A to Z of Windows – X is for Azure Window near Xlendi in Gozo

Our plan was to stay on board the bus and complete the route to the very far side of the island at a place called Dwejra where there is a natural rock formation called the azure window which attracts people like bees to a honey pot mostly it seems on account of the fact that it was used as a location for the TV show ‘Game of Thrones’ although I cannot confirm this because I have never watched it.

It was an interesting little stop and we clambered over the erosion scarred limestone rocks, shallow pools where nothing lived and the salt pans which was the reason why.  It was very busy so we made our way back to the shabby little ring of tourist trap shops and bars, had a beer and then on account of the number of people who might want to get on the bus made our way in good time back to the stop.

There is a rather sad postscript to this story because in a mighty storm on the morning of 7th March 2015 the stack and the arch were overcome by the wind and the surf and crashed into the sea.  Sadly the Azure Window on Gozo is no more and presumably the sightseeing bus tour will have to rearrange its itinerary.

Read The Full Story Here…

Game Of Thrones – Film Locations

I have never been a fan of ‘Game Of Thrones’, I didn’t get past episode 1, series 1 but more and more I get the feeling that I know a great deal about it because there are so many places that I have been that have by coincidence been used as filming locations for the programme.

I took all of these photographs completely oblivious to this fact and without a glimmer of interest in the series.  The picture above is the Alcazar de Sevilla  which for GOT became the Water Palaces of Dorne.

There are a lot of Roman bridges in Spain, they could have used those in Merida or Salamanca but they chose this one in Córdoba in Andalusia…

This is Þingvellir National Park,  one of several locations used for filming in the photogenic country of Iceland…

A lot of the filming for the early series was done on location on the tiny Mediterranean country of Malta, this is the Azure Window on the island of Gozo,  it also appeared in films such as Clash of the Titans and The Count of Monte Cristo, as well as the television mini-series The Odyssey.

Also on Malta they used the medieval walled city of Mdina…

After exhausting the filming location opportunities on Malta the filming moved a few miles east to the Balkan country of Croatia.  This is the Krka National Park  or for GOT The Landscapes of The West…

Dubrovnik featured prominently as The Red Keep and the site of the Battle of Blackwater…

And the Roman Palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian was a certainty to be used…

Next time I go travelling I will pay more attention to more possible GOT film location sitings.

Has anyone else come across these or other GOT locations?  Send me your pictures and I will see if I can make a post!

Twelve Treasures of Spain – Seville and the Cathedral

“The Cathedral and the Alcázar of Seville bear exceptional testimony to the civilization of the Almohads and to that of Christian Andalusia dating from the Reconquest of 1248 to the 16th century. The Giralda, which influenced the construction of many towers in Spain is a masterpiece of Almohad architecture.”  –  UNESCO

The “Twelve Treasures of the Kingdom of Spain“…

…was a contest/poll that was conducted by the Spanish Television Company Antena 3 and the radio broadcaster Cope. The final results were announced on 31^st December 2007.  I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the eight out of the twelve that I have visited.  Third in the competition was the Cathedral of Seville and I am going to have to cheat a little on this one.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world.  After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral was the largest cathedral in the world and is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus.  It was included in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjacent Alcázar Palace complex.

Seville Cathedral…

…was built to demonstrate the city’s wealth, as it had become a major trading centre in the years after the Reconquista in 1248. In July 1401 it was decided to build a new cathedral since the structure of the current building, an ancient Muslim mosque which had been converted into a Christian church, had been very badly damaged by the 1356 earthquake.  According to local tradition, the members of the cathedral chapter said: “Let us build a church so beautiful and so great that those who see it built will think we were mad”.

Well, I don’t know about the members of the cathedral chapter but we must have been mad because although we visited Seville we didn’t go inside the Cathedral!

After visiting the Bull Ring we returned to the Cathedral square, the Plaza del Triunfo, and had to make a choice between visiting the Cathedral or the Palace and because of Micky’s aversion to churches we chose the Palace.  Micky has never explained this issue that he has with the house of God and we have never asked – I have always assumed that he fears either Divine retribution for some terrible misdemeanour or terminal conversion to the Christian faith.

I would have liked to have seen the Cathedral but the Palace was a good choice because the fourteenth century building was a jewel box of patios, halls and gardens.  It has been the home of the Spanish Monarchy for seven hundred years and the upper floors are still used by the royal family today as its official Seville residence.

When we paid the entrance fee it was still overcast but by the time we had been around the interior the sun was out again and we had a very enjoyable hour walking around the extensive gardens decorated with tiles and containers and the wall top walks with views over the city gardens.

When we had finished we left and walked back to the Cathedral and then into the network of narrow streets to make our way back to the car park and a return to nearby Carmona.

Perhaps one day I will go back to Seville and this time pay the entrance fee and visit the Cathedral.

So, that is the top three – Cordoba, Altamira and Seville and I have seen them all but now I will have to move on to no. six in the list because so far I have not visited no. four, the Alhambra Palace in Granada or no. five the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillard in Zaragoza.

Even more reasons then to return sometime to Spain.

Click on an image to scroll through the gallery…