Jaen
(Parador)@Apr/'94 Spain　

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Paradore Jaen: Old castle on top of the mountain is now converted into a tourist hotel

I was in Madrid Spain on business. On some holidays during the stay, we took two days trip down to south Spain, Seville. The main thing of this trip was to lodge in Paradore Jaen, the tourist hotel converted old castle leaving the original structure as much as possible. Outside look was just the old castle, but the rooms were equipped all modern facilities including air conditioning, but floor and wall of the rooms were real stone and mad bricks of the castle. You could enjoy the atmosphere and experiences that medieval nights and nobles had in the castle.

Down to the bottom of the Castelliano, Boulevard of the Madrid, you would not miss the Prado, one of the most notable and magnificent fine art museum in Europe, where countless masterpieces of Spanish painters and painters of other European countries are stored and displayed. If you go down little further, you will pass by the royal botanical garden on your left hand side. Now, you are just in front of a large dome of Atocha, the terminal station of Spanish National Railways. At kiosk in the station, we bought from bright smiling Spanish girl, a bocadillo jamon, a Spanish style ham sandwich for snack in the Spanish Shinkansen train to Cordoba. The train soon started after we got into the car without any sound and announcement. The landscape in most of the journey from Madrid to Cordoba was olive trees in the dry sparsely vegetated mountains.

Mesquita, originally built as Islamic Mosque is now converted as a Christian Church

The train had arrived Cordoba, the capital city of South Andalusia in about four hours. We visited Mesquita, converted Catholic church from Islamic Mosque without changing original outer shape. You could see how the Islamic culture and technology had been developed and reached to such a state of art level. We met with a group of tourists from Japan with a Japanese tour guide. The explanation was so clear, since it was made in Japanese. We pretended to be one of the member of the group and followed them. But soon after, the tour conductor found us and asked us politely to refrain from the group. Of course the member of the group had paid expensive tour guide charge, but we did not. You never imagine that this is the Christian church unless you stepped into the building, it was so well preserved the original shape of Islamic Mosque. The building was one of the master land marks that told us Islamic reign over 700 years in the past.

Mesquita, originally built as Islamic Mosque is now converted as a Christian Church

After visiting grand Mesquita, we moved to Grenada by medium range route bus. Bus networks in Spain was well established, you could move almost any major cities in all over Spain by bus from any major cities. Grenada is situated having snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains in its back scene. The main point to visit in this city is Al-Humbla Palace, one of the most beautiful palace of Islamic design in the world built in its Islamic reign back in 14 century. After several century of time, though the shining surface of the building has been covered by dust and moist of the ages, we still be struck by the spacious redundant and very fine structure of the building the people of that time had and envisioned. The level of the cultural maturity, I imagine, could be measured by the level of leisure time and space of the society. Al-Humbla really had these redundancy and leisure space in it. As the size of the castle, I did not moved at all, it appealed to me approximately the same size of Japanese local landlord of our feudal time in several centuries ago.

Water springs in Al Hambla Palace

Accommodation of that day was Paradore "Jaen", state hotel converted from the ruin of the actual castle of medieval age. Looks just ruins of the old castle, but you might find neatly arranged up-to-dated lobby facilities of modern hotel. When you look back, the wall is original stone or mad made in many centuries ago. You could enjoy the real ancient atmosphere at the same time. We were guided to the room, after having done normal check-in procedures as modern hotel. The wall was made of original soil colored bricks, we proceeded the narrow corridor paved with arranged stone. The contrast of modern room doors lined along the old brick wall is somewhat peculiar feeling we had. We entered into the room, the wall was the same old brick made, but all the necessary modern facilities like bath, toilet, bed, closet and even carpet were neatly placed in the room. We settled in the room, and went down to the bar. Bar was originally used as kitchen, there were tremendous number of imitated kitchen tools used at that time, hanged on the high raised wall. A big kitchen stove was in the center of the room. Along with imitated old kitchen tools, many weapons of the days were displayed on the wall as well. Weapons are seem to be one of the most important possession of the people at any time of the history. Atmosphere was so rich as in medieval age. We were almost lost ourselves in the time of old era. We ordered beer at the table of the kitchen, and spent a time talking nothing serious on influences of the Islamic culture to the Western world and other trifling matters in the very dim illuminated room. We reckoned that the program of converting the old castle into tourists hotel was wonderful. Since, many old castles were panting in shortage of the fund for maintaining the building. The program helped them a lot improving financial status and keeping the shape of the castle good as original we well.

View of snow capped Sierra Nevada Mountains from platform of Grenada Railway Station

10/Apr/'94 Rinzo @Madrid Spain (Updated on 31/Dec/'05)

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