The smoke from street vendors roasting chestnuts hangs in the air on a rainy winter day in Seville. Click on image for larger view. Photo ©Mike Randolph
Tag Archives | sevilla
Mudéjar Reflections
Seville’s Alcázar is Europe’s oldest royal palace still in use. Originally built by Almohad Berber-Muslims, the fortress was expanded by later Christian kings and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hidden underneath the palace are the Baths of Lady María de Padilla, above, which were used to collect rainwater. Photo ©Mike Randolph
The coolest street in Seville
The narrow, serpentine streets of Seville were not designed that way by accident. Building houses close together on winding streets has an advantage that anyone who has been to Seville in the summer will be able to appreciate–avoiding the ferocious Andalusian sun. Direct sunlight never penetrates the alleys for long, if at all, and that helps keep the houses as cool as possible.
Shade and Marmalade
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Some 14,000 orange trees decorate the streets of Seville. The bitter oranges aren’t very good for eating, but because of their high content of pectin, they do make great orange marmalade. More important, orange trees provide shade from the fierce Andalusian sun, and in the springtime, when they bloom, the heady perfume of orange blossoms fills the air. Photo ©Mike Randolph.