Toledo, dominated by the Alcazar and protected by the river.

Looking at the landscape of Toledo (Spain), it’s easy to understand why this promontory in the middle of the flatland has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. Many invaders have populated and tried to rule the Iberian Peninsula—Romans, Visigoths, Muslims, and Bonaparte’s French Army—but Toledo was more than difficult to attack. Dominated by the Alcazar (an Arabic/Latin word meaning Castle/Fortress) and surrounded on three sides by the moat-like River Tagus, Toledo could fend off attacks by all but the most powerful armies.

Viewing ther city from the other side of the Tagus, I thought I had time-traveled back to the Middle Ages. There are only two bridges, one built by the Romans and the other constructed in medieval times. From this perspective, nothing whatever looks remotely modern. But that changed when our modern Mercedes bus carried us across the river and dropped us at the gate. No busses allowed on the narrow, winding streets of the city, population about 80,000. There was nowhere for us to go but up. On our feet. Yikes.

There were four or five pairs of long, steep escalators, one after the other, all going up.

And then, a miracle. The invasion of Tourist Hordes has dragged one small but vital portion of Toledo into the 21^st Century. A long, multi-leveled escalator! Which is probably the only reason I made it to the top of Toledo.

Ferdinand and Isabella

For a long time, it was the capital of Castile and La Mancha and, practically speaking, much of Spain. But in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (best known to Americans as the rulers who financed the voyage of Columbus) moved the capital to Madrid, only thirty-five or so miles north. What remains has endured for a very long time. In Spain, the most impressive building in any town or city is usually the Catholic church or cathedral. Or the mosque, or the synagogue, although most of those that were preserved from destruction by anti-Other factions still exist because they were absorbed into Christian places of worship.

The Cathdral wears the chains of captive Christians.

Despite the banishing of Jews and Muslims by Ferdinand and Isabella, the religious tolerance for which Toledo had become famous persisted and eventually led to a remarkable alliance among the faiths, so often at war or being victimized by the dominant faith at any given time. Holy writings and documents were translated into Arabic, Spanish, Latin, and Hebrew. People came together in common interests. They learned to live  in peace and mutual support. In the picture of the Catholic cathedral, you can see chains hanging from the externals walls. Not a great many nowadays. They were the chains of the Christians enslaved by the then-ruling Muslims until they were overthrown. Was a time when the walls of the cathedral were covered with those chains. Then, in need of metal, the people melted most of the chains for other uses and left a few as a symbol of slavery and its end in Toledo.

El Greco.

The great Cretan artist known as El Greco spent much of his life in Toledo, and one of his finest paintings is the treasure of a 12^th-Century  church that was restored and enlarged in the 14^th Century. It’s known as “The Burial of Count Orgaz”. Guess who paid for the church’s restoration.

This is only the bottom third of The Burial of Count Orgaz. Above it is the transition to heaven, where Mary, John the Baptist, and Jesus wait for the angels to escort him there.

If only to save model fees, El Greco liked to paint himself and family members into his pictures. See if you can find him and his son in the bottom portion of this glorious painting. Our local guide delighted us with a long, clear, remarkable explanation of the painting, the historical people represented, the symbolism, and the artistic wonders of El Greco’s talent. It was like opening a door to this artist and what we were seeing. I’m so ignorant about art that this was a real treat and one of my favorite experiences in Spain.

Of course, Lonzo the Leopard enjoyed Toledo and quickly became a devoted fan of El Greco. He requests that instead of his own shaggy self perched on a pillar or a doorlatch, I post a picture of Toledo painted by El Greco when he first moved there in the late 1570s. Except for the addition of cars, tourist shops, and McDonald’s, not a whole lot has changed since then.

El Greco, who knew Raphael, Michelangelo, and most of the great Renaissance artists, paints his new home.