- Getaway: One night in a design cave hotel in Albacete
- Gastronomy. Ten tracks to enjoy Gijón with snacks
The Sephardic heritage of the Iberian Peninsula is especially rich in Andalusia, where some of the prettiest and best preserved Jewish Quarters in our geography are preserved. This is a trip to Sefarad (Spain in Hebrew) with three essential stops.
1. Cordoba
No need presentation. Among its magnificent credentials, Córdoba is the only city in the world that holds four declarations of World Heritage by Unesco: the Mosque-Cathedral, the Fiesta de los Patios, its Historic Center and the archaeological site of Medina Azahara.
During the time of the caliphate, it was a cultural, artistic, scientific and commercial reference. Its splendor coincided with the heyday of the Jewish culture in which it was the capital of Al-Andalus. A walk through its historic center is enough to immerse ourselves in its Sephardic heritage. Two essential stops on this sentimental route are the synagogue and the House of Sepharad, both on Jewish Street.
The first is at number 20, a small Mudejar jewel dating from 1315 and, interestingly, was built by Muslim bells (artisan masons) expressly brought from Granada, the same ones that raised the Alhambra . A patio gives way to the enclosure, whose essential room is the prayer room, decorated with rich and delicate plasterwork that was once polychrome. A few meters away Casa de Sefarad, "a museum and a live cultural center," says Sebastián de la Obra, its director and passionate speaker. His explanations are a vindication of the importance of Judeoconverso origin in the germ of our culture.
And not far from there, the statue of Maimonides , in the beautiful square of Tiberias: this Jew was a physicist, astronomer, philosopher, mathematician and personal doctor of Abdarrahman III, the caliph with which this beautiful city became one of the Main metropolises of the world.
But the Hebrew heritage is also tangible through the flavors. The Casa Mazal restaurant, located in an old Jewish house, is a benchmark of Sephardic cuisine in Cordoba. Falafel, hummus, fried eggplant with honey or the popular couscous are just some of the specialties of this establishment.
To end the day, nothing better than staying at Las Casas de la Judería, a boutique hotel located a few meters from the Mosque-Cathedral. A luxury.
2. Lucena
They say that it was the fortuitous discovery of a bone by a dog that gave rise in 2006 to the discovery of the largest and oldest Hebrew necropolis ever found, so far, throughout Europe . A total of 346 tombs cataloged and that, today, are a claim for tourists and Jews from around the world. Lucena, known as Eliossana in ancient times, is part of the Juderías Network without having it, as it was a Jewish city as a whole. It had its own currency and army, an important Talmudic school and a medical school that was a reference in its time. It is strategically located in the province of Córdoba and from the nearby sanctuary of the Virgen de Araceli, in the Sierra de Aras, you can see an unbeatable setting and four Andalusian provinces: Malaga, Jaén, Granada and Seville.
The Moral Castle, where Boabdil was imprisoned, houses the Archaeological and Ethnological Museum. The parish of San Mateo, known as the Cathedral of the Subbética, is a splendid temple mixing several styles: Gothic-Mudejar and Renaissance. Also the Palace of the Counts of Santa Ana, now the Interpretation Center of the city, the El Alfolí Winery Museum or the house of the Mora are some of the jewels that this historic municipality treasures.
A strong point to highlight is the absence of architectural barriers in most of its monuments and itineraries, which make Lucena an attractive and above all very accessible cultural destination. Some last notes: Savor the Sephardic artisan sweets of the Cañadas centennial confectionery and stay at the Santo Domingo Hotel, an old convent converted into four stars.
3. Jaén
Its cathedral deserves to be a World Heritage Site, it is only necessary to visit it to realize it. Considered as one of the best examples of the Spanish Renaissance, this resounding building by Andrés de Vandelvira was conceived as a sanctuary and reliquary of the Holy Face, the famous cloth that a pious woman named Veronica offered Jesus the way to the crucifixion to dry the sweat. The relic is shown twice a year from the balconies that surround the entire perimeter of the temple, something unique in the world.
The choir stalls are practically identical to that of the cathedral of Burgos since both are the result of the sculptor Felipe Vigarny. The details in the choir are also very interesting, with scenes from the New Testament in which images of Jews are observed with the sambenitos or marked with the rodela and the roofs with an exceptional stonework. Unstoppable view of the building from the viewpoint of the Cross on the mountain of Santa Catalina.
Jaén does not lack claims, on the contrary, the visitor expects many hidden jewels. For example, the baroque cloister of the convent of Santo Domingo, the palace of Don Fernando Torres of Portugal, built on beautiful 11th-century Arab baths that are the largest in Europe, the church of San Andrés, the palace of the Constable Iranzo, or the Menorah that presides over the square of the Orphans.
Sephardic cuisine is also part of this rich legacy and there is no better way to get to know it and enjoy it than in the Pilar del Arrabalejo restaurant . Run by Ana María Martínez, its tasty cuisine is the result of centuries of tradition. Fresh spinach and cheese with honey sauce, lamb tabule with honey and plums, simple Sephardic-style olives or its almond cake with chocolate sauce can be the perfect excuse to visit this beautiful city.
| More information in the Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more- Jaen
- UNESCO
- tourism
Andalusia Investigate parents who recorded their children without a belt and driving
UNIAL courses Antonio Machado de Baeza headquarters concludes its summer courses with six hundred students, a figure higher than the last edition
Culture At the end of the world, he began his journey