Three Religions, One City
By Arthur Wolff
We began our day early at the Hotel Mayorazgo, where an amazing breakfast was served. Like usual, we hopped on the bus for Toledo, the city on a hill. While we ventured into the ancient city, we saw a very Tuscan landscape, with trees lined up in patterns and mountainous sand dunes. Upon arriving, we saw an amazing view of the entire city. As we rolled into our spot to take pictures, our guide explained a little bit about Toledo’s history and its role as the country’s capital until 1561. Afterwards, we continued our journey to the city.
Upon arriving at the San Martin Bridge, we stopped for a coffee. Sitting in the cafe, we could see the tall stone buildings across the Tagus River surrounding Toledo. We began to walk across the bridge with water on each side. Under us were a few fishermen waiting to get their catch in the flowing river. On the ground, a metal sign reading “Jewish Quarter” was signaling the entrance to our first location. Additionally, on the walls and ground we spotted many ceramic tiles made up of Jewish symbols including the Hebrew word for life, a Menorah, and a stylized map of the Iberian Peninsula made out of the word Sefarad in Hebrew.
Our first stop was the San Juan de los Reyes monastery. It was originally built as a Mausoleum for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. On the side of the building, we see shackles from freed Christian captives. These were actual chains that once bound Christian prisoners in Granada, Málaga, Almería, Ronda, and other Andalusian cities during the Reconquista. After the conquest, freed captives brought them to Toledo as a gesture of liberation and gratitude. Queen Isabella ordered their display in 1494 to symbolize the triumph of the Christian monarchs over Muslim forces.
Continuing on our path through the hilly brick roads of Toledo, we stopped at the next location at a Muslim built synagogue, the Santa Maria. The big white arches as you enter the religious site show the style of architecture of the Muslims. The only way the Muslims knew how to build high was to build these sorts of arches that are seen similarly in the former Mosque turned into a cathedral in Seville. These arches would support lots of pressure from the ceiling and were integral to the stability of the building. Additionally, Christians converted the synagogue into a church in 1391, explaining why a large cross is placed in the middle of the synagogue. Finally, the symbols of the star of David are seen on the top of the arches that join in with the other concrete artwork.
On our walk again, we entered another synagogue turned into the Sephardic museum of Toledo. We again see this theme of the clash of cultures in the main part of the synagogue. We see Hebrew inscriptions all around the walls. These read:
Right side of the Ark (comparing the synagogue to the Temple)
See the sanctuary
And the house which was built by Samuel
With a pulpit of wood for reading the law
With its scrolls and its crowns all for God
And its lavers and lamps to illuminate
And its windows like the windows of Ariel
Left of niche
And its courts for them that cherish the perfect law
With a seat for each who sits in the shade of God
And those who see it will almost say it appears
Like a work that was wrought by Bezalel
Go ye nations and enter into its gates
And seek the Lord, for it is a house of God even as Bethel
East Wall, under the stucco carpet pattern –
“Praise Shmuel as savior of Israel.”
We see Arabic inscriptions, such as “Bí’l ni‘mah wa‑bí’l quwah,” a common Arabic phrase found in Muslim architecture. And finally, Christian symbols like the Spanish Coat of Arms. This once again emphasizes the use of the religious site by three different religions. In the museum portion, we see different artifacts from prior Jewish communities in the area. Notably, a Hebrew amulet from the 15th or 16th centuries used by Christians for protection when crossing the Mediterranean. Professor Rabinovitch was explaining this to me, highlighting another example of Jewish-Christian relations.
Continuing on our tour, we went to the Santo Tome, the tomb where El Greco is buried. Entering the building, the beautiful painting The Burial of the Count of Orgaz is shown with many different themes of death and ascending to the heavens. The Burial of the Count of Orgaz shows how a good and faithful man is honored both on earth and in Heaven. One key feature mentioned by our guide is that the white sort of floating clouds are supposed to mimic a real birth and the idea of rebirth. El Greco’s The Adoration of the Shepherds collection is hung up in the El Prado museum, which we saw yesterday.
Finally, we ended our tour by traveling through the city center, where we saw the outside of the Catedral Primada de Toledo, and then went to visit a mosque with a beautiful view of the city for our last destination. This mosque, named Mosque of Cristo de la Luz, dates back to the 10th century. Afterwards, some of us enjoyed a nice Asian restaurant for lunch, where we got poke bowls, sushi, and ramen.
