Cathedral of Seville

This site was the first in a long theme; a previous mosque stood here, but during the Christian days it was torn down to build a cathedral. The only original parts of the mosque that remain are the courtyard, fountains, and minaret. The fountains which were originally for ablutions before entering the mosque are now merely decorative. The minaret was converted into a Christian bell tower and is available to the public to walk up and take in the city views. When entering the cathedral proper I had an immediate reaction of “wow” and the instinct to look up. That is the purpose of such high ceilings, to have visitors look upward to God. It was very dark and sombre inside creating a very serious mood, which is again the intention. I was in awe of the classic ribbed arches on display throughout the cathedral, the architecture of this space was just stunning. We were informed that this is the largest Gothic cathedral in Europe and took centuries to complete. This was also our first introduction to Mary as the more important figure to Catholicism in Spain, rather than Christ.