Weather: 34º C and Sunny

First visit today was supposed to be the Visigothic museum. What a surprise we got on the way when we bumped into a festival/parade. We first heard some chanting, followed by a band playing and then applause. What we then saw was a religious statue, the type that we had seen in almost all of the churches we had visited, being carried through the streets and followed by some people. Each church in the area seemed to join in as they went past. We found out what it was all about later when we met some people in a cafe where we were having breakfast. These people were Americans who were looking after some kids who were in Spain on an education trip. Every year the artisans in the area are recognised with a parade and the churches get involved by way of supporting the artisans in the local parishs. The bands were great and the singing by the locals was even better. We had luck similar to this once before in Ireland when we stumbled upon the Aprentice Boys March albeit it had a different purpose than this one in Toledo.

Now back to the Visigothic museum. The Visigoths occupied Spain after the Romans and before the Moors. Toledo was their capital. Located in a 13th century Moorish designed church (Mudejar design), the museum had a small collection of artefacts and archaeological pieces. There was nothing about the history of the Visigoths in the region nor was anything in English. It was free and while the artefacts were interesting it was a bit of letdown for us anyway.

Next stop was the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz. Of the 10 or so mosques in Toledo this one remains largely the same as it originally was in Moorish times. It is a small building with 4 pillars. Once the Christians reconquered the city the mosque was handed over to the Knights of the Order of St. John who used it as a chapel. Some time later they added a semi circle apse in the Mudejar style. It was quaint and as usual full of history – much more than we have mentioned here.

Now it was on to the Alcazar. This fort sits on the highest part of Toledo and is well protected by the river that flows around 3 sides of the hill and old town. Today the fort is a military museum. Although not built until the 10th century, evidence of Roman, Visigothic, Moorish and early Renaissance foundations, for what were probably also forts, were to be seen. It has been attacked, burnt and rebuilt so many times that it is a wonder it is still standing. Using it as a museum is probably a good use for it under these circumstances.

This is one of Europe’s top military museums. Touring through it is like walking through maze. No layouts are provided and you know you have gone in the wrong direction when the audio guide numbers skip for 22 to 40. Not only is this about the military but it also gives a real insight into Spain’s history as the Spanish appeared to be at war most of the time. To see this museum properly would take at least 2 days. A layout map would have been really helpful as there were areas we would have liked to focus on had we known they existed and where they were. It was very very interesting.

After lunch we planned on getting on the Tourist Train to have a look around and relax a bit, however we would have had to wait for the next one in an hour. Instead we decided to head back to the hotel and pack ready for our flight to Portugal tomorrow. On the way back we planned two more stops.

The first was to see El Greco’s last painting – the “Burial of the Count of Orgaz”. This is a very large painting in a small church near the Jewish quarter. The Count of Orgaz rebuilt the church in the 14th century and is also buried in it. Apparently there is a story around the painting that goes something like this: when the count died he left money to his village for them to feed the poor of Toledo once every year. After more than 200 years of doing this, the people responsible at the time had had enough so used the remaining money to commission El Greco to do the painting.

And finally the Sephardi museum. This was originally founded as a private synagogue by the (Christian) King’s wealthy(?) treasurer apparently with the King’s approval. It was of a very decorative Nasrid style (intricate plaster work similar to Alhambra), has bible quotations, Hebrew inscriptions, Arabic inscriptions and the arches seen in mosques. You name it, its got it! Once the Jews were expelled from the city the synagogue was converted to a church. It has also been used as military headquarters during the Napoleonic war and eventually became a museum. The museum was not as good as it could have been for us due to the lack of any English descriptions. We did not get as much out of it as we had hoped.