Our Visit to Toledo

The next morning we had breakfast and got ready to meet the bus for the trip to Toledo.  Father Cardarso was going to join us on the trip and we were happy to have his company.  He is well known to the St. Joseph's parishioners in Bradenton as he was the visiting priest when Tim joined the church to begin his position as the choral director.  In fact it was Father Cardarso who hired Tim and they have been good friends ever since.  Tim as made many trips to Spain so this this is a special one for him in that he brought us along to sing in the cathedrals and other sites throughout Spain.  We can feel the excitement that Father Cardaso brings to this journey with his great resource of knowledge and his enthusiasm for Spain.

                                       Father Cardaso posing with Toledo in the background

The bus drove south to Toledo which is about an hour drive.  Toledo is situated on a hill which is a perfect place for a fortress. Toledo was a population center as back as the Bronze Age populated by Iberians and Celtiberians.  When the Romans conquered Spain, it became an administrative center for Roman imperialism.  At the fall of the Roman empire the Visigoths, who were escaping the Huns, came to Iberia and  occupied Toledo. Its strategic site served as their capital city for three hundred years. Their contribution was bringing Christianity to Spain.  They also introduced a code of law, a sensible tax system, a centralized government, and a sense of strength to the Spanish character. After the Visigoths converted to Roman Catholic rule, they brought great influence in creating ecclesiastical law.  

In the 8th century the Muslims came to town. Under the Caliphate Cordoba there were several insurrections with other Muslim tribes all trying to become king of the mountain.  This is kind of like a game we used to play among all the kids in the neighborhood.  Those that find the high ground are king of the mountain and being up there there is an advantage of keeping your position.  You can for instants rain down a bunch of dirt clods to those trying to get up the mountain.  Those below have little advantage unless you create a siege such the the king pins up at the top can't come down for food or water.  That works pretty well unless Mom calls us in for dinner, then we have to try the game all over again the next day!  Something like this happened until Abd-ar-Rahman III captured the city following an extensive siege.

The city went through a period called La Convivencia meaning co-existence with the Muslims, Jews, and Christians living together.  It became one of the richest capitals in all of Andalusia.  During this period several monuments were built: the Alcazar, Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca, the Synagogue of Transito, Mosque of Cristo de la Luz and the church of San Sabastian.

In 1085 Alphonso VI from Castille overpowered the Muslims and took Toledo.  This was the first city to fall to the Christians forces of  Castille and Leon. In spite of this change, Toledo still hailed as cultural city.  Its buildings were not destroyed and the Arab library was not pillaged. In fact Alfonzo the wise set up a team of translators who would translate the Arabic books into Hebrew, then into Spanish, then into Latin.  Arab, Jewish, Spanish, and Castillian scholars sat side by side and worked together amassing a great deal of information that would be preserved for future generations.  Toledo continued to flourish into the 16th century when the Spanish court moved to Madrid.  The city's importance dwindled down until the 20th century when it became the capital of the combined  provinces of Castille and La Mancha. The preservation of the heritage in its buildings and culture has made this city one of the top cities for tourism.

We come to a stop at a popular vista for tourist.  Our bus passes many other buses that have stopped and we found a  parking place and join the many other tourists getting off their buses to take pictures of the city of Toledo. There we wee the rock outcrop with the river Tagus flowing like a mote.  at the top we can see the Alcazar fortress and to the right the Cathedral spire.  The rows of houses are all clustered all around like frosting on a cake.  Far off we see the bridge that will take us into the city.

We get back on the bus and it takes us across the bridge to the Gate of the sun.  Long ago it was made to accommodate carts and people who walked into the city.  In order to bring the big buses something had to be done.  So they expanded the porthole to bring all the happy tourist into Toledo.  As we come into the city we find that everything has been preserved to the days when it was in its prime.  In fact workmen were working on a wall and making sure it would seem to have been built eons ago.  It reminded me of how Disneyland tries to authenticate the buildings so it seems like you are living in the days of antiquity.  Like Mr. Disney, the Toledeans seem to know how to line their pockets with tourists euros and we are happy to pay for our guides who make the trip so much more meaningful and interesting.

Our fist stop is where we will be able to buy some artifacts to take home.  Toledo is known for its jewelry making and its swords.  We have an elementary school in Sarasota called Toledo Blade.  I never realized the connection but now I do!   We are told that metal-work has always been Toledo's industry. Toledo steel was greatly valued for its high quality alloy. They have a tradition of manufacturing swords and knives that dates back to the Roman times when it was used by all the Roman legions.  But it was under the Moorish rule and during the Reconquista the Toledo guild of sword-makers played an important role.  Around the 16th century swords and daggers were the choice weapons of mass destruction.  They supplied swords to the likes of Zorro, Conquistadores, the Templars, and even pirates like Backbeard.  If you wanted a state of the art blade, you got it from Toledo.  These swords were made by individual craftsmen who oversaw each detail. 

Around the 17th  and 18th century the sword-making industry began to decline as the pistol became a weapon of choice.  So King Carlos III prompted the Royal Arms Factory  and brought the guilds together into the city to occupy the former mint.  Then as they expanded they built another building to keep the guilds under one roof.  In the 20th century the production for knives and swords was reduced to cavalry weapons, and after the Spanish Civil War they supplied swords only to various military units and light foil for Olympic fencers and heavy swords for bullfighters.  Now the production has expanded to razorblades, medical devices and electrical products.  Soap, toothpaste manufacturing, flour milling, glass and ceramics have also become important industries.  The former building closed in 1980 but the building was renovated to house the campus of the Technological University of La Mancha  in Toledo.

                                                                    Ouch!

So we entered the building were jewelry was manufactured by hand.  Streams of tourists paraded behind the craftsmen as they formed their unique jewelry pieces.  They did not seem to mind us taking pictures as they worked.