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  • Day 21

    Arriving in Toledo

    July 18, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Toledo is a spectacular town. Driving towards the city on the hill is a memorable experience due to the impressive fort and cathedral on the hill, along with all the other old buildings. The whole old part of the city is declared at World Heritage Site by Unesco. This town goes back to Roman times, but the medieval buildings are most impressive. It is one of the nicest places we have visited.

    Our hotel room is very spacious. It has three rooms and has a fridge, stove, dishwasher and clothes washer. It is really an apartment on the top storey of a Medival style building. There is also a terrace from which I can see the palace and the cathedral. Great spot!

    I went for a wander around the old city, which is on a hill so it is quite steep in parts. Once again there is a Jewish Quarter (Juderia) in this city. All these old Spanish towns have had a Jewish Quarter, where the Jews lived and thrived before the tragic expulsion and persecution of the 14th and 15th centuries.

    There are three synagogues in Spain which date from the period before the expulsion in 1492. One was in Cordoba, which was closes but I was able to see from the outside, and the other two are here in Toledo. It is amazing to see two synagogues which date from the early medieval period in one town in Spain.

    The first synagogue has been converted into a church. It is known and the Synagogue de Santa Maria de Blanca. The second synagogue is now a Sephardic Museum and which looks really interesting. Both were closed this evening so I was only able to view them from outside, but I hope to return to them tomorrow to see them inside.

    The Jewish Quarter has been marked by the Jews with all these little tiles on the streets with little Jewish symbols - little menorahs, little snippets of Hebrew, little Sephardic symbols and also signs that tell you that you are in the Jewish Quarter. There are hardly any Jews living in Toledo today, but the Jews have let everyone know that they were here and they don't want people to forget how badly they were treated.

    There is a little shop next to one of the synagogues that has a reminder message of the dry bones of Ezekiel 37 to highlight that despite the persecutions and expulsions, the Jews are still here and not going away.

    The sunset over the valley in Toledo this evening was spectacular. We had Maccas for dinner, just to be classy, and to keep Sam happy.
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