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TRAVEL/TOURS ADVERTORIAL50 NADFAS REVIEW / SPRING 2017 www.nadfas.org.uk Life in squaresThe late afternoon sun rakes across the bristling spires and fl ying buttresses of Seville’s vast, Gothic cathedral. Glossy black horse-drawn carriages line the cobbled streets below, and citrus trees stand fragrant in the warm light. Just beyond these, the rather unassuming-looking Puerto del Léon leads into the Alcázar – one of the fi nest surviving examples of Mudéjar architecture anywhere in the world.The earliest parts of the Alcázar (Real Alcázar de Sevilla, to give its full name) were built during the tenth century, as the residence of the then Umayyad Governor of Al-Andalus, during southern Spain’s nearly 800 years of Islamic rule. Later, in the 12th century, it was the residence of the Almohad dynasty after they transferred their capital to Seville. Following the fall of Seville to the Christian armies of Ferdinand III in 1248, the Alcázar became a royal residence – a status it has maintained to the present day. Its refi ned courtyards and salons are exquisitely decorated, including the extensive use of azulejos (ceramic tiles), the manufacture of which Seville has long been famous for.Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, some of the early parts of the palace remain, including The Patio del Yeso, with its richly carved stucco decoration above tilework with geometric and vegetal motifs so typical of Islamic art.However, many of the most spectacular parts of the Alcázar date from the middle of the 14th century, when the king of Castile and Léon, Pedro I (also known as Pedro the Cruel), ordered an extensive programme of rebuilding, employing Muslim craftsmen from Granada and Toledo. These include the Patio de las Doncellas (Courtyard of the Maidens) with its dazzling panels of tilework, based on an interlocking eight-pointed star motif. Seville’s rich history is refl ected in the tilework ornamentation of palaces, villas and public spaces. Rudolf Abraham gives an overview of the best