Toledo, World Heritage
¡Hola amigos! ¿Dónde habéis
pasado las vacaciones de verano?
How was your summer holiday?
Did you travel to other countries?
What do you know about the city
of Toledo?
- I went to Toledo (in Spain) and it was so
beatiful and interesting that I took some pictures to show you.
Before that, here is some basic
information:
- > Toledo is an unique place in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of
Castilla La Mancha (1 of the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain).
- > Castilla La Mancha has 5 provinces: Albacete,
Ciudad Real, Guadalajara, Cuenca and Toledo (both last cities declared World
Heritage by the UNESCO).
- > Population: 84. 019
- > Area: 232. 1 km
- > River: Tajo
- > It was the former capital of Spain in the
Visigoth era.
- > Traditional
sword-making and Steel-working center since 500 BC. It came to the
attention of Rome when used by Hannibal in the Punic Wars. It was standard
source of weaponry for Roman Legions.
- > Its School of Translators opened the city and
became the capital of European culture, of splendid intellectual activity,
which promoted the King Alfonso X the Wise.
- ‘Don Quijote de La Mancha’ was written by the famous Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes in 1605.
The novel
chronicles the adventures of a noble knight in La Mancha.
It is
considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish literaty
canon. It appears high on international lists of the greatest Works of fiction
ever published and it is cited as the best literary work ever written.
Toledo is well known for its peaceful historical co-existence of
Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures, so it is known as ‘The City of the Three Cultures’. This tolerance and respect among different cultures was a historic and very important event which Toledo is proud.
It offers an immense cultural heritage,
spectacular natural areas, delicious gastronomy, delicate crafts and ancestral
popular festivities.
The handmade art of ‘Yesería’, is a technique of carving plaster for decorating buildings.
Walking
through the streets, if you are lucky, you can see a real workshop.
Un típico ‘patio toledano’
La Catedral
de Santa Maria
Museo de la Iglesia de Santo Tomé. You can visit
some pictures of the painter, sculptor and architect EL GRECO; where is his
finest work The
Burial of the Count of Orgaz
Handmade crafts about Don Quijote y Sancho Panza, etc. Artesanías
Jewish symbols in the streets. Símbolos del paso de la cultura judía por Toledo
Arquitectura árabe
A ‘Botijo’ is used in
summer to keep cool water
Toledo is well known
for working wrought iron and other metals.
The arsenal, weapons and armors of The Lord of the Rings film were made in
Toledo
Plaza de Zocodover is the
heart of the city
Tajo river around Toledo city
Do you know El camino de Santiago
in Galicia? In Toledo you can walk La ruta del Quijote!
The Queen Isabel I de
Castilla.
‘Isabel La Católica’ was the mother of Juana de Castilla y Catalina de
Aragón (Catherine of Aragon) who was queen of England from 1509 until 1533 as the
first wife of King Henry VIII
Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, built by the Catholic
Monarchs
