As a modern city of Spain with a long history and splendid culture, Seville has a strong allure for tourists from all over the world with its Plaza de Espa?a, cathedral and flamenco dancing!
Every city in Spain has a Plaza de Espa?a, and Seville's Plaza de Espa?a is known as the most beautiful square in Spain. It was built in 1929 as a plaza for the Ibero-American World's Fair.
The square is semi-circular, 200 meters in diameter, and is bordered by red brick buildings with galleries. The palace-like centerpiece and the Moorish arcades give the square a beautiful and spectacular appearance, like a classical open-air theater.
In the center of the square is a Romanesque fountain. A tall tower at each end of the curved building is the high point of the square.
Between the arc and the square is a 515-meter-long moat that encircles almost the entire square. The moat is crossed by several arched bridges made of blue and yellow tiles, beautifully shaped and brightly colored.
There are a few waterfowl playing on the river, making the originally mirror-like level of the river become glistening, while the reflections of the buildings on both sides of the river become hazy in the water.
Near the roadside, there is a guardrail built on the bank of the moat with a strong artistic style. It's rustic and elegant, covered with blue or yellow tiles and special ceramic profiles.
What was once an isolated fairground is now a lively attraction. From time to time, antique horse-drawn carriages with red or yellow wheels bring tourists here through the tree-lined paths next to it, and then carry them away along the same paths in a stream.
Seville Cathedral is a famous religious attraction, which is the third largest cathedral in Europe after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and Milan Cathedral in Italy.
Seville Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral, whose architecture is characterized by a fence with many spire pinnacles at the top of the wall encircling a towering spire on the roof.
The side of the church has a square tower that towers above the building where it is located, which is the famous 98-meter-high Heralda Tower. As the only remaining part of the original Islamic temple building, the tower wall has a variety of symbols of Arab artistic characteristics of the floral pattern, showing the beautiful elegance of Arab architectural art.
The main entrance to the cathedral is called the "Prince's Gate". In front of the door there is a bronze statue of the goddess of winds, Heralda, and behind the door in the church rests the casket of the famous navigator, Christopher Columbus.
Columbus and Queen Isabella signed a maritime agreement, led a fleet of ships from Seville, and eventually discovered the American continent, and exchanged glass for the gold of the natives, bringing a lot of wealth back to Seville. In recognition of his service, Columbus' casket has been resting in this church since it was brought back to Spain from Havana, Cuba in 1898.
The main entrance to the cathedral faces the Plaza de la Virgen del Rey. A white statue of the Virgin stands tall in the plaza.
Opposite the cathedral on the side of the square is the Alcázar ancient architectural complex. It was originally an Arab castle, fourteenth to sixteenth century Castilian Kingdom to carry out renovation as the king's palace. Currently it is the most important Islamic cultural heritage in Seville.
Entering the gates of the palace, you can appreciate the decoration, carved beams and paintings, the interior of the palace halls and courtyards. They focus on the Islamic architectural and decorative styles and have important historical value.
With the Cathedral and the Castle Palace adjacent to the square on the other side of the building is the West Indies Archives. It houses many valuable documents on the great maritime discoveries.
The three neighboring buildings, the Cathedral of Seville, the Palace of the Citadel and the General Archives of the West Indies, were declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.
As I left the Cathedral, I was reminded of another historically landmark event associated with it.
As far as geographical discoveries go, Columbus had limitations. Until his death, he believed that the New World he had discovered was India, and so the Native Americans were called Indians. The Portuguese, on the other hand, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and kept sailing eastward, literally reaching India and much of Asia.
Faced with the success of the Portuguese in the East, the Spaniards set out again, and on September 20, 1519, Magellan, another navigator who had been left out in the cold by Portugal, set sail from Seville with five ships and 265 crew members on the first voyage around the globe in the history of mankind. This was undoubtedly an epoch-making feat, the significance of which can even be compared with the human beings leaving the Earth to land on the moon.
Magellan's first crossing of the Pacific Ocean produced a revolution in the history of geography and navigation. It proved that most of the Earth's surface was not land, but ocean, and that the oceans around the world were not isolated from each other, but were a unified and complete body of water. This served as a trailblazer for future generations of seafarers.
After 1,080 days and nights and 17,000 kilometers of voyage, on September 5, 1521, in the cathedral of Seville, 18 survivors of the circumnavigation of the globe, holding lighted candles, prayed for the brave warriors who died in this epic voyage, including their captain Magellan, who was killed in the Philippines. 18 candles are so weak, but it illuminates the the course of human civilization.
Flamenco and bullfighting are the two national treasures of Spain. The best place to enjoy the most authentic flamenco performance is in Andalusia, the birthplace of flamenco in southern Spain, with Seville, Granada and other places being the best.
In the evening, I walked into a flamenco hall.
On the wall in the center of the stage is a painting of an ancient flamenco scene, showing the long history and popularity of this art form.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, gypsy wanderers traveled several miles from North India to the warmth of southern Spain. They brought to Spain the Indian tap dance style of the East, the Arabian mysterious sentimental flavor fusion in their own spirited and unrestrained song and dance. And the gypsies living in Andalusia, Spain (also known as the flamenco) is to make it stereotypes and famous.
The show begins. Taking the stage are guitarists, backing singers and dancers.
Flamenco is a special art form that combines singing, dancing and guitar playing.
The male dancers have robust movements, complex steps, and a fast rhythm with the palms of the feet, toes, and heels hitting the ground.
Female dancers follow the rhythm of the music, showing the gracefulness and elegance of the wrist, arm and torso.
Male and female duo dance starts slowly, male and female dance partners with the head and arms dance a variety of beautiful and high posture; gradually dance faster, the guitarist with skillful fingering plucked out the rapid change of the rhythm, the momentum of the wind like a storm, chasing the accelerated dance; suddenly, the guitarist in the guitar to play the last sound, the dancers show a beautiful shape, all come to an abrupt end. The audience is often stunned by the sudden ending, and then they can't help but cheer and applaud.
According to the French composer Bizet's opera music flamenco dance drama "Carmen", with the most representative of Spain's flamenco dance shaped the gypsy girl Carmen beautiful, sexy, wild and uninhibited image, with the dance interpretation of the most intense "gypsy wild rose" connotation.
Flamenco is a performance that requires the emotional involvement of the audience. The applause from the audience is an encouragement to the performers and an emotional integration between the audience and the performers.
When you leave Seville, the Spanish city of plazas, churches, and dance is a city you won't forget!