An air of Muslim and wind of La Mancha

Catedral de Cordoba(Mezquita)

In this trip to Spain,I was impressed with Basilica of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and  Alhambra palace in Granada  and one more building is Catedral de la Cordoba. We can see about 850  columns that support double arch with combination of red and white inside. Here was a space of prayer in Islamic era.
This catedral has both a chapel of Christian and a mosque of Muslim. This style is rare.

Mihrab and Maksula

the dome of Maksula

Cordoba was founded before  Roma era  and flourished as a capital of  the Second Umayyads in  the mid 8th century.
This catedral was started building at the place where the chapel of christian used to be,not destroyed by the order of the founder of the Second Umayyads, and  extensions and reconstructions were repeated by the successive califs. In the latter half of the tenth century,it became the biggest mosque in the world.(24000 square meters)
After Cordoba was reconquered by Christian in 1236 at reconquest , the Cathedral was started using as a chapel again. They didn't crush the arches or Mihrab( it's a hollow that showing the direction of mecca that Muslim prays) or Maksula(it's space that emphasize Mihrab)etc, inside the mosque. That is the reason  this catedral has a chapel and a mosque.

The chapel at the center of Mezquita

The old Jewish town is near Mezquita

 

The Catedral  de Cordoba

Don Quijote de la Mancha

As you know, this story was written by Cervantes  in the 17th century.
The main character, Don Quijote was a  nobleman in a lower class. But as he read too much chivalry stories, he took himself for a knight. So he started  traveling to conquer the wrong like other knights.

I saw the wild reddish brown earth expanded around the district of  la Mancha.

windmills at la Mancha that Don Quijote mistook for giants

Don Quijote pushed forward his delusion, riding on his horse, taking his follower Sancho Panza.        .
The negotiations between Don Quijote and Sancho Panza  is  interesting and his justice or dream are very impressed for me live in this world where it's easy to depend on the trend. But I couldn't grasp the real sense of this story.
I heard this story contains metaphors. For example, the windmill is likened Holland and Don Quijote is likened Spain. He fought against  the windmill and lost. And Holland became independent from Spain. There might be patriotism, not delusion.
If I knew the background in those days, I could read it more pleasantly.
Many performing arts "Man of La Mancha"have been produced from this novel. They sing in the performance. Click here.
               
                      "The impossible dream"
               To dream the impossible dream,
               To fight the unbeatable foe,
               To bear the unbearable sorrow,
               To run where the brave dare not go,
               To right the unrightable wrong,
                      .............
                      .............
                To reach the unreachable stars!



The hill near Alcazar in Segovia city.....Wild red poppy or many flowers
 must have been blooming in Don Quijote's days.

Alcazar in Segovia city....the model of the castle of "the Princess of White Snow"
 by Disney.. Don Quijote's beloved lady was not living a castle like this.

The memory of Alhambra

Patio de los Arrayanes

I visited La Alhambra (the Alhambra palace) in Granada in May this year. It was standing on the hill with  Mt.Sierra Nevada behind,in Granada, not US, covered with snow. This snow melted water become fountains or streams and irrigate in the city.

Alhambra on the hill

court of the water channel

So let me tell its story of the palace.
The second Umayyads dynasty fell in 11 century and Islamic power became weak gradually and Reconquista by christian expanded.
The last Islamic dynasty is Nasrid dynasty and also called Granada dynasty. Though it's small country but kept company well with christian countries, kept independence,protected arts, so the last splendid Islamic culture in Europe flourished here.

Alhambra palace started its construction as a fortress and it took them about 170 years to finish.

As the palace was made with reddish bricks and stones, it doesn't look like a graceful palace when seen from outside.
But there are another world inside! . Rooms of the palace are surrounding two patios.
One patio was made for public presentations. The other was made as the harem area. So many beautiful ladies probably have lived  there.
The flows from rooms in north,south,east west join at the fountain of twelve lions in the center of this patio. Once there were filled with flowers like "paradise of the heaven"




Court of the Lions from Hall of the Kings

This Nasrid dynasty fallen and surrendered the Alhambra to the catholic Monarchs with bloodless  in 1492 and the last Sultan of this dynasty, Muhammad the Twelfth exiled himself  to Morocco. When he was leaving the palace, he might have looked back this palace that was dyed in pale pink by sunset and shed tears. Here, Islamic rule for 800years in Europe ended.

The walls inside  is decorated with intricate carving of stucco in geometrical,arabesque. It's my first chance to see such splendid skills. It must have taken so much time to carve this elaborated design. I was absolutely fascinated by the arts.

 

Here is Recuredos De La Alhambra(The memory of Alhambra) by Kaori Muraji ( she is a famous Japanese guitarist)


                    Thank you for visiting. Have a nice summer!

Rediscovery in Nagasaki

 I  visited Amakusa, Nagasaki in Kyusyu prefecture.
It took us about 3hours from Osaka to Kumamoto in Kyusyu prefecture by Shinkansen train and from there we drove a rental car to Hakata. 


At Amakusa in Kumamoto district
About 200 wild dolphins are living at the entrance of  the Shimabara  bay . Fishing boats  had us taken in the offing to see wild dolphins. They closed to our boat.

Around Amakusa and the mountain over the Simabara bay is Mt.Unzen-Fugendake erupted
 about 20 years before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Nagasaki city

めがね橋（glass-bridge)

大浦天主堂（oura-tensyudo) is  the oldest western-style church in Japan.


           
 

The Shogunate issued "national isolation" in 1639. And it continued for about 200 years. During this 200 years 出島（Dejima-island)was only one window open to the world. Western knowledge came to Japan through this  island. 出島 was artificial island　at the tip of cape in Nagasaki and there was the trading house of Holland. Now the sea around Dejima-island has been reclaimed.

         

No.3 warehouse in 出島, sugar etc, import
 were stored

In 1854,national isolation was over and Nagasaki port was open.


グラバー邸（Glover Garden）,  Thomas Blake  Glover came from Scotland built his house  on the south hill top in Nagasaki city in 1863.  　Many traders like Glover came Nagasaki,too. Their western-style houses are still remained. They have a nice atmosphere for walking course.

Glover set up a beer company called Japan Brewery Company and made label on beer bottle. It's a label of キリンビール(kirin-beer) of the first generation. It was designed by taking after a stone guardian dogs.
The statue of  Puccini who composed the opera " Madam Butterfly" and the statue of 三浦環（Miura-Tamaki)who played madam Butterfly and became famous  were standing in the Garden. From around here , madam Butterfly could have seen well the ship of Pinkerton coming Nagasaki Port, I wonder. This is my fantasy. But I realized there were many stories  including tragedy  in such a bright place, Nagasaki.
Glover stand ed for the Satuma-Clan or the Chosyu-Clan and sold arms to them or made some of them smuggle to England. Actually Glover's house had a room to hide persons who oppose the shogunate.

Glover Garden

In those days, Nagasaki was filled with excitement people who dream japan's new dawn.
The foreign traders, many samurais who were filled with ambition of overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate,and  many young men who want to learn western knowledge came to Nagasaki.

坂本竜馬(Sakamoto Ryoma) was also one of those samurais.
After learning swordplay or gunnery, he started the political movement. After learning the technical of navigation, he organized 亀山社中（kameyama-shacyu) in Nagasaki. This was the first firm in Japan and fixed arms or vessels up the Choshu- Clan that was against the Tokugawa shogunate.

He helped over the Restoration of  Imperial Rule  but he was assassinated at Omiya in Kyoto in 1865.

The houses in Nagasaki city expand to the top of the mountain. Office building of  亀山社中　was also standing among houses on the hill . It's very hard for me to climb the narrow steep slope to visit there.

I thought why did 竜馬 chose such high place as the spot for the firm and it's too inconvenient to visit for members. According to the guide, That's because they had to act secretly from the shogunate and  they could watch well the Nagasaki branch of the shogunate or the Nagasaki port from here.

The entrance of Kameyama-Shacyu



I heard 竜馬loved a leather boots or navigation. Houses expand to the mountain.
So Nagasaki has many slops.

 

The night view of Nagasaki became one of the new big three night view in the world. The others are Hong Kong and Monaco.

 

 

 

Dutch- Slope   
 

 

 

 

The terraced paddy field in Nagasaki district 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barcelona in enchanting Spain

I went over Mt.Pyrenees this time for the first time. There was the blue sea, the shining sun and the curvilinear architectures in Barcelona. Because the movement for art revival  happened in Catalunya in 19~20century and the fusion style of Islam art and Gothic art developed in the architecture field.

 Basilica of Sagrada Familia was soaring in the blue sky at Barcelona. It seemed to be made by brown soil and very complicated structure. I've never seen such church like this shape.
Sagrada Familia means The Holy Family(Jesus, Virgin Mary,Saint Joseph),according to a book.

The atmosphere of the inside differed from its outside completely.
Many big white pillars that fork at upper part hold the ceiling and soft green or golden lights from the stained glass flow to inside. How beautiful!
The inside was bright ,not like common churches. I felt that I was in the bright forest and I also felt I was in the another world.
Each design had  highly originality as I've never seen.  Antonio Gaudi is really a genius.

When my children visited there about ten years ago, the inside was under construction and many instruments were laid on the floor, according to them. Yes, this church is not still completed. As it is approaching to completion every day little by little, it may be interesting to visit there to see a newly produced part after some years. According to a brochure, it is planed  to have 18 spires. Wow, so gorgeous!



                   Inside of the basilica

As I found figures look like characters in the movies on one facade, I was surprised again. This facade is called "Facade of Passion". They say this express the passion,death and revival of Jesus and by abstracting figures on this facade, internal world are represented.

At the opposite entrance, there was a facade is called " Facade of Birth". This  expresses that all bless the birth of Jesus and a story of Holy Family at Nazareth.

 

 

The Facade of Birth

 

 

 

The facade of Passion,.Can you see Jesus between two towers behind the net.

 

 

The underground altar

 

 

 

 

Many Gaudi's works are remained in Barcelona

 

At the Park Guell

 

 

At Park Guell,  we can see Mediterranean  over the city           

At park Guell, Enjoy optical illusion

 

 

Casa Mila (a high grade mansion,.the shape of chimneys on the roof are funny)

 

 

 

Casa Batllo---This is a mansion,too.

 

 

 

 

Palau de la Musica Catalana----This is a concert hall that was designed  by  Montaner not Gaudi.  They were architects in 19~20 century in Barcelona. We couldn't not enter in this hall,as there were no concert on that night.