Pictures: FALL BREAK

This is not at all a timely update. I am sorry for that. Still, I hope you enjoy!

PART I: SPAIN

This part was with my program. We went to Cordoba and Granada to see the Arab/Islamic influence on this part of Spain (Andalusia, formerly Muslim-occupied Spain). The parallels to Moroccan architecture are amazing - medinas, riads, mosques, tile/mosaics. The cities had such a blended, interesting feel to them. And they were totally stunning. (For anyone who doesn't know - Muslims ruled most of the Iberian peninsula from around the year 720 - only about 50 years after the death of the Prophet - to 1492 when they were expelled, though their hold on the region had been declining for a while before that. So...they were there a long time, almost 800 years.)

Helloooooooo Spain!

Tarifa, southern Spain. Just got off the ferry from Tangier. That's Africa in the distance.  Looking out the window as our bus rode through the hills, on our way to Cordoba. (thanks for this photo, Rebecca Young!)

alley flowers in Cordoba

Islamic architecture in Cordoba - awesome.

The Great Mosque (now church) of Cordoba. There is so much Christian imagery right beside the Muslim. Very fascinating.  The building was originally a Visigothic church before Cordoba was taken by the Muslims, whereafter it became a mosque and truly glorious. When the Christians took back Cordoba they couldn't stomach destroying this mosque, so they transformed it into a church (which still functions as a church today).  It still has Arabic script everywhere, and the architecture and design is unmistakably Islamic. Unfortunately my lens couldn't get a much broader view. Look it up. 

more of the Mosque (also below)

Clearly a Muslim part of the church/mosque. No images of God or humans are permitted in Islam, so they make up for it in the the impeccably detailed plaster work (walls), wood work (ceiling) and tiles. So beautiful. 

Above: I can't remember which church these statues are from...they just looked really cool, and also very pagan which is intriguing...lots of moons and stars. 

View of Granada from the Alhambra (palace and fortress built by the Muslims in the 14th century)

gorgeous gardens

fall had arrived in Spain - those colors made me very happy

PART II: MALTA

I went to Malta with my buddies Kristy and Soha. 

This island is one of the most strange and befuddling places I have ever been. 

Quick overview of the country (with help from wiki) since I am betting you know nothing about it and forgot it existed, as was the case with me: Malta is located right in the middle of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, and is one of the teensiest places ever. The population is about 415,000. The country consists of Malta (the main island), Gozo, and Comino, as well as some other small uninhabited islands. What is fascinating about Malta is its history, which I knew ABSOLUTELY nothing about.  Until independence from Britain in 1964, essentially its entire history is one of occupation, and it has been occupied by just about everyone you could think of. The Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Crusaders, Napoleon, and finally the British (who ruled from 1814-1964). They all left their mark in different ways, and Malta feels incredibly intriguing but super jumbled and confusing as a result. The weirdest and most fun part for me was the language. Maltese is basically Arabic, and I had no idea about this when I booked my flight there. It is amazing how similar it is. It is also mixed with Italian, French, and other stuff. But it is considered to be a Semitic language, and the only one that uses the Latin alphabet. The numbers and days of the week are essentially identical to Arabic. Hello/welcome is "merhaba", "all" is "kul", "day" is "youm", "street" is "triq", "house" is "dar".....IT IS ALL ARABIC. I couldn't get over how crazy this language was - we Arabic students were geeking out hard. 

So, obviously the Arabs left a huge legacy behind in language form, even though they were only there for 200 years. But other than that, it seems that the Christians pretty much wiped out any other trace of them when they reconquered the island. So we are left with an very very religious (Roman Catholic) country whose language sounds like Arabic. Weeeeird. Despite how conservative and religious it is, it also has a huge partying culture among its youth - I know this because my hostel was right in the midst of all the crazy. 

I expected Malta to be this perfect, picturesque island nation that would feel like Italy. It wasn't really either. It certainly had beautiful parts, the coastline of course, and some cool architecture. But overall it looked kind of run-down....99.9% of the buildings are the exact same shade of beige, and most of them look very weathered, water-stained, etc. So, you have that image in your head, and then you read these insane figures: Malta has the happiest people in the world. Malta has the lowest crime rate in the world. WHAT@!!!? And then this amazing history: Malta has these ancient megalithic structures which are  some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world. Malta claims one of the earliest Christian populations in the world. And all of this doesn't seem to be well advertised or capitalized on - I knew nothing about Malta, and certainly had no idea it was this amazing or important. Not to mention, I went on a few tours which took us to all of these amazing sites, and all of the tour guides were awful, not very knowledgeable, and in general very uninterested seeming. MALTAAAAAA you are so weird!!

Anywho, I could go on for a long time about Malta. "Where are we" was the motto of our 4 days. While there I was trying so hard to figure out this place, I kept trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle that wouldn't seem to fit. The best word was...confused. 

Left: BEIGE. It was very dark/overcast almost the whole time we were there. 

St. Paul's Grotto. This is a cave under
a church where St. Paul was said to have lived
in 60 AD, when he was shipwrecked in Malta.
It is because of this that there is apparently
one of the oldest Christian populations in the
world in Malta.

Sadly they wouldn't allow me to take pictures inside the
catacombs. Anyways, back in the day St. Agatha escaped to
Malta from Sicily where she was being persecuted for her
faith. She apparently sought refuge in these catacombs (creepy).
Eventually she was captured by the Sicilians, her breasts were cut
off, and she was burned at the stake. 

epic

Rabat is a neighborhood in Malta. WHERE ARE WE. 

This is Mdina (...medina....), the old medieval capital of Malta - an Arabic name, but the structures are actually not from the period of Arab rule. I think the medina was built after the Arabs left. 

More Mdina. It is called the "silent city" - it was really dark and indeed, very silent. 

OoooooOOooooooooOOo

Here are some really weird things:

Malta is a strange place. Above, an example of one of the many wax religious figures I had the pleasure of seeing on this little island. This particularly frightening one is of the baby Jesus. I hope you can sleep tonight. And to the right, Kristy is holding one of the many prawn-flavored snacks we came across. This one is aptly named "Prawny."  

How crazy looking is this language!?

thanks Malta

PART II: PORTUGAL

Oh, Porto. You felt blissfully surreal after Malta, and you stole my heart. 

Soha, Kristy, and I met up with more of the group who had been traveling around Portugal while we were in Malta. 

Porto is built on hills surrounding the Douro river. This was just about the most charming place I have ever been.

right by our hostel, which was awesome by the way,
it was run by this young couple and their newborn
baby. they fed us breakfast during which they blasted
 Portishead, and they had an awesome movie collection.
Also the dad, who had Tourette's and was really sweet
gave us a ride to the train station.

this blue tile is all over Porto and give the churches
a very unique feel because of it. 

I took this sneaky picture rather than pay the 2 euro
to get into this part of the church. 

The Douro river, which opens up to the Atlantic
just out of frame. 

The leaves!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never been more happy to see Fall as I was in Porto. 

There was a lot of rad graffiti. 

And that was a taste of fall break!

Thanks for viewing, check back later for more photos.




love,
sonya