power. My one nephew refused to leave his apartment on the 16th floor on 1st ave and 36th,  is trapped up there as there is five feet of water in the lobby.

My practice partner had to leave his Williamsburg apt and spent a fortune for staying in the city.

Rest of us, our siblings, nephews and nieces are fine in the NY NJ area.

All these are minor inconveniences compared to those who have their homes flooded or destroyed.

We have no choice but to enjoy candle night dinner in full moon with family. Haleema providing background ukulele music.

Thanks again to all who called, texted, emailed, wished and prayed.

It helps; one feel loved, cared for and connected.

Khuda hafiz and goodnight.

Nasir Gondal

Gharnata to Granada

Slide show of pictures: Click here

Badr bin Mughera perhaps never existed. A white robed upright Andalusian Muslim, played by Yusuf Khan in Gharnata, standing up to the Christian invaders in face of increasing odds, is still the image which stayed with me.

The movie, a typical Nasim Hijazi work, is historical fiction. It is available in youtube in 16 sections. Close to end you realize that you have been taken for a ride. Like 'Inglorious Bastards' it is nothing but wishful thinking. In the movie, the last Muslim ruler Mohammad Abdullah, played by Aslam Pervaiz as a flamboyant young man with no clue to run a country, is killed by his mother for his treachery. Ferdinand, played by the ever-scary Adeeb, is almost fatally wounded, and orders a retreat. 

It is otherwise a great movie, released in 1970, starring Talish (as traitor Abu Dawood), Iqbal Hasan, Saqi and Rozina. It was the first movie of Asia. There are great songs in the voices of Noor Jehan and Mehdi Hasan (main hoon yahaan, kis naam say pukaroon/raat bhi hay). lyrics Tanvir Naqvi, 

What happened was quite different from that. 
Mohammad Abullah, known in Spanish folklore as Boabdil, was in endless war with his father for the throne. His father Abdul Hasan, (Muley Hacen) was not the pious king as portrayed in the movie. However, he was the one who decided to stop paying tribute to the Christian Kings. That eventually lead to the ultimate downfall of Granada. He had two wives. The first, Ayxa (Aisha) mother of Boabdil was of Arabic descent. The second one was a Christian turned Muslim Isabel De Solis also known as Zorraya/Surraya. Abdul Hasan tried to have Boabdil killed as he wanted to have his son from Isabel to be his heir. 

That did not work, Ayxa was instrumental in bring her son to power. Once he became the king, Boadbil had a rocky relationship with the Christian Monarchs. He changed his relationship with them so many times, and reneged enough on his treaties to give Ferdinand and Isabel a valid ground to invade Granada. In the end Boabdil signed a treaty in the most majestic of majestic Alhambra rooms, the Hall of the Ambassadors. He gave away the keys of the city and accepted a principality down south in the Alpujarras. Eventually he sailed to Fez.

Strangely there were two powerful families, one behind each of the two wives of Abdul Hasan. The Abencerrages (saddler’s son, ibn-el-serraj) supporting Ayxa, and the Venegas, the Christians turned Muslims supporting their fellow Christian turned Muslim Zorraya. After the fall of Granada, the Venegas and Zorraya with her sons, renounced Muslim faith, turned Christian again and guaranteed their good fortunes for generations to come. The sons of saddlers followed the way with Boabdil to Alpujarras and ultimately to North Africa.

Driving up north to Granada from Nerja, one travels through Sierra Nevada range, along the river. It is almost like traveling through its namesake in California. Driving up the Hills where Granada is, one cannot help appreciate the natural beauty of the valley.

Reminded me of what Boabdil would have thought when he looked back riding down towards his exile to Alpujjara. He wept at the site and his mother (whom Hijazi would rather had killed her son) famously said,

Ibka l-yawma bikā'a n-nisā'i ʿalā mulkin lam taḥfuẓhu ḥifẓa r-rijāl

You weep like a woman for what you could not defend as a man.

ابك اليوم بكاء النساء على ملك لم تحفظه حفظ الرجال

The lament of Boabdil at that pass earned the name of Moor’s Last Sigh.  (also the title of a book by Salman Rushdie.)

GRANADA, THE POMEGRANATE:

The word means pomegranate. It was captured in the first year of Muslim invasion in 711. It remained a distant province of Al Andalus while in the center the power shifted from Warlords, to Umayyad princes, to the rise of Cordoba Caliphate, the onslaught of the La Reconquesta, to the Moorish Almovarids and Almohids. 

THE DEAL:

In the  beginning of 13th century while the Muslim Spain was divided into multiple Taifas (kingdoms) and after the fateful battle of  Las Navas de Tolosa, Maarrka’ tul Aqab, the puritanical Almohids started to lose ground.  Cordoba fell to The Reconquest in 1236 and all the eyes were on the then Capital of al Andalus, Seville. The emir of Granada, Mohammad 1 Nasr, carved out a deal with the Christians which more or less ran like this. He will help them get Seville and in return Granada will be spared. He will get his independence and will remain loyal to Christians as a vassal state.  Seville fell in 1248, Granada earned a lease of independence which lasted two hundred and forty years.

Sobriquet wa la Ghalib-a il Allah.

This was considered so big a victory for Granada that when he returned the whole city came out to greet him and chanted al-Ghalib billah (Victorious through God) for him. That thought struck with him and later, perhaps in deeper contemplation, he saw God's hand in his 'victory' which he had earned. So he proclaimed the now-edged-in-eternity motto of Nasirid dynasty, And there is no one victorious except Allah, wa la Ghalib-a il Allah.

This dynasty, Nasirid, claims to be a branch of Banu Khazrij, one of the two Yasribite tribes who welcomed the Prophet on his migration from Mecca..

It took the Catholic kings of Iberia more than two centuries to emerge as a united force when Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabel of Castile got married. Before that wars within and the devastating plague helped Granada grow in the shadow as a prosperous and multicultural state.

There can be no doubt that Granada was considered the worthiest prize for the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and Ferdinand, that they decided to move their final resting place from Toledo (where they already had a mausoleum built for themselves) to Granada. However they chose not to be buried on the Hill. Their graves are in the Cathedral which is down the hill. 


I did not have the chance to go there.

THE HILL:

In about 200 years after the Muslim rule, there were significant differences between the people of mixed Arab and Spanish descent ie the Muladis, and the Arabs. In a bloody battle, the Arabs were defeated and sought shelter on a hill, the Sabikah Hill. A castle was built to secure it, and perhaps the mud had red hue, it was called Qalatul Hamra. It was ignored for another century or so. Then it was Ismail bin Naghrela, the Jew to reach the highest military post in Andalusia, who renovated and rebuilt the city.

The hill has a few other places to visit besides the Alhambra.

The Alcabaza


 This is the actual Fort. It is one of the two places on the hill which can be seen only once in a day. It offers a breathtaking view of the whole valley, from its tower. Sierra Nevada Mountains on the south, the palaces on the east, and the fertile valley on the west. 


The tower was the place for the administrators to see if the farmers are growing the crops on time and when is the right time to go down and collect the taxes. It was also the place to call the faithful to prayers five times a day. Later the Christians fitted it with the Bell. 

Charles V Palace.  

Then there is in-your-face unfinished palace of the most powerful man in history in his own time. Charles V, was the son of Ferdinand's and Isabel’s daughter. His father was the King of France. Pope gave him the title of  the Holy Roman Emperor, his dominion included Spain, Italy, France, Americas and Far East. After becoming the King of Spain, he renovated a room in Alhambra for himself.  He perhaps was not contented with that and wanted to have a palace in his own name.

It is built right where the original entrance was to Alhambra.  It is really an eyesore, for its location. It could have been a grand palace, but after his death , his son decided not to complete the palace and moved on to built his own palace in Madrid, Real.  So the Charles Palace is left without the dome in the middle. Now it is uses as an amphitheatre for open air concerts. 

There is a Mosque turned church, Mezqutiqa de Sante Maria, which was closed on the day of our visit. 

The Gardens

Generalife from Arabic JannatulAreef, are the best place to have the outside view of Alhambra. Gives one an experience of Moor's concept of a garden, a place like heaven on earth.

Next, the Palacios Nazaries or the Nazarid Palace or the Alhambra

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References:
http://www.andalucia-andalusia.com/Alhambra-Granada-Spain.html

http://www.adurcal.com/enlaces/ingles/14.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasrid_dynasty

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/i/irving/washington/i72a/contents.html

Driving in Spain

Driving in Southern Spain could be that exciting, I did not realize. A chance difficulty created an opportunity to drive a bit longer.

Going a bit into details, it runs like this:
When we arrived at Marriott AC Suidad in Seville on a Tuesday, the front desk know-it-all Allejandro handed us the message. It was from the tour company. The next day trip to Cordoba was cancelled as there was an 'event' in the Mosque. They had arranged Cordoba on Thursday but that was the day of our already-booked ticket to Alhambra. That could not be changed. The whole Andalusia plan has to be rearranged which took the next few frantic hours, included a change in driving plan. Originally we had Avis rent a car Thursday from the airport and go straight to Granada. Now we had to hit the road earlier on Wednesday and go to the coastal trip a day ahead, reach Granada on Thursday, come back the same day to Seville and go to Cordoba on Friday.

It was impossible to change the Avis contract. It was costing us another $400. Allejandro told us of a rental car facility in the city. It was Seville Motors, next to the fountain dedicated to Seville Poets, Funte Generation del 27.  The office was full of spaceships posters and a Beatles tour poster. (Many of the English songs played in Spain restaurants are from 60's and 70's) Mr Altagracia was an interesting man; chain smoker like every second person in Spain, he was very cordial. The deal was not bad at all. It will be 44 euro a day and will have to give a deposit of around 370 Euros, GPS will be extra 30 Euros for three days.  That will be the highest price we would have to pay in case of anything going wrong. We returned the car at the same dial for petrol as we receive with no credit for less use. We will pick the car the next day and return it on Saturday morning, before leaving for Barcelona.

When we finally returned the car, the security money was added back to the credit card, "retribucion" as he called it. He also retributed one day of GPS as it did not work. He just took my word for it. I asked if I can get any credit for the gas tank, I got it a quarter full and returned it more than half, he said there is no devolusion  for that.

The next day car was ready for us. Colt, red all set to go and I realized it is stick shift. I had not driven stick shift before, except a few tries on friend's cars back home in Pakistan. I really learned how to drive in the USA and have always driven automatic cars. Mr Alta Gracia graciously hid his displeasure, made a few calls, and after another thirty minutes we had a foxy Colt and the daily rent went up to 77 euros.

This delay would cost us a few things later that day. First, we lost our way back to hotel, where we had to go to pick up the kids. In fact we lost the way quite a few times. GPS was tricky and one has to know how to use it. It was the same one as one gets on rental cars in USA.

Roads are wide and highways are fun to drive. There are ample places on the way to stop for gas and food, except when you really need it.

On our way south to Gibraltar, I realized that although the gas was all full in the first car, the second car which we eventually took with us had its gas at only one quarter. I had to go out of the highway and search for a gas station. Those were a few tense moments, but ultimately got a gas station in a rather remote town off the highway.

Gas is very expensive in Spain, perhaps it is everywhere in Europe. The scenic drive south towards Jerez and then towards Gibraltar is full of mountainous villages with white roof tops. Many are known, I later found out, for their off the road tourist attractions.

Gibraltar: photo album


Gibraltar can be easily missed on the highway unless one looks for it. We were warned about it in the tour book of Rick Steve, but did not realize who true it was. Gibraltar has snubbed Spain's effort to get it back from UK. Even when UK was agreeable with that, the Gibs (as they call themselves) voted against been annexed by Spain. So Spain makes sure that it is not given any special status. Even Mr Atla Gracia in Seville was a bit amazed why we wanted to go to Gibralter. 'May be one hour or so to have some shopping' is what he said.

When ultimately you get the exit, you drive another half an hour into Gibraltar. The best view of the rock is on the way to Gib. A tall cliff overlooking the Mediterranean. At the border, they checked the passports and let us in.

It is a long strip of land, a hilly place and all the way at the end is the cable car to the top of the cliff. Our delay at Seville cost us here, as the cable trips close at around 5 pm and we were just pass that time. Eventually found a place to park the car and had a stroll down the Main Street. That is the main shopping street, open only to pedestrians. Saw a lot of Indians storekeepers ie Pohoomull, Alwani, Paaram Anand, Vijay etc (none of which we had seen in Spain) and many middle easterners.

Although it is somewhat a short trip to UK while travelling in Spain, things are more like Spain than UK. Although there is a large banner celebrating the golden jubilee of Queen Elizabeth, stores deal with dollars, pounds and accept euros like the rest of Spain. Driving is also right hand drive like Spain, and not like Britain.

Haleema had lost her sunglasses so we bought then at Vijay on Main Street; had pretty steep prices.  We had food at Pizza Hut and had tea at the Square Cafe in the Casemates Square.


Costa Del Sol:
Driving on the highway along the Mediterranean in Spain is one of the best scenic routes. Sea on the south and mountains on the northern side. Beaches all along studded with small towns. There are two parallel roads, one near the sea level, a sort of local route which takes you through scenic winding roadways through all the sea towns, and the other at an elevation, a highway, much faster with better scenes on a bigger canvas. Usually a pairing town is up inland along the highway. When you drive you realize that they do not call it the Sunny Coast, Costa del Sol for nothing.

It is mostly populated by North Europeans, many Britons, and they have a mixed British Spanish accent. The most famous city along the line is Malaga, another is Marbella . We had planned to go to Nerja, half an hour further.

It took a while to get out of Gibraltar as it was the end of the day and many were leaving. By the time we were back on the highway on our way to Nerja it was close to sunset. And then the GPS stopped working. Perhaps it was the hilly terrain or the battery ran out, whatever, it was a pretty uncomfortable situation. We were assuming that it will show up on the road signs, but it did not for a long time. I think unless it is the next big town, the sign does not show up. Temperature in the car started to rise when we left Malaga behind and still there was no sign of Nerja . We had to get out of the highway to get a human contact to confirm we were on the right way. It was at the exit of Benagalbon, we found a gas station. It was locked up at night, as you see in Bronx and Harlem, and all the negotiations are through the double glass window. Yes, we were in the right direction. I bought a large area map, something we should have had all along. One of those things we tend to forget now that all-knowing GPS is available. One fails to acknowledge the importance of the old time map.

As most of the coast line was driven at night, we missed the appreciation of scenic route. We were able to make up for that the next day, when we traveled to Granada from Nerja. Breathtaking scenes further east up to Motril and then drive up north through Sierra Nevada Mountains to Granada on Highway A44.

Nerja: ( nar-kha) photo album
It is a small town, which claims itself to be Balcony of Europe. Although in Andalusia, this has a different feel than rest of Southern Spain. It is mostly populated by Northern Europeans. These small towns have a festive atmosphere which lingers on late into night. You walk up to the 'Balcony of Europe". It is on a bluff, jutting into the sea, built on the site of a former fort which was destroyed in Earthquake.


The Nerja castle was a part of the lookout system in the centuries after the Muslims were sent back into the sea. Pirates attacks from the Muslim North Africa picked up after the Christian Reconquista. These lookout castles were built within the sight of one another all along the coast. These places which were beyond the tightly security zone of Gibraltar. They are also favorite spots for illegal immigration and drug runners coming in form Africa.

We were able to get into Hotel Plaza Cavana, which is right in the middle of the courtyard which leads into the Balcony of Europe. I did not realize at the time of booking that they would offer a rebate if we mention Rick Steve's name. I did on checkout and they did honor that. One more thing to thank Rick Steve for.

Nerja was where the home situation was most tense during the trip. It was end of a long tense night drive, and busy two days ahead of us. One day to Granada and the next to Cordoba. Kids did not have the time they need to absorb, contemplate and write. But all this also gave an opportunity to interact in a way we have not done for a long while: tense situations, and dealing with all as adults.

Granada To Seville:
The next day, on Thursday, after finishing the tour of Granada, and having a sumptuous dinner at Hotel Guadalupe overlooking the Alhambra parking lot, we drove in to the night to Seville. It was a full moon night, and although we lost our way one more time, it was rather a straight highway. Some road signs were in Arabic pointing towards Algeciras aka Aljazeeratul Khizra.

This would have been a common route in the eleventh to fifteenth centuries, when Granada survived after the fall of the rest of the Muslim Spain. Seville was the seat of the kings in southern Spain and that would have been the final way the Christian Monarchs would have traveled down the victory lane to Granada.

I could not help appreciate the fact that we, Pakistani living in America, with kids born and raised there, now travelling in the middle of a full moon midnight, on an almost empty highway in the middle of Andalucia, and feeling no fear or apprehension. I wondered I could not  have done that in Pakistan; or if had done that, would not have felt safe at all.

 It is a testimony, but testimony to what. Globalization, security or a paradox. Societies which have come to term with their past, and are able to look forward, are able to feel secure and let others feel secure. Whereas when insecurities abound, one feels threatened in one's own home.

Granada next, and then Cordoba.

The Remains of Seville's Almohad Mosque

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasirgondal/sets/72157631735443202

Also known as

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See

Catedral de Santa María de la Sede

Imagine yourself in a mosque with a huge expansive space: a three acres big hall, a nave with 16 aisles and 13 bays, with its transept having domes ceiling, a large mehrab facing south, and a minbar on the left of it. Outside the hall is a courtyard, sehn, with many citron trees, cypresses, palms, lemon and orange trees and a central fountain uses for ablution. At the North wall there is a door,with its typical Andalusian arch. On the East side outside the wall is the tallest Minar in the whole Almohad territory, encompassing Al Andalus and Morocco. 

The Minar is so big that instead of stairs it has ramps around it, 35 of them, gently inclined, so that the Muezzin could ride up on the horse five times a day to call the faithful to prayers. 

Abu Yaqub Yusuf must have felt thrilled in having this marvelous building among his earthly achievements. Every Friday prayers his name would be mentioned by the Imam. A captured image of Virgin Mary was somewhere in the mosque as a trophy of a war with the Catholics. 

It served as the Aljamia Mosque of Seville for less than a century as Seville was conquered in 1248. It was then, like all other mosques was consecrated as a church. 

The Mehrab, aka Antigua Chapel:
The conquerors must have viewed the Mehrab as the most coveted place and put a fresco of Virgin Mary, holding Baby Christ in her left hand and a rose in her right hand. The Baby Christ is holding a bird in his hand. This was considered a real blessed spot for the sailors later who went to voyages around the world from Seville. It came to be known as the Antigua Chapel. Columbus got the inspiration form this icon to name the island in the Caribbean after it.

The Minar was such a point of pride for the Muslims that they wanted to raze it to ground before leaving the city rather than giving it away to the Christians. Alfonso X, son of Ferdinand III, threatened to kill all the Moorish population of the city if they did that. Minar was thus retained and made taller as with bells and now serves as the signature landmark for the city of Seville. It served as an inspiration for the Tower of Madison Square Garden II, in New York City, which was later demolished. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Madison-square2.jpg

After using the mosque as a church for a century and a half, someone decided to raze it to the ground and built the largest cathedral of the country in its place. It took them a century to build it, the present day Cathedral of Virgin Mary. A few things they did not touch. The mehrab now known as the Antigua Chapel with the Virgin Mary ensconced in it, was left in its place. The Minar, now known as Giraldo was left and so was the courtyard with its outer walls and the door. 

Later on, right next to the old mehrab, the elevated tomb of Columbus carried by four statues representing four areas of Spain, was installed where perhaps once the Mimbar stood and the Imam gave Friday sermons. 

Next to the Minar is the Royal Chapel where you have the open view body of Saint Ferdinand, the king who conquered Cordoba and Seville. You also see the statue of him on the horse taking the city keys from the subdued Muslim King.

Some how I could appreciate this building and the former mosque better than the Cordoba Mosque, which I cover in a different post. Here I could visualize the mosque as a whole in my mind, as to where the dar-o-deewar and the minbar-o-mehrab could be. I could imagine hearing the call of Azaan, the faithful responding and entering through the door, and performing ablutions in the central courtyard; the Caliph walking from the Alcazar right outside the Minar and entering it from the eastern side. 

And then I can fully appreciate the cathedral in its grander as it is build on a large space with the tallest nave in Spain. Its choir, treasury (carrying supposedly Jesus's body parts) and all the different alters. I could see the mosque as a whole and the cathedral as a whole, something one cannot do while in Cordoba Mosque.

I assume it is the least known piece of Muslim architecture in Spain; it houses the largest cathedral in Spain and is the final resting place of two most important individuals in Spanish history, The King/Saint Ferdinand III who conquered Cordoba and Seville, and Cristobal Colon' also known as Christopher Columbus.

Much of what I state here is my imagination and conjecture as there is quite incomplete information available, or at least I was unable to get it so far.

When Almovids took over Al Andalus after the Ummayads and Almovarids, Seville was their regional capital. Their seat of government was in Morocco, same as of Almovarids. Somewhere in early 12th century the rules must have thought of having their own signature mosque. I do not know when the mosque was commissioned and how did it look. Some say in 1172 it was started and  Ahmed bin Basso was the architect There is an inscription which says that the Minar, the Giraldo was completed at the time of the incarnation of  Abu Yaqub Yusuf.  There is one artistic rendition of the mosque in the works of Professor Piechotta.  (on Page 11).  The size of the mosque was about half of the Qurtuba Masjid .

It was eventually destroyed in 1401. Seville was conquered in 1248. Cathedral was built over 100 years 1402 -1506 but as the cathedral was built on the whole rectangular base, it is much larger, it is the largest in the country.

The door which is where you would have entered when it was a mosque; now that is the last point of the visit and one walks out of this, sometimes without noticing the original door. I noticed the door and the artwork on it later at night when Zoha and I were having a cup of coffee on the Calle Alemanes ie the street lining the North wall.

اللھما انی اسالک من فضلک وا رحمتک 

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Reference:
1.Travels of a fifteen century German traveler to Spain.
http://munzerama.blogspot.com/2011/06/munzer-in-seville-hispalis-nov-4-1494.html
2. http://www.depts.ttu.edu/mcnair/PDF/Jessica.M.Gomez.pdf

Seville- Alshabilah of Andalucia.

"Sevilla does not have ambiance, it is ambiance." James Michener

Click here for the album.

Saying goes in Andalusia, "Cordoba has the Mezquita, Granada has Alhambra, but Sevilla has the soul".

You will not know that unless you experience that.

Monuments and historical buildings have their value, but what makes a lively experience is a living city. Nothing gives you more of that in Southern Spain than Seville. Its old city is perhaps the largest of Andalusia. It takes to to a different time zone, to a far away place back in time. A place where the  atmosphere is laid back, nobody is in rush. People are everywhere, even in the hot summer nights, walking on the paseos,  sitting on the sidewalks, on the outside extensions of the restaurants and eating places, music being played at every corner; you think that the time has no intention to rush. 

The best place I liked was on the German Street (Calle Alemondes) outside the back of the mosque's door.  It is like sitting outside the Jamia Masjid, with the restaurants bustling with both tourists and city dwellers, and night is ever young.

Nobody seems to be in a hurry to leave and you may lounge way past midnight on a weekday.

When we reached Seville (called Sevilla locally, pronounced se-vee-aa) in the middle of the day from Madrid,  we had it all chalked out. We will have evening on our own, have a full day trip to Cordoba the next day, rent a car the day after and go to Granada, spend a night there and drive back the next day via Gibraltar   

But when we checked in the hotel, which was a bit far from the city, AC Cuidat Marriott, Allejandro at the front desk had a message for us. Due to an event in the Cordoba Mosque, the trip was cancelled, and the trip company had taken the liberty for booking us on the next day ie Thursday for the trip. That was very nice, but it was a problem. We had already bought tickets for Alhambra Palace, which are bought way in advance for a specific half hour slot to enter the Palace, and cannot be changed, The ideal thing was to go to Cordoba the day after that ie Friday. That also meant to change the rent a car arrangements. It all may sound easy, but not so in a foreign land with a different language where you do not know a single person. 

The next two hours were quite tense, with back and forth emails, calls overseas and a lot of heartburn. The local tour company did not answer phones as they were out to lunch till 5 pm. That is where the availability and readiness of Tipu was a blessing, He was available on the phone,  in Indianapolis, guided  us the right way and eventually we were to able to secure a new trip to Cordoba on Friday, got a new car rental for three days locally and cancelled the Avis rental which was booked ahead of time.

While all this was being executed, we hired a cab to go to old town. It was already too late to visit Cathedral or Alcazar. We had lunch in a pizza place where the gruesome bullfight was being shown on the TV. It is being slowly banned in all over the Spian, it is pretty brutal, and contrary to what I thought it is, the bull is eventually killed by the sword if the fighter has to win. Although it was still hot, one of the hottest days of the year, but the atmosphere in the central area was quite festive.  And then we went to see a flamenco dance show.

Besides a gallop up the Giralda Minar of the destroyed mosque,  covered in a later posting, what will remain with one after leaving Seville are  the  streets of  old jewish quarters, and watching a flamenco dance.

Flamenco:

I had heard that the Roma people of Spain and the rest of Europe have Indian roots, but one cannot be convinced more after viewing flamenco. Claimed to leave India in 14th century or so, perhaps from Rajhistan or Punjab, these nomads, found their way in the Muslim empire ultimately into the Iberian peninsula. One genetic research have linked them closer to my ancestry, they share the same gene pool as the jats of Punjab!!! click here

The art initially started as a combination of voice and dance, later guitar was added, and the latest addition is the stomping of feet. The best place to watch is were you have active participation of the audience. We watched it in a dinner place, which is primarily filled with tourists, and the response from the audience is rather tepid, but it was still good. It was recommended by Allejandro and later found out to be one of the most famous places in Seville, Tablao El Arenal
We got a seat next to the side of the stage, as we were not having dinner and did not get the front seats, but it turned out good. The long dredging sounds of the vocalists, which some say is reminiscent of the azaan,  reminded me of the desert voices like Reshman. Zoha whispered in my ear that this music sounds like what is being played in my car all the times. She was right. It is like the songs of Rohi with a beat of feet thumbing on the wooden floor and hand clapping, enriched by the music of guitar and the moves of the dancers.

Getting lost in the streets: Barrio Santa Cruz

It may have been a desperate place for Jews in the times of Christian conquests, and they were crammed into these quarters, but after their expulsion the area was occupied by their looters, and soon it became the heart of the city. This is now the most prized area of the old city. It became prime real estate. With its small winding streets and open gardens it is the real heart of the city. Plenty to wander and enjoy during the day, and the whole area becomes an open dining arcade after the sunsets. 

The Remains of the Mosque:

The best of Seville was the remains of the Almoravid's mosque. As I had not heard about it at all before we left for Spain, this was a most understated place in my mind. It turned out to be the place which left the deepest impression.

The mehrab, the minar, the sehn and the dar-o-dewaar. mostly retained as original for various reasons.

More on that  later.