Alcázar

Seville is a quintessential Spanish city full of small streets, rich in history, and the Alcázar is it’s crowning jewel. It was first built as a fort in the 11th century when Seville was under Muslim rule and when the Christians conquered it in 1248 they remodeled it to make it much bigger. Interestingly enough, the architecture in the Alcázar is a mixture of Islamic and Christian styles, with it being most evident in the palace that Don Pedro added on. He had Muslim and Sevillan artists design it, and they created a synthesis of both art styles. While one inscription in Spanish proclaims that the building’s creator was the great Don Pedro, another inscription in Arabic declares that ‘there is no conqueror but Allah’! All throughout the Alcázar you will see arched doorways and windows in this Mudejar style- in fact, the Alcázar of Seville is the best example of Mudejar architecture in all of Spain. There are also beautiful gardens and a very photogenic underground bathhouse that is now a grotto.