It's on the bike racks, the signs in
the parks, the street sweepers, and even the manhole covers. But what
does it mean? I asked and learned it is a pun that comes from the
history of the city.
Back in the 13th Century,
there was a king named King Alfonso X the Wise. He was a scholar,
artist, philosopher kind of king. Not so much a bloody warlord kind
of king. But one of his sons, Sancho IV of Castile was less like his
father and more like the bloody warlord. So much so that he decided
to usurp the throne from his father.
Much of Spain turned on Alfonso and
backed Sancho. But Seville stayed loyal to the king. The battle kind
of went back and forth, but ultimately Alfonso was restored to the
throne. And to reward Seville for its unwavering loyalty, he granted
the city its own motto: “No me ha dejado,” which means “It had
not abandoned me.”
The way that Spanish is spoken in
Seville, this motto is usually slurred a bit and sounds like
“No-madeja-do”. And a madeja is a bundle of wool that is knotted
or shaped like a figure 8. So No-madeja-do becomes No-8-do, and thus
you have this symbol you cannot fail to see all over the place in
Seville.
But there are many other impressive
sights in Seville. The cathedral there is huge and amazing.
It started life as a mosque, but was built into a cathedral after the Catholics conquered the land from the Moors.
Of special note: the tomb of Christopher Columbus is inside the cathedral, if anyone was looking.
The Cathedral of Seville |
It started life as a mosque, but was built into a cathedral after the Catholics conquered the land from the Moors.
I was excited to see a sundial on the side of the cathedral |
Of special note: the tomb of Christopher Columbus is inside the cathedral, if anyone was looking.
Speaking of Columbus, there is a tall
column in the city commemorating him.
At the top is a lion. Underneath the lion on one side it reads Cristobel Colon and on the other side 1492. Under these is a ship and on one side (the same side with Colon's name) is the name Isabel. On the other side of the ship is the name Fernando. And at the base is a portrait of Cristobel himself. (Maybe I'm being fresh, you know, using first names here.)
Commemoration of Christobel Colon |
At the top is a lion. Underneath the lion on one side it reads Cristobel Colon and on the other side 1492. Under these is a ship and on one side (the same side with Colon's name) is the name Isabel. On the other side of the ship is the name Fernando. And at the base is a portrait of Cristobel himself. (Maybe I'm being fresh, you know, using first names here.)
There is the man (much maligned these days) himself |
But Seville is replete with art. There
are sculptures everywhere, beautiful fountains, statuary. It's
amazing. Here is a set of Alrica and the kids all taken in one
courtyard near the cathedral.
And here are some of the fountains we
saw in the city.
Fountain commemorating El Cano |
Not sure who she is, but if she distributes swords, we could form a government |
And if that weren't enough, how about
some other statues?
I previously posted about El Alcazar,
which is a huge castle. But that castle does not have a moat. But you
know what does? The university's main building! Admittedly, it wasn't
a university building when the moat was built. I know it was
previously a tobacco warehouse. But I'm not sure what it was in the
days when it needed a moat.
The dry moat around the University |
But no list of impressive sights in
Seville would be complete without the Plaza de España.
This is a gigantic, elaborately designed semicircular building curling around a plaza full of fountains, a man made stream, bridges, and columns. You can rent boats and paddle around the man made stream.
The Plaza de España |
This is a gigantic, elaborately designed semicircular building curling around a plaza full of fountains, a man made stream, bridges, and columns. You can rent boats and paddle around the man made stream.
You may have seen it before. Ardent
Star Wars fans may recognize this place. In Episode II: Attack of the
Clones, this is where Padme and Anakin get married. I suspect there
just wasn't enough budget to actually film on Naboo. It is, after
all, in a galaxy far, far away. So some location scout chose Seville
as the most compatible earthly approximation.
Earth or Naboo? You make the call. |
And finally, perhaps the most unique
sight was one that only half of our family got to see. I've been in
many men's rooms in my days, as has Carver. Though I suspect I've
been in more. And this is the first time either of us can recall
seeing urinals with lids.
It just goes to show you never no
madeja do.
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