• Roland Routier
  • Roland Routier

Roland Routier

Sebuah petualangan yang berakhiran terbuka oleh Roland Routier Baca selengkapnya
  • Cathedral

    3 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    The Mosque was consecrated as a Christian Cathedral in the same year that Cordoba was re-conquered (1236). Alfonso X built the Villaviciosa Chapel with stunning multi lobed arches. The Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) was also built as a pantheon for Christian Kings.
    In the 14th century Enrique II rebuilt the royal chapel in Mudejar style. In 1523 with the support of King Carlos V the church built a huge nave inside the mosque. The cathedral was elaborated on over the years by many of the country´s leading architects and artists. Architect Hernán Ruiz continued working transforming the Cathedral into Gothic style.
    The main retable, (altar screen), in jasper and red marble is a neo-classical work of art by Álonso Matias The Baroque tabernacle is by Sebastian Vidal.
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  • 3 stooges

    4 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    In Roman times, Cordoba gave birth to Lucius Annaeus Seneca (a famous drama queen,) and his nephew Lucan, (a poet.)
    Then in the XIIthC came two celebrated scholars, Abdul and Moses.
    Moses ben Maimon, called Rambam by his mates (sic) and better known to us as Maimonides (1135–1204), who condensed Talmudic law into a mere 14 volumes: the "Mishneh Torah".
    And Abdul Wahid Muhammad Ibn 'Ahmed Ibn Rushd, shortened to Averroes to fit on the spine of his famous book "What I think of Aristotle."
    Both got the nod from the Roman Church because they did not write in a way the general populace could understand as incompatible with Christianity and therefore seditious.
    Even though they both had to leave the country to work and died at opposite sides of North Africa, Egypt and Morocco. Better than poor Luke though.
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  • Casa Arabe

    4 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The city restored this Arab house that had been four or five dwellings before a rich merchant bought it in the XVth C .
    As usual, it is the two courtyards which appeal the most. Around them the rooms are only 2.7m wide and have been converted into offices and an art gallery.
    Notice the modern interpretation of horse stalls as the feeding room for tourists.
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  • True Blue

    4 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Just to prove I did visit Cordova here are the mandatory blue pot photos.

    A young backpacker has been retained to water them: she seems to be bored rigid.

    CALLEJON DE LAS FLORES
    This small but well-known street is the most photographed street in Cordoba.Baca selengkapnya

  • Done up

    4 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Casa Andalusi is a house in the Juseria restored to suggest a typical abode during the Caliphate.
    - At the entrance sits a font for the ritual cleansing of hands before entering a home
    - a pleasant little courtyard
    - and off it a reading salon
    - every house must have its lacework even if, as here, there is no real need
    - the scribe has to be careful of firey prose which could get him into trouble with the rulers, hence a fire-extinguisher close to hand
    - examples of arabic script and the beautiful calligraphy to which it lends itself
    One of Cordoba's big sources of income came from the production of rag paper and the process is demonstrated in a model. I will divulge the secret process: shred, pound, soak, pound, dry, cut. No need for imagery.
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  • Judería

    4 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The judería (old Jewish quarter - not a ghetto,) is a reticule of narrow streets and small squares, whitewashed buildings and wrought-iron gates allowing glimpses of plant-filled patios. Many streets are now crammed with gaudy souvenir shops , but others remain quiet and unblemished, except for their hidden corners which have provided relief to visitors wandering around after a liquid lunch at the authentic tourist restaurants and bodegas.
    Spain had one of Europe’s biggest Jewish com­munities, recorded from as early as the 2nd century AD. Persecuted by the Visigoths, they allied themselves with the Muslims following the Arab conquests until the Catholic monarchs did them in.
    The small, probably private or family synagogue, constructed in 1315, is undergoing restoration so I couldn't visit. It hasn't been used as a place of worship since the expulsion of Jews in 1492 so I guess there is a lot of restoration to do.
    The Puerta de Almodavar can be seen here from inside the city walls, but Seneca is hidden.
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  • Magical

    4 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The elderly Arab lady who ran the restored Casa Mudehar, emboldened by my ability to understand her French, (for she was originally from Morocco I hazard,) persuaded me to buy a ticket for her new venture, the "Al Iksir" or museum of Alchemy, the arts of material transmutation concealing the secrets of spiritual transformation.
    What I found was a modern transformation of an ancient house backing onto the city walls of the Juderia and I was much taken by the designs.
    - the entrance with a glass covered pool fed by water falling through boxes
    - the hanging garden
    - the tree of life
    - earth, fire and water sculpture
    - view of the city from the rooftop terrace
    and finally and not least, the source of all the magic, Empsted Dispensing Chymists, Grand Parade, St. Leonards-on-Sea.
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  • Wheel of fortune

    4 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    This old waterwheel, Noria de la Albolafia originating in the XIIth C, contrasts with the other three waterwheels powering mills downstream of the Roman bridge: for it was designed to lift water to irrigate the gardens of the Alcázar.
    Unfortunately Her Royal Highness Queen Isabel - not much of a gardener herself - didn't like the squeaky noise it made, according to local gossip, and ordered it to be stopped. Which it has been for the last few hundred years.
    There is a placard expressing the fervent intention to renovate it and the others as soon as money is forthcoming. Unfortunately, a great deal of that money will need to be spent cleaning the mud and detritus from the river and tourists that currently conceals the base of the structure.
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  • Palacio de Viana

    5 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Gate Courtyard
    This is the entrance courtyard to the house of Torres Cabrera before being amalgamated into the new Palacio de Viana in the 19thC. The palace used to be called the "Rejas de Don Gome" after its original owner, but since it has been home to 18 noble families between the XVth and XXth C it now, as a museum and National Monument, is frequently called the Palace of Courtyards, of which there are 12 + nursery. Half the 65000 square metres of area are garden / courtyard.
    The cognoscenti will recognise an umbrella palm, Lady Banks' Rose and Yew. (I made a point of recording all the names of flowers even though I couldn't tell you which was which.)
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  • The Prestige

    5 April 2018, Spanyol ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    The XVI C Reception courtyard has the corner cut-off so that carriages may enter, (but barricaded for maintenance!)
    The story goes that a fella named Ursus left his trousers here after a rendezvous with a courtesan so the gardeners chose as the main plants: Bear's Britches, Night Blooming Jasmine, and Date Palm.Baca selengkapnya