Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Mezquita Cristo de la Luz and Football

Today in art class we went to visit a pretty neat place, a mosque in town. The walk is uphill (as they all are in Toledo somehow...back in the olden days it really was uphill both ways). The mosque was a secondary one to the original large one. The large one was torn down in the 11th century when the Christians took over Toledo and expelled the Muslims. The large cathedral now lies where it used to be, go figure. This mosque was much smaller but it was interesting because it was converted to a church after the Christian takeover. Half of the mezquita is where the Muslims would come to gather and pray. The other part was added on later when the Christians came. It is definitely not something that we would find to be that common, but here in Toledo there is such a mix of religion in its history that it isn't that uncommon to the people here. Another neat thing is that under the mosque there was a huge cave dug out where the Romans practiced their religious ceremonies before the Muslims. So in one place there have been three different kinds of religions, pretty cool. Plus there was an awesome view of part of Toledo.

Of course, also, the World Cup is huge here right now. Last night I watched it with my Spanish sister and grandma, which was entertaining. Whenever there is a goal, fireworks go off in our town which makes it all the more fun. Everyone was also decked out in red yesterday.

Well that's all I have for now.

Un beso,
Emily

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