Eleven Kids: Holy Toledo

We drove for hours through Spain and this was a typical sight: miles and miles of olive groves and occasional white hill towns with a castle on the highest hilltop, as reminders of bygone days where the Lords of the region lived high and the lowly people were truly down lower.

Toledo is built on a hilltop, surrounded by the Tajo River on 3 sides. For centuries it was the center of Roman transportation, then after Rome fell it became a Visigothic capital (554 AD). In 711 the Moors (Muslims) made it their regional center. In 1085 the Catholics reconquered it, but Moors and Jews remained and all lived peacefully together until all non-Catholics were expelled or "forcefully" converted during the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (1492). Jews who left continued to call it "Holy Toledo." It served as the political and religious capital until the political capital was moved

to Madrid in 1561.

Moorish door

Every great city has a great cathedral,

this one built from 1226-1495.

I loved the beautiful pipe organs - two of them to be exact

choir seats

The high alter

Behind the high alter, they punched a hole in the ceiling to bring in more light. No problem with decor, just surround the hole with carvings of angels and babies, paint the ceiling, and add the window. Viola!

If you are rich enough, famous enough, or hold a high position in the church you get to be buried in a fancy cathedral. Weird.

Notice the cardinal's hats that hang over their bodies

Why do we have flat white ceilings in all our buildings? The purpose here was to get the patrons to look up... and remember God, and heavenly things I guess.

These are El Greco paintings. He actually had a long name that no one could remember, so the Spanish just called him "The Greek"

This is a facsimile (real one kept under wraps) of a 700 year old Bible, hand copied and beautifully illustrated by French monks. It was a gift from the king of France.