By Maleia Sheldon
Portland Community College
For a weekend trip I decided to go
to Seville with my mom. I didn’t know what to expect or what to look for when I
got here. Once we got into our flat the manager gave us The Tourist magazine, which went well with the Rick Steves book my
mom brought along. Since we had no idea what to do at this point we wandered
around the first day. As we were hanging around on our flat’s terrace we spoke
with another occupant who said that one place we should check out is the Real
Alcazar, or Royal Palace, which she said it has a great garden in the back and
is gorgeous in general.
The Real Alcazar is a group of
palaces that for a thousand years has been the center of power and is still the
royal residence to this day. The Real
Alcazar is located in the Santa Cruz neighborhood in the historical area of the
city.
The Real Alcazar was built in the
early 15th century by the Moors and commissioned by King Pedro I
when the Spanish conquered Seville. Over the years Spain’s monarchs kept
expanding the palace creating a palace with several different architecture
styles. To this day the top floor is still used by the royal family.
The entrance is at the Puerta Del
Leon or Lion’s Gate, after entering into the Real Alcazar you are greeted by a
triple arched wall that is the last remaining piece of the theater that had
been destroyed. Passing through the archway you are greeted by another
courtyard that will take you into the royal viewing room and chapel where the
royal family used to meet with its subjects.
After that the Patio de las
Doncellas greet you, which was the main courtyard of the palace and the center
of public life. The patio was named after the ladies that spent much of there
time there, the Donacellas. From this patio you can reach several different
halls in the palace. 
The next place that you will see is
the expansive gardens, that are currently filled with hundreds of birds,
including swallows, peacocks, pigeons and much more. There are several different gardens with
different names such as the Garden of the Dance, the Garden of the Ladies and
the Garden of the Prince. Only the royal
family and the high court once used all these gardens. These gardens were
equipped with ponds, flower gardens, fountains and a labyrinth.
After several hours wandering
around the Real Alcazar it was easy to see why it was a must see area in Seville,
not only does it offer a great piece of history past and present but it is also
one of the most beautiful spots I had seen.
Photos by Malea Sheldon
Bibliography:
The Tourist, Seville. Website, www.thetouristseville.com
Rick Steves, Spain 2013, Berkeley, Calif.: Avalon,
2013
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