The Last Part Of The Andalusian Triple Crown -- Seville's Royal Alcazar

To me (and my opinion should count for a lot), the Triple Crown of Andalusia is (in order of this trip):

• The Mezquita Mosque & Cathedral in Cordoba
• The Alhambra in Granada
• The Royal Alcazar in Seville

Seville has three UNESCO sites, Granada has three, and Cordoba has one (it's not just the Mezquita, but the whole historic core of the city, of which the Mezquita is the core-iest.

(Editor: "Core-iest?"  Making up words now, are we?  Writer: Other people make up words too you know.  That's how we get new words!)

By the way, Alcazar is a palace or royal residence that can include a fortress, while an Alcazaba is a citadel (fortress) used to protect the local city.  So an Alcazaba is for defensive purposes, while Alcazar is a royal palace which might also be a fortress (or might not be).

Despite having been to the Royal Alcazar twice before (2001 and 2018), we had never been to the Royal Apartments.  First, some background:

The Royal Alcazar has been a residence for the rulers of Spain for over 1,000 years.  The palace was originally built for the governors of the local Moorish state in the 10th century.  Since it is where the royal family stays when in Seville, this is the oldest royal palace in Europe still in use.

While that's all true, there is zero truth to the legend that some guy named Al Cazar was the foreman during the building of the original palace in 913 AD, or the King Pedro rebuild in the 14th century.  You know, you need to spiff a place up every 400 years or so.  Pedro was known as "Pedro the Cruel."  He was also known as "Pedro the Just."  Apparently the nickname for him was whether he was giving you wedgies after football practice or he was partying with you on Saturday night.

So I went ahead bought (well in advance) tickets for Royal Apartments, which are 15 room ornate part of the palace that is used by today's royal family.  There's a maximum of 15 people on the tour every half an hour until the final group at 1:30, so not many people get to view the apartments in a day.

The audioguide is really well done, and we moved from room to room at the behest of our security guards.  It's like a mini-Versailles, and include the official state dining room, livings rooms, and the capstone, the Mudejar-style Audience Room.

(Mudejar-style defines the unique fusion of Islamic and Christian architectural and artistic styles that is found in Spain and Portugal after the Christian Reconquista.  Some Mudejar-style work was done by Christian artisans, whilst others were done by Muslims who stayed in Spain after the Reconquista.)

Anything in the Iberian Peninsula that is Mudejar-style is worth seeing.  Mudejar-style is much, much better than Gangnam-style.

We couldn't take pictures in any of the Royal Apartments, so alas, there's nothing to show in the next post from that section of the Alcazar, but believe me, if you are going to Seville, you need to get those tickets too.  

Unlike many places we go that don't allow cameras, the Royal Apartment tour is so small that I dared not risk sneaking iPhone photos like I did in the Sistine Chapel.

Going back to the very beginning of our tour, our Royal Apartment (Cuarto Real Alto) tickets were for 1:15 pm, so we showed up after an early lunch at 12:45.  We were told to wait on the side of the rope line for ten minutes.  So we did, and then the security guy gave me a hard time -- we were supposed to wait until 1:00pm.  

Well, they were letting the 1pm ticket holders for the Alcazar in, so I figured we could go in with them.  Nope -- the guy admonished me for not waiting until 1pm like we were told to do.  I thought they had meant the 1pm group.  So, anyhow, after being sternly talked to, we went up at 1pm to go in, and I jokingly showed the guy the time on my watch -- 1:01 pm.  While I was risking imprisonment with my stunt, we all had a good laugh (phew!) and we went in.

Up lavish stairs to the entrance to the private apartments, we went through a medal detector, then waited in line for a bit.  Nothing was in a hurry, until the tour started.

After the tour, Carol and I wandered around the rest of the Royal Alcazar that is open to the many (still, buy your tickets in advance).  We saw multiple people with unhappy faces who hadn't realized you could just waltz up to the ticket office, buy a ticket and walk in.  (They apparently do have some same-day tickets for sale, but supply is lower than demand, so why live life on the edge?)

Editor: You just had a friend successfully summit Mount Everest the day after you flew home from Spain.  That's "living life on the edge," while NOT buying advance tickets is NOT "living life on the edge."  Writer: Let me tell you, if you are going to Seville, you don't want to miss the Royal Alcazar 

You enter the Alcazar through the Gate of the Lion and into the Patio del Lion, which includes original walls from the Moorish fortress built in 913, through a 12th century arch and into the Patio de la Monteria (Courtyard of the Hunt).  

(I must point out the "Patio de la Monteria" is a beautiful phrase, while "Courtyard of the Hunt" is a harsher turn of phrase.  I'm reminded of the great Joe Ely song which includes this part of the chorus: "Spanish is a loving tongue, but she never spoke Spanish to me.")  

From there, we entered into the maze of palace rooms, including rooms built by the king who won back Seville in 1248 as part of the Reconquista from the Muslims, as well as rooms built by Queen Isabel after Columbus returned from the New World, and she realized there was money to be made so this is where Spain's American ventures were administered.

Columbus briefed the Catholic Monarchs here on his voyages, Ferdinand Magellan planned his circumnavigation in these rooms, and Amerigo Vespucci wrote parts of his booklets about his voyages during the Age of Discovery.  Despite him being Italian, Vespucci's first journey was funded by Spain and the second by Portugal.

So, yeah, there's a lot of history in the Alcazar of Seville.  And a stunning amount of  beautiful art and architecture. 

After going through a dizzying array rooms, we went into the massive, beautiful gardens of the Alcazar.  Well, we didn't actually go in them, instead we climbed a set of stairs in the Alcazar that led us out onto a long wall with views in both sides and a cover.  The gardens have been free to the public since 1931 when the king was exiled to Rome.  In 1975, after the death of Franco, a king (not the same one, the 1931 one had died of old age) was allowed back on the throne.  Part of the terms of his return was to keep the gardens of the Seville Royal Alcazar open to the public.

And to think Rick Steves gives the Alcazar just two stars instead of three.  I guess pot-smoking does addle the brain.