Toledo

13 Septiembre 2008

We went to Toledo, the center of Spain for hundreds of years and the center of Arab Power during the occupation.

I mostly slept on the hour and a half ride, but fortunately woke up as we approached the city. Before me was the city, sprawled out over the hill in shades of pepper and cinnamon, surrounded by a high, fortress like wall. As we passed through the gate, we entered the village, and I was immediately aware of all the swords and armory for sale in the windows. It initially appeared to me as another tourist trap destination; however, people continue to live and work there as they would in any other city. I suppose it was shocking to see buildings so old (at least 5 – 600 years) that were actually inhabited and operated as places of business. I mean, I’ve been to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Plymouth plantation, where the buildings are reconstructed or restorations of the actual thing, but the people there are actors, creating the fantasy of a time 300 years past. In Toledo, the fantastical element of pretend prevailed due to the architecture; however, the people there were modern.

Our first destination was the cathedral of Toledo. Austere and gray, it did not seem overwhelmingly spectacular from the outside. The inside, however, was alive with golden arches, golden austere, colored frescos and organ pipes. We were immediately led to the central “room” where bishops and cardinals sat on elaborately carved seats – some literally “above” pictures of the sins of the world. Around the exterior of the square were pictures portraying the Catholic reconquest of Spain – possible due to the fact that it was constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries. All this was explained to us by Patri Espinosa, the art history teacher, who emphasized the gothic style in which the cathedral was constructed. It was on the way to the Sacrista that I realized how inaccessible religion, and more specifically, God, appears to be in this Cathedral during this time. All of the paintings, frescos, and sculptures are either high up or behind golden bars, away from the common people, accessible to only those with privileges. This was striking walking past these beautiful paintings and sculptures near the Sacrista, where part of the ceiling had been blown out during the rococo period to create a new piece of art. Everything was so far away, even the ceiling compared to the rest of the domes, and it was impossible not to be surrounded by a sense of mortality – emphasized by the fact that we stood over a cardinal’s tomb. Across from this open part of the ceiling, elaborately painted with scenes of heaven from which light cascaded inwards, were white and gold angels emerging from the oversized column, enhanced by the glowing sun. The angels held rays of golden sunlight (symbolic of the Holy Spirit) and your eyes slowly rise to reveal more angels and Mary. It was gorgeous, especially once you reflected about how someone had to envision and plan it. All flowed back to the light source, emphasizing the heavens. And we stood, out of reach, below, only to marvel at the spectacular beauty and grandeur above.

In the Sacrista, paintings of El Greco and others adorned the walls. His dark syle, along with the latter slenderization of human features contrasted greatly with the bright and colorful seiling, portraying Mary at one end, looking over the goodness and bliss of heaen on the ceiling towards the blue sky and gray buildings – the human world, Toledo. The paintings were all interesting like el Greco’s portrait of Jesus (where I proudly picked out Mary and Mary) bu I found it slightly ironic contrasted with the softly hot colored ceiling. Even the gargoyles under the windows on the high up ceilings were not statues, but painted.

We continued on towards el etreno del senor de orgaz where we saw a very famous el Greco, featuring a dying don and angels carrying his soul up to heaven.

Our final destination, however, was a Muslim Synagogue (funny, I know – but until the Catholic reconquest, Jews, Muslims, and Christians all resided in peace. Toledo has not only one but 2 synagogues – the oldest in Spain, as most were destroyed by the Inquisition). It has a Muslim/Arabic-like architecture mixed in with Jewish references. To see the intricate carvings and ceramic tiles along with Arabic and Hebrew script was amazing. Could this type of extreme religious cooperation exist today? It works within the confines of the US, but what about tolerance on a larger scale, over a long period of time?