Today we are in Malaga, Spain. The featured image is of Kelsey and Jan with Pablo Picasso on a bench near where he was born and grew up. The photo has nothing to do with the title of the post (I’ll get to that later), but I liked it so there you go!
We are getting ready to visit Casablanca so I’ll finish this post later today or early Saturday. You’ll be able to see the photos from our day at Malaga here in the meantime.
I’m back to tell our story in Malaga. Sitting on deck 13 at the stern watching the railing rise and fall against the horizon and the bright blue and white in the water from the churn of the propellers is somewhat hypnotic. I’ll try to keep my mind on this text. Still haven’t taken the time to learn how to label the photos, so I’ll identify them as I write.
In Malaga we had a tour that was part of the cruise package – a city tour. The guide was Christine and she was fantastic. She provided so much historical information that I’m not even going to try and repeat for you. Best suggestion would be to do some research online. Before our tour started I caught a glimpse of a ship in the night (photo 1) and put a photo of the same ship during the day (photo 2) for comparison. Then I set the camera to record sunrise in Malaga (video 3). We are called for tours by group number. Photo 4 shows Kelsey and Jan waiting in the Tiger Bar for our group to be called. A bus brought us to where our walking tour was to begin. Along the way I found a carriage driver who appeared to need more sleep (photo 5). Also along the way I snapped a photo of the architecture in the newer section of the city center (photo 6). There are several thousand orange trees growing within Malaga but we were told that the fruit is not what we would expect (photo 7). It either falls to the ground or is picked but in both cases it is not eaten.
Our first stop on the walking tour was a monument erected by the people of Malaga to honor 49 citizens/soldiers who stood up to a king who did not honor a promise to establish a constitution. Photo 8 shows the entire height of the monument and photo 9 shows the plaque commemorating the event. This same area is where Pablo Picasso was born and raised. Photo 10 shows Kelsey and Jan on a bench with his statue not far from his home (area in the building in the background with the red awning).
I titled this “Choose Wisely!” because one’s faith had much to do with one’s likelihood of death or banishment. Based on the information provided by Christine, it appears to me that the Catholic Church (guided by the King and Queen of Spain) were the drivers to purge Muslims and Jews from Malaga. The gave the Muslims the option to convert to Catholicism but knew the Jews would not convert so they were forced many times to leave Malaga. To prove the Muslims had converted, a test was to require them to build a Catholic cathedral. Photo 11 shows the tower of that cathedral. You’ll notice that it bears a striking resemblance to a minaret as used in a mosque! You’ll also notice the tile work surrounding the entrance door – also used in a mosque. This is certainly different from gothic architecture you find in Catholic Churches throughout other parts of Europe.
On the same street as the cathedral was a building with blue walls (photo 12) that has historical significance for the United States. It was the home to Bernardo de Galvez. Galvez was instrumental during the war of independence from Britain by keeping the British from attacking revolutionary troops. The State of Texas showed their appreciation for Galvez’ help by naming a city after him – Galveston. You can find much information about him using Google. There was a time when a developer wanted to level Bernardo’s home. The developer was told they could not alter the facade – which would require extensive expense. A drive was started to find funding to protect this building. A Malaga native you may have heard of came to the rescue. His name is Antonio Banderas! Antonio still has an apartment in Malaga – it is in the multi-story building in the center of photo 13.
As noted earlier, Jews were not welcome in Malaga primarily because royalty wanted a one-religion kingdom. As time passed, Malaga recognized the injustice done to the Jews and set aside an area for them to build a cultural center. Photo 14 shows the area near which that will be built – but there is a catch. The Malaga area has been inhabited by people for thousands of years. The archeological record of those groups are trapped in the ground all over Malaga. When the developers began to dig for the Jewish cultural center, they found those items and it has been 15 years of bureaucratic nightmare. The center has not been built but hope is that it will be some day.
During the Easter season there are parades in the streets of Malaga with floats carried by many men. One of those men is Antonio Banderas. The carriers belong to an exclusive brotherhood and those not in that organization are not permitted to enter the area where the floats are constructed or stored. Photo 15 shows the 2 sets of large doors that are opened when the floats enter the parades.
Photo 16 shows a typical street in the older part of the city – fairly narrow but as with all the streets we saw, well maintained and clean. This street led us to the main cathedral of Malaga – the Cathedral of the Enunciation. Photo 17 shows the cathedral from the side. Photo 18 shows 2 of the people who share our dinner table – Mike on the left and Leo on the right. Photo 19 shows the lower portion of the front of the cathedral and photo 20 shows detail of the stone work above the central door. Passage through that door is reserved for dignitaries such as the Pope or royalty.
Cathedrals normally have 2 towers. The Cathedral of the Enunciation is the only cathedral to have a single finished tower. Photo 21 shows the finished tower and photo 22 shows the unfinished tower. The story is that the tower was not finished because money set aside for its construction was diverted to Bernardo de Galvez to provide what he needed in the way of manpower and supplies to help defeat the British in the Revolutionary War. Some in Malaga believe it would be a gesture of good faith for America to fund the completion of the second tower. Others in Malaga are content to have the distinction of a cathedral with only one completed tower.
We walked back to our shuttle and along the way saw that the City of Malaga was taking down Christmas decorations some of which were similar to those in Barcelona (strings of stars that sparkled in the sunlight). Decorations are left up until January 6th to observe the visitation of the 3 kings. From the bus I was able to take a photo of the port lighthouse and MSC Magnifica (photo 23).
Back on the ship photo 24 shows our table mates – Mike, Leo, Jeff (who looks like Jeff Bridges) and his wife Karen. The theme of dinner was Mediterranean so I had a Greek salad with feta cheese, olives tomatoes, onion, cucumber and lettuce. I love that feta cheese! Entre was a Mediterranean mixed grill consisting of cuttlefish, swordfish and prawn. I liked the swordfish best. During the dinner the wait staff – and then the cruisers – danced and sang around the dining room. Those are video 25 and video 26. For dessert I had baklava (photo 27) and Jan had mousse with fruit (photo 28). Kelsey has been trying all the varieties of sorbet – didn’t take a photo of that.
Each evening we have had entertainment in the theatre. This evening it was a special tribute to classical Neapolitan songs (video 29). That completed our day in Malaga so we went to rest for what we were to discover next as we visit Casablanca!
Leave a Reply