Spain

Independence Day and Eid came at about the same time so we had a long weekend right before Thanksgivng. For the first time since we've been here, we took advantage of the cheap flights from Morocco to Europe (some friends of ours went to Rome for $10.00 a ticket) and went to Seville, Spain. The tower of gold - built by the Muslims then later used to store gold from the Amercias. Seville's wealth came largely from the discovery of the New World and reminders of that were everywhere. Both Magellan and Columbus sailed out of Seville. It was fun imagining the departure of those voyages with people probably watching the banks of the river thinking these guys were insane!

One of the most bizarre things I've seen - a Muslim minaret topped with a Christian bell tower. The Moors (north African Muslims) conquered and ruled Spain for 800 years. As the "Christians" reconquered the land, the Muslims were driven back out. Their mosques were destroyed and in their places were built Cathedrals. This minaret was kept, however, and topped with a bell tower to go with the cathedral! The muzzein who led the Muslim call to prayers aparently was too old to climb stairs, so they made ramps inside to get to the top so he could ride on a horse. The girls loved running up the 30+ floors to get to the top!

Seville is famous for its flamenco dancing started by the gypsies years ago. We were not able to get to any shows, but did get in half price at this museum because we looked so miserable after walking in the rain for hours!

The cathedral that goes with the tower earlier. This is the third-largest cathedral in the world. The ceilings are 56 meters high and multiple chaples, an entire church, a huge choir room, organ, an enormous altar, soaring artwork, the body of Christopher Columbus, etc. are all inside this building.

The Seville bull ring. Thankfully this is the only 'fight' we saw! In case you're wondering - yes, they do always kill the bull but make him last as long as they can for entertainment before the last plunge of the spear. The matadors etc. are rarely killed, but often hurt. We decided seeing pictures was as close as we wanted to get!

Espana Square - so much beautiful artwork, tiling, and mosaics!

We took a day trip by bus to the fascinating city of Ronda - perched on the edges of cliffs and held together by this bridge. The Romans, Moors, Spaniards and many others all came through here and left their mark, although it was hard to conquer because of its location. (There are so many mentions of the Roman empire in Spain that Kendra finally asked, "Are we in Rome?") On the other side of the bridge, the Moors made an amazing system of caves and stairs for slaves to go all the way down to the water and bring it up multiple times a day. The Moors were driven out because the Spaniards cut off the water supply.

----------------------

As much as I loved seeing Seville, it's hard to face the reality of how much killing was done there in Christ's name. The gold from the Spanish conquests of the Americas covers the insides of cathedrals. The Spanish Inquisition drove out or killed thousands and thousands of Jews, Muslims, and Protestants to 'purify' the country. All this killing and looting was done with the cross on their shields and with the blessing of the church. But in reality, it was not Christ who drove this, but rather the quest for power and wealth.

This summer I noticed a lot of fear in the States regarding the Muslim world. What occured to me in Spain is that there was a time in history when much of the world lived in terror of Christians. North America, South America, Africa, and much of Asia were either conquered or colonized by "Christian" nations.

I have to keep in mind here that often when Muslims look at us, they do not know that we come from a peaceful branch of Christianity that broke off from this frenzy. They do not know we were persecuted at the same time they were. And although this all seems like ancient history to us, the conquests and the crusades are, believe it or not, rather fresh here. Many of Morocco's cities were established by people fleeing the inquisition.

So what do we do? Do we say that was not Christianity? Do we say that those people thought they were doing the right thing, but we feel differently? We get so frustrated with Muslims here who say Pakistanis and Afghanis are not Muslims because of their fanatical Islam. We want them to claim these countries as Islamic and deal with the violence that is in their religion. But are we ready to deal with the violence and abuse that has come out of Christianity? Do we have to apologize for what others did before us? Do we even have to claim it? How do we move forward from here? How can we speak of and live Christ's way - that of love, forgiveness, and truth - while those around us have barriers in their minds that have existed for centuries?

Thankfully, that is not up to us! We cannot change the past. But we can follow and be faithful.

And that is where the hope comes in. Even Spain, once bathed in blood, now allows Jews, Protestants, and Muslims to walk its streets and sit in the reverent silence of its cathedrals.