Black people ruled Spain for 500 years

The Moors ruled Valencia for 500 years starting in 711. Who were the Moors? They were north Africans who were part of the Berber tribe. They actually controlled all of Spain and Portugal.  In other words, they were Black. They were also Muslim. 

What Black people conquering white people? Huh? Who ever heard of that? Hardly anybody because it is not talked about. 

Valencia thrived during the time of Moors and became prosperous. They introduced an irrigation system to the area around Valencia which allowed land that was unable to be used prior to then, to have a variety of crops. They introduced different crops. This caused the city to prosper.

During their rule education, arts and sciences flourished.

Moorish design is evident in older parts of the city.  Neighborhoods were a labyrinth of narrow, zigzagging streets that widen into small squares. Muslim neighborhoods were based on privacy and religion. Streets were only used to access housing. 

The Moors brought algebra and chemistry to Spain. Flamenco music comes from Moorish history. It is similar in structure to the music of North Africa. Food and spices still influence Spain today. Language has Moorish elements.

When a christian king took Valencia in 1238, most Muslims were forced out. Those remaining were put in an area outside the city called Moreira. In the 1600s the king ordered the expulsion of Moors from Spain. This particularly affected Valencia because 30% of the population was Moorish.

Many advances in Spain, particularly in Valencia, would never have been possible without the the Moors. They influenced every aspect of society. UnfortunatelySpain, gives only lip service to its Moorish past.

 

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October 06, 2022 at 07:12PM

Spanish customer service and horse left overs

 Today M and I went our separate ways for a day. We do this periodically. I went to the beach because it's supposed to rain the next 2 days. It was cloudy with some sun. Perfect. No sun beating down. 

I have a large scarf that I used to sit on. I stayed there for 2 hours and and relaxed. It was so nice. Occasional interruption from guys selling sunglasses and beach sheet type things. 

I walked to the beach from the airbnb. It's about a mile. First you come to the harbor and marina. The port with its big cranes is visible in the distance. The marina is full of yachts and big boats. There are people kayaking, windsurfing and paddle boarding. 

The beach itself goes on for 3.7 miles of fine grained sand.

Before I went down to the beach, I walked along the promenade by the fancy restaurants. I came to a Burger King and decided to get a shake. It was here that I experienced the notorious Spanish customer service.

When I came in, there were 2 other people at the counter and they were together. They were waiting for 2 kids meals and it looking like they had been waiting for a while.  There were 3 people working the counter. They were walking back and forth, disappearing like they were on a mission to get something. Lots of talk between them. It felt like nobody really knew what they were doing. It was like the keystone kops make a kids meal. OK they get their order. So I'm the only one left.

Now by this time I am almost laughing out loud. It was comical

So I had already ordered the shake and paid for it at the kiosk. Just a matter of dispensing the shake from the machine right? Of course not. More talking, disappearing. Finally the guy sits the shake on the counter in back of him and walks away. Huh? I finally get it. Now mind you, it is after lunch, there is no one else there. What do they do when there's a rush?

So I go out to sit on the wall along the promenade to drink the shake. in the middle of the promenade and there are 4 horse poops perfectly lined up one after another. The police had some big event going on for themselves down the way and I assumed it was their horses. I had more of it on the way there. Apparently they were not going to clean it up. I don't know why but it struck me funny. Four horses had to go at the same time and synchronized the drop precisely.

I love Valencia.

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October 05, 2022 at 05:08PM

Valencia from a bus window

Valencia is like Vienna, a different architectural marvel on every corner. Again, I am struck by what it would be like to live in the middle of all of it. 

I know we are here at a low tourist time. There are tourists here now, but I imagine in the middle of summer, this place is teeming with tourists. 

It has a beautiful waterfront on the Mediterranean. There is a promenade with hotels, bars and restaurants.

The old town area is filled with beautiful old building with churches, a cathedral and palace. Then there are the rows our regular buildings that are also stunning. There are large markets. Lots of shopping.

A beautiful large park sitting in an old riverbed sits in the middle of the city. Then there is the city of arts and sciences, another architectural marvel. it has art, gardens, science, aquarium, concerts and events. 

This city is made for tourists but people live here too. They live in the neighborhoods. We see them on the bus, walking the streets of our neighborhood. Going about their daily lives.

Some neighborhoods have beautiful apartments with stylish wrought iron balconies. Some are more ordinary. Some are run down. Just like any other city. They are going about their lives in the middle of a city that attracts thousands of tourists. Fortunately there are periods of respite like right now.

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October 04, 2022 at 05:49PM

Valencia home of the Holy Grail, bullfighting, cats and psych hospitals

Here's 8 interesting things about Valencia 

1) Valencia still has bullfighting.. There is a bull ring in the city center. the season is April to October. It is still legal in Spain, although some cities have outlawed it. it's a cultural tradition. No comment. 

2) The Holy Grail (the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper) is in the Valencia cathedral. Note: Some other places claim they have it too.

3) The Mercado Central is the largest indoor market in Europe. They sell produce, meat, fish, cheese, poultry. There are also restaurants. It started as an open air market in 1839. The current building was built in the early 1800's. 

4) There is a Water Tribunal  outside the Valencia cathedral. It happens every Thursday at noon. Eight elected farmers sit in leather chairs in a circle wearing the traditional black blouse of the farmers of the area. They solve disputes between farmers about water involving the irrigation system around Valencia. 

5) People in Valencia love cats. Their botanical garden has more than 50 resident cats. Explains a guy we saw on the street today with a cat on his shoulder.

6) The first psychiatric hospital in the world was in Valencia.

7) Valencia has the narrowest building in Europe : La Estrecha. It is between two buildings and has 5 floors. it is a little more than 42 inches wide. it was originally built as a family home.

8) Valencia has the incredible City of Arts and Sciences. It is part of an old riverbed made into a park. It is an architectural marvel with buildings shaped like a human eye, whales bones and a lotus flower It houses an art museum, Europes biggest aquarium, science museum, a giant garden, concert halls, event centers.

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October 03, 2022 at 06:43PM

Spain has not been a democracy for very long

It is so interesting to learn about these European countries. 

I didn't know that Spain has only been a "democracy" since 1975 after Franco died. That is only 47 years. There are lots of people alive today who lived under Franco. 

Franco came out on top in the Spanish civil war. He led the nationalist, conservative, monarchist side. The other side was a leftist coalition. During his time he used forced labor, concentration camps and executions to kill 50-100,000 people. In the end, he was responsible for the deaths of up to 200,000 French people when the war dead are included. 

Spain is one country but it's decentralized. It has 17 autonomous communities  based on region, nationality or being a historical community. There are two autonomous cities. 

According to the Spanish constitution, the communities have limited self government. They have their own legislative assembly, council and council President and justice system. They manage their finances.

There have been movements to gain independence, or to be their own equal separate country within Spain, by a couple of nationality communities, particularly Catalonia. They have voted to be independent but have been refused and their parliament dissolved by the prime minister at one time.  Some of the parliament have been jailed. 

Spain is also divided into provinces and members of the congress and senate are elected there. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party that was elected. 

They are a constitutional monarchy government just like Britain. The monarchy had been dissolved but was restored during the time of Franco. 

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October 02, 2022 at 06:47PM

What it's like travelling all the time

 So we are are leaving France for now. Next stop Valencia, Spain. I will miss the sound of the French language. My favorite phrase: s'il vous plait (if you please). I just like the way it sounds. We heard it often.

We took Transavia airlines to Malaga, Spain on the southern coast of Spain, quite far from Valencia. It was the cheapest way to go. Never heard of Transavia but the flight was fine except for that hard landing (dude.....). Flying on some of these planes, the space is so small between you and the seat ahead of you makes me long for the back of a C130. 

So short layover and on to Ryanair, which we've been on before. (Another hard landing) These budget airlines have their flight attendants come through with a cart with all these products for sale like cologne, jewelry, etc. Pretty bizarre. Ryan air has more leg room.

Off the plane and now to find how to get to the airbnb. Google maps is a wonderful thing. We have to go on the metro. Cities have zones with fares and we weren't sure we had the right number for the ticket so we went to the info desk. Stood in long line and when we got up there older woman no habla English. So we went to the ticket machine and bought tickets and hoped for the best. We got through the ticket entry, got on metro, got off at our stop. Walked half a mile to the airbnb (not unusual)

This has been our life for the past 18 weeks. Navigating train systems, airports, public transportation. Now they're in different languages. 

We have taken 6 plane flights, 11 long ride trains (some with transfers). We have used 2 subway systems, 4 tram systems, 4 city trains, 2 bus lines and one place we just walked.  We have stayed in 9 airbnbs, 5 hotels. We have been to 9 countries, 12 cities. And a partridge in a pear tree.

I had no clue what this trip would be like . I had stars in my eyes about spending a month in 12 countries. That changed almost immediately. It's just too expensive to rent an airbnb for a month in the height of tourist season. So we starting spending less than a month most of the time, a lot of time a week. Moving so often is stressful. 

Living in airbnbs is hit or miss. We have a had a couple of really nice ones. The rest have been mediocre to bad. The hotels have been fine, expect for one.

Interspersed with all this has been a wonderful trip of sights that I never expected to see in my life. 

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October 01, 2022 at 06:26PM

What America could learn from Europe

 

It's a travel day. We went from Macon back to Lyon. We are at a hotel at the airport. Leave tomorrow for Valencia, Spain. We will be back to France - to Paris - at the end of October. It was only a 45 minute train ride here to Lyon. Then a tram ride to the airport. 

I've been thinking...uh oh. As we have gone to each country, I have looked at the history because I find it interesting. It's really opened my eyes to the difference between the U.S. and just about any other country in the world. They have a long history and we don't. It's obvious, but I never really thought about how that would affect peoples character. 

Europe can trace its history to very ancient times. They lived through two world wars that affected everybody's lives directly. That obviously shapes a people and how they think.

In France, for example,  they lived under nazi occupation for 4 years. There are still people alive who remember that. Their children were told the stories. That happened in many countries here.

Each country here has its own history and culture. Each is distinct. People know the history and are proud of it. They share cultural traits.

Everything is so old here - the housing, the buildings. There are historical sites thousands of years old. The way people live is different than the US. Housing is not necessarily brand spanking new, in fact the majority of it isn't. Old buildings don't have air conditioning, window screens, dryers, etc., things we take for granted in the U.S.

I'm not saying having that stuff is better. A lot of people here think it's just unnecessary.  They have fans or open their windows. They hang their clothes on dryer racks. 

People here don't seem as frantic as people in the U.S. They aren't as stressed, at least it doesn't feel like it. They are more relaxed. There is not the level of violence here.  There is violence, but not everybody owns a gun. There are homeless here but they don't seem to be as numerous. People do sleep on the street but you don't see as many. The homeless here sit with a cup out. 

I don't mean to make it sound like this is an ideal society. It isn't. It does feel much calmer. It feels kinder. It feels like they try to deal with problems rather than just talk about them. 

America is such a young country. It has so many different kinds of people trying to get along. The disparity between rich and poor or even middle class is so wide. It is so fast paced. The social safety net isn't as strong.

We have so much to learn from these countries with their long histories and stories of survival through trying times. I wish we would listen more.

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September 30, 2022 at 08:31PM