THE GLORY THAT WAS SPAIN’S
And in these many years what glory has been Spain’s! She has been aptly called an “eddy of tribes and races.” Under Moorish rule she commanded the Mediterranean. Then as a Christian kingdom, beginning with Rodrigo the Cid and Alfonso VI in the eleventh century, and extending through several hundred years under such famous rulers as Ferdinand and Isabella and later Charles V and Philip II, Spain acquired the whole peninsula and rose to be a great world power. In war she was a dreaded foe of France, England, and the Netherlands. Her armada for years swept the seas. In search of treasure and to extend Spain’s power and possessions, Vasco da Gama discovered India and Columbus opened up the new continents of the western world.
All the achievements of Spain in the brilliant past are brought home to the visitor who spends even a few weeks in that country. So many things in Spain are interesting for what they were! The visitor soon comes to know the mood of Washington Irving, who dwelt for a time in the Alhambra. His impressions are like those of a beautiful dream. Irving withdrew from the world of his day and immersed himself in the romance of the past. That is the mood in which the traveler will enjoy himself most when visiting many places in Spain.
THE LAND OF THE DONS
Puente de Toledo, Madrid
The bridge of Toledo at Madrid was completed in 1872. The banks of the stream are continually rising, and the piers are therefore partly buried in the ground.
The very entrance to Spain is a fit preparation for the strange, interesting and beautiful things to be seen there. No one can forget the day that he crosses the impressive boundary between France and Spain, winding about and tunneling through the majestic Pyrenees. Once this superb mountain range is passed, the traveler feels as if he had come upon a different world from any that he has seen before. His attention turns first, most naturally, to the great cities, which differ essentially from one another. Perhaps no two more contrasting cities could be selected than Toledo and Madrid. Toledo was from the earliest times a capital city. The Romans, Goths, Moors, and finally the Christians, made it the headquarters of authority. It was the scene of the triumph of that world-admired hero of the eleventh century, Rodrigo the Cid. Toledo is in all respects an impressive relic of bygone splendor. Madrid, on the other hand, is a modern city. In the days when Toledo was most magnificent and had a population of over 200,000, Madrid was a little town. Today Madrid numbers over 500,000 inhabitants, while Toledo’s population has dwindled to less than 30,000. In Toledo we find many things as they have been for hundreds of years. The city is still famous for its swords. The Toledo blade is known the world over today as it was in Roman times.
The traveler does well to visit Toledo first. Its very situation is extraordinary. The river Tagus flows about it and almost binds it in like a rope. The banks of the river are rocky and steep, and spanned by several interesting old stone bridges.