Day 61: Exploring Toledo

Second day in Toledo and time for more exploring and filming. Headed out fairly early to avoid some of the crowds, making the nearby cathedral our first destination. The sign clearly said no photos or videos, but there were so many selfie sticks getting waved around it was ridiculous, so I decided to ignore the signs as well.

We spent a couple of hours in here following the audioguide which was actually really well done. A lot of them tend to be overly-focused on detailed and missing in the larger picture, but this one was great. The order of stops was really clear and obvious, and made sense in context (explaining the main players behind the building of the cathedral, later modifications, particularly venerated relics and tombs etc). Fascinating building too, very wide for a cathedral (as it's on the site of a prior mosque) but still smaller in volume than both Seville and Burgos cathedrals.

After we'd finished in the cathedral we headed for a very late breakfast (12:30pm) of bocadillos in the main square. Next we explored a few other sites in the city, particularly the oldest remaining mosque which had distinctive red and white archways just like the grand mosque in Cordoba (remembering that Cordoba was the capital of the caliphate). The most interesting facet of the building though was that after the Christian Reconquest, an apse had been added to the back of the building, turning it into a church. Very beautiful.

Last main stop for the day was the Santa Maria Synagogue, which, well you might ask which there's a Jewish synagogue for St Mary! Great question - it's because after the reconquest, the Jewish community in the city wanted a new synagogue to worship in. Their petition was granted, and a community of Muslim architects and builders designed and constructed the synagogue. It's considered a great example of all three faiths harmoniously co-existing during the Middle Ages - at least until the Jews were expelled from Toledo in the 16th century after a rabble rousing sermon by a Dominican priest.

With no more Jews around, the Catholics occupied the synagogue for worship, and still control the building. Apparently the local Jewish community have asked a few times to use it for their worship again, but haven't received a response - sad.

By now it was mid-afternoon and we were feeling a bit fatigued, so we headed back for the apartment and relaxed for a while. Evening came and went and around 8pm we went out again for dinner - we'd had such a great meal last night, we decided to head back to La Cave again. More great dishes again, and back home by 9:30.Read more