The City of Toledo (in a very general nutshell)

On Saturday, January 16^th, I learned so much about the history of Toledo (even when I took notes, I couldn’t pick up every detail and then when I looked back at the notes, I knew I was missing a ton) through two ways: (1) A school group tour with professional guides in the morning, and (2) Conversation with Javi at the café and in the car in the afternoon. I wanted to share a little bit what I learned! Bear in mind, I was not able to catch everything because everything was in Spanish, but here is what I remember learning:

First of all, Toledo is not the capital of Spain (Madrid is), but it is a very important city. It was especially important in the centuries past during the wars. The influence of the Roman Empire, Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Arabs is what makes the city what it is today. My tour guide explained Toledo as the “religion capital of Spain.”

The river. A very important part of Toledo. First, it is huge, and second, it supplies water to much of Spain.

An angel figure on top of the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. This was the first university in Toledo, and it is a very important part of the city – and the building is beautiful!

Plaza de Zocodover…notice the arches. This is the main plaza in Toledo and it is where I get on and off the bus to go to school and return home!

Cathedral de San Juan – the largest Catholic church in Toledo. Toledo with their many churches and convents were thriving during the times when King Ferdinand and his wife Isabella lived here in Toledo, but when they moved to Madrid, so did everyone else. I believe Toledo used to be bigger than Madrid until this happened. After this occurred and leading up to today, churches and convents of Toledo started turning into museums and universities.

There are sooooo many old convents in Toledo. Many of them have been turned into museums now. Here is one of many famous convents in Toledo called Santo Domingo el Antiguo.

This is the coffee shop Javi and I sat at, and across the way, you can see houses on the hill. Javi called them “cigarrales.” They are where rich people moved to and bought lots of land to use for gardens. I didn’t know exactly what those houses across the river were when I first got here, so now I know a little bit more about them!

You can’t see it really well from this picture, but Toledo has the largest hospital in all of Spain and Europe!

Toledo during the day (took this picture with my school group), and Toledo during the night (took this picture with Carmen and Javi). The highest point on the left is the Cathedral de San Juan. And the highest building on the right is the Alcazar Public Library. There is a café on the top floor where you can see the entire city, and I plan on visiting this very soon!

I’m sure I will keep learning more about this beautiful city as I continue my stay here!

Until next time,

Sarah Hess