Alcázar of Seville, Seville, Spain

The Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace, built for the Christian king Peter of Castile. It was built by Castilian Christians on the site of an Abbadid Muslim residential fortress destroyed after the Christian conquest of Seville. The palace, a pre-eminent example of Mudéjar architecture in the Iberian Peninsula, is renowned as one of the most beautiful. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as their official residence in Seville, and are administered by the Patrimonio Nacional. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The original nucleus of the Alcázar was constructed in the 10th century as the palace of the Muslim governor. Built and rebuilt from the early Middle Ages right up to our times, it consists of a group of palatial buildings and extensive gardens. The Alcázar embraces a rare compendium of cultures where areas of the original Almohad palace - such as the 'Patio del Yeso' or the 'Jardines del Crucero' - coexist with the Palacio de Pedro I representing Spanish Mudejar art, together with other constructions displaying every cultural style from the Renaissance to the Neoclassical.

Some gardens have Renaissance statues. After damage by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, that façade of the Palacio Gótico overlooking the Patio del Crucero was completely renovated in Baroque style.

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User Reviews

robin darch (11 months ago)
Really worth going and really worth going early ,booking in advance or like us taking the opportunity to jump the queue with a guided tour. Reckon we saved 45 to 60 mins. This actually made the place more enjoyable listening to the history, the stories, the craftsmanship and hearing about the recent Game of thrones filming. Once we had finished the tour we were at our leisure to explore the best bits again. A highlight of Seville for sure.

Jose Lucina (12 months ago)
Simply beautiful. I loved the elaborate mix of Muslim and Christian design work throughout the entire facility. Its not common to see the two living in harmony in the media today, but on these walls it is enshrined that at some time in the past our two cultures were friends (even though only for a short time). Please take a tour so that you can notice the subtle designs and the brevity of their significance.

Ray Forgianni (12 months ago)
This World Heritage site is a sleeper, far better than expected. Not as large as Alhambra but more intense in its beauty. Great examples of both Moorish architecture & finishes as well as renaissance. Wonderful interior plazas. But the real surprise was the extensive and diverse gardens. Flowers, palms, mazes, peacocks. Bring good walking shoes because it is bigger than you think.

shadee vernet (12 months ago)
This palace is BEAUTIFUL. I am so glad we did the detour to come check it out. We went just before closing and that was perfect... Less people and noise. They let you stay about 1h after closing. You can actually enjoy the visit. I'm also a GOT fan so I was excited. The architecture and artistry that was put in this structure is amazing. Everything from the walls, gardens, the facades.. amazing. If you don't go see it, you'll regret it. It's a must just for it's beauty !

Larry Taylor (12 months ago)
This is an amazing place! Palace after connected Palace showing art decor and magnificent gardens. I can try to describe it and show pictures, but would not do it justice. This is one the places you must see while in Seville, Spain. It is so rich in history influenced by Muslim to Christianity. A UNESCO world heritage site, its something you must see. Just breathtaking.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Dan Lundberg

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Hagios Demetrios

The Church of Saint Demetrius, or Hagios Demetrios, is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki. It is part of the site Palaeochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 1988.

The first church on the spot was constructed in the early 4th century AD, replacing a Roman bath. A century later, a prefect named Leontios replaced the small oratory with a larger, three-aisled basilica. Repeatedly gutted by fires, the church eventually was reconstructed as a five-aisled basilica in 629–634. This was the surviving form of the church much as it is today. The most important shrine in the city, it was probably larger than the local cathedral. The historic location of the latter is now unknown.

The church had an unusual shrine called the ciborium, a hexagonal, roofed structure at one side of the nave. It was made of or covered with silver. The structure had doors and inside was a couch or bed. Unusually, it did not hold any physical relics of the saint. The ciborium seems to have been a symbolic tomb. It was rebuilt at least once.

The basilica is famous for six extant mosaic panels, dated to the period between the latest reconstruction and the inauguration of the Byzantine Iconoclasm in 730. These mosaics depict St. Demetrius with officials responsible for the restoration of the church (called the founders, ktetors) and with children. An inscription below one of the images glorifies heaven for saving the people of Thessalonica from a pagan Slavic raid in 615.

Thessaloniki became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1430. About 60 years later, during the reign of Bayezid II, the church was converted into a mosque, known as the Kasımiye Camii after the local Ottoman mayor, Cezeri Kasım Pasha. The symbolic tomb however was kept open for Christian veneration. Other magnificent mosaics, recorded as covering the church interior, were lost either during the four centuries when it functioned as a mosque (1493–1912) or in the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 that destroyed much of the city. It also destroyed the roof and upper walls of the church. Black-and-white photographs and good watercolour versions give an idea of the early Byzantine craftsmanship lost during the fire.

Following the Great Fire of 1917, it took decades to restore the church. Tombstones from the city"s Jewish cemetery - destroyed by the Greek and Nazi German authorities - were used as building materials in these restoration efforts in the 1940s. Archeological excavations conducted in the 1930s and 1940s revealed interesting artifacts that may be seen in a museum situated inside the church"s crypt. The excavations also uncovered the ruins of a Roman bath, where St. Demetrius was said to have been held prisoner and executed. A Roman well was also discovered. Scholars believe this is where soldiers dropped the body of St. Demetrius after his execution. After restoration, the church was reconsecrated in 1949.

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