Holy Toledo!

About an hour from Madrid, we saw one of the loveliest cities in Spain (at least for hubby and me)--Toledo. Approaching the walled city brought about some oohs and ahhs as we marveled at the towers (dating from the time of the Visigoths) and beauty of the houses and structures sprinkled on the mountains.  It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage. Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures used to co-exist here. Amazing!

We went on a walking tour of Toledo where we visited the Church of Santo Tomé. Here we saw one of El Greco’s most famous paintings – The Burial of Count Orgaz. The detail was so amazing and well-explained by our guide, it felt like I was listening to an audio of Annotated Art.

one of the walls honouring El Greco

We then walked along the Jewish Quarter where cobbled streets had ceramic tiles containing Jewish icons along the path.  

We also visited the Synagogue which had some replicas and quite a few well-preserved materials with intricate designs.

As we continued on our walking tour, we passed a couple of bakeries selling mazapán, an almond pastry made by the nuns. Some were made into very fancy shapes and they were simply delicious! 

There were several religious orders and convents in Toledo—highlighting the city as a Catholic centre. In fact, one of the most magnificent structures we saw was the Cathedral of Toledo with its richly decorated, big Gothic doors. Holy Toledo, indeed!

We also checked out a small factory/workshop, whose artisans demonstrated how to make swords and Damasquinado jewellery. Toledo is the world’s largest centre of production of Damascene art, in which metals are decorated with gold or silver, usually with designs originating from the region’s Muslim heritage. There were also geometric and other modern designs, not just Arabesque. The price of the products would depend on whether it was a master who created the piece or if it was an apprentice. The cheapest, of course, would be the machine-made ones.

Toledo is also known for its steel, reputed to be unusually strong. Several stores displayed beautifully handcrafted swords. And as it was known for its swords, it was only logical that the swords from “The Lord of the Rings” would be crafted there.  Yes, including Aragorn’s Andúril. And as we could not bring these back home, we just took pictures—lots of them.