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  • Day 22

    Alcazar of Toledo

    July 19, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    The Royal Palace (Alcazar) of Toledo sits prominently on top of the hill which is completely encircled by medieval walls and gates which enclose the old city. Our hotel is right in the centre of the old city. The walls and gates around us remind me distinctly of those in Jerusalem.

    It is only a short walk from our hotel to the Alcazar. We set off for what we thought was going to be a visit for 1-2 hours. It took four hours. The Alcazar has, since 2010, housed the main museum of the Spanish Army. It is a War Museum of the whole of Spain's military history from ancient times until the present. There are about seven floors of exhibits moving more recent in time as one climbs higher in the Palace. It is similar in size and scope to the French military museum in Paris.

    It was a revelation to Sam to see that a country could have a military history spanning not just a few centuries but more than two millenia. The complex military history of Spain was somewhat clearer after spending over four hours moving from ancient Roman Spain to the present, but it is a complicated history. One thing is clear, the history of Spain, like so many other European nations, is a history of war, bloodshed, power struggles, empire-building, victories and defeats.

    The Spanish military history includes: Roman invasion an empire, Visigoth invasion and empire, Christians, Moors and muslims of various kinds and their empire, the Catholic invasion and their empire, the Spanish expansion beginning with Columbus into the new world in South America, but also later into other areas like the Philippines who were a Spanish colony, the Napoleanic Invasion, Austrian Hapsburg invasion and empire, the Spanish civil war of the early 20th century, the Franco dictatorship which lasted from 1940 till 1975, then a parliamentary democracy with a monarchy restored. All that and more. And everything explained and exhibited in this amazing museum.

    The weapons, military paraphernalia, uniforms and tactics were all displayed from each period. It began with Roman weapons and armour, right through medieval, moorish, renaissance, to more modern weapons and uniform. An incredible collection. It is hard to fathom how many suits of armour, swords, spears, pikes, pistols, muskets, rifles, cannons, artillery of all kinds were in this collection. Amazing. Very educational. I can only imagine how interesting it would be to teach history in this country and be able to bring the students to such a place to see the artefacts.

    The building in which this museum is housed is a sight in itself. It is a palace with four huge towers on each corner. It stands out on the city skyline. The foundations were laid by the Romans in the first and second century. Since then there have been many iterations of this fortress in that very place, and many of the walls have been excavated and these also are on display deep below the current floor level of the palace, three-four levels below ground.

    It was a fantastic experience going through the museum. Sam and I got mentally fatigued trying to take it all in. But it was a revelation.

    Toledo is the location where the weapons factory for Spain was located. It is famous for its knives, swords, armour and weapons made from metal. Toledo steel is famous and all the tourist shops sell swords, armour, pistols, rifles, muskets as souvenirs. There are more swords in this town than people. It is extraordinary. There are enough weapons in the tourist shops here to arm and entire regiment. Sam is quite keen to buy some swords and pistols but I am not sure how customs woulr view them in Sydney airport.
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