British Museum Antiquties

No visit to the the British Museum would be complete without at least a short visit to the antiquities section to see some of the Roman, Greek, and Assyrian permanent collection. Above is a portion of one if the metopes from the Parthenon.

I am Ashurbanipal King of the world, King of Assyria

Our next outing was to the British Museum to see the special exhibit about Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria. This is an amazing collection of art, writings, and everyday items from a long ago world that now resides in a place being torn apart and destroyed by war. I feel privileged to be able to see this material. As always, the British Museum has once again managed to bring the world to London to save me the pain of traveling to see it.

Natural History Museum

A trip to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington is always a treat. This time we went, as we try to do each year, to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. It is always a treat to see this collection of excellent images. Of course, photos of that exhibit are not allowed, but you can see the winners online. At the exhibit there are many more, some of which, I think, are the better images. In the eye of the beholder, eh?

But the parts I can photograph form their own kind of art. I have always found the building itself to be designed very much like a cathedral. From the front door, shown above, to chapel like alcoves off the main entrance hall.

Nunhead Cemetery

We made a visit to Nunhead Cemetery leaving Abney Park on our list of unvisited of the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries. This is a place that got away from the caretakers, changed hands a couple times and is now maintained by the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery.

Back to London

After Malaga, it was back to London again. The folks we sat for near Torrox also have a house in London and invited us to sit for them there. Naturally, we accepted. This house is south of Greenwich so we are a ways out of central London. This means that one of the easier ways to get about is on the buses. The image above is a curiously names bar on the way into town. Our first night at our house sit, we had tickets for a show, so off we went.

The Streets of Malaga

The central part of Malaga is all pedestrian streets. Once you've wanders for a very few minutes, you understand why this is the case. There are really narrow streets. There is traffic around the edges as taxis drop off people and there is traffic throughout as tiny tractors pull wagons for delivery of merchandise to the merchants in the area. But mostly, it is people, lots of people, wandering, shopping, busking, and eating.

Out our hotel window all we could see was the roof of the building next door. I though there were some interesting space and designs there.

This fellow was selling nuts on the street near the roman theater.

The flower vendor is well stocked. You will also notice that the out of focus guy in the background is wearing shorts. In February.

But these two ladies are not dressed for hot weather. These nuns are working their way along the sidewalk toward their next task of the day wearing the same thing I suspect they wear every day, regardless of the weather.

Mercado Central de Atarazanas

Like other cities of any size in Spain, Malaga has a central market filled with food of all descriptions.

Teatro Romano

At the bottom of the hill from the Alcazaba is a Roman theater built in the 1st century. The walls and proscenium are lost but the tiered seating and stage area remain.

Alcazaba

A short walk from the Cathedral in Malaga is the Alcazaba, a moorish hilltop castle dating from about the 13th century. While this is no Alhambra, is it still interesting.

Iglesia de San Juan Bautista

I realize that you are getting two churches in a row, but these are worth a look. The church of St. John the Baptist is clearly a step down in size and expense from the cathedral, but is right up there in grandeur.

Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación

Naturally, when we arrived in Malaga, we had to visit the cathedral. But getting to the hotel and parking was an ordeal.

First we thought we'd drive the cemetery to have a look about. We found it just, but what we failed to find was parking. It is impossible to find parking anywhere in Malaga as far as I can tell. So we abandoned this notion and headed to the hotel.

Leaving Ronda

After a couple days wandering Ronda, we loaded up the Jimny and headed out for Malaga. This drive took us through farmland that, except for the paved road, doesn't seem to have changed in centuries.

The Bridges of Ronda

The main bridge across the gorge, call the New Bridge, was finished in 1793. This is new here.

More Ronda

As mentioned in an earlier post, Ronda is situated on the top of a couple mesas. These two mesas are connected by three bridges. The newest, Puente Nuevo, was started in 1759 and took 34 years to build. From this bridge you can look down into the gorge of the Guadalevín River some 120 meters below.

A Walk about Old Town Ronda

Ronda is location on a couple tall mesas in abroad, rolling plane ringed by mountains. The farmlands look as if time has stood still. The fields of sheep, olives, and row crops seems to be stuck in some other time.

Church of Santa María la Mayor

Leaving Gibraltar, we headed inland, up in the mountains to Ronda. This is a former Islamic stronghold that was taken during the reconquista in 1486. This is a great little town, as you will see in subsequent postings. Our first stop upon arrival was the Church of Santa María la Mayor. And it is a truly amazing place.

The altar shown above is not the main altar. This is the one at the back of the church.

Gibraltar

It just seemed necessary to visit Gibraltar while we were on the southern coast of Spain. We discussed this with our host in Torrox and were told that spending one day was about right, so that's what we did.

To make the most of our time there, we planned a tour of the "rock" the afternoon we arrived. The first stop on this tour was the far end of the peninsula. As you see in the above panorama, we can easily see the 26 km or so to Africa (the mountain visible above the haze near the center of the image.

Shopping in Competa

After a trip to Competa to see the church, we made a return trip to do a little shopping. This is a small town but there are details, such as the wall above, that make this a special place.

Fuente de Piedra

We took a 1.5 hour drive to the small town of Fuente de Piedra (Stone Fountain). Near it is the Laguna where Flamingos live and breed. It is located in a broad plain ringed by mountains.

Mornings

We have discovered in retirement that life gradually finds its own pace.

On this housesit, I have dog walking duties each morning. There are two choices - one that is not too hilly and one that is uphill for 20 minutes and downhill all the way back. I save the climb for later in the day.

Cómpeta

A bit farther away from the sea than we are staying, we find the hillside town of Cómpeta. As you can see above, it is spread across the side of several hills. It is clearly a place with lots of ex-pats (most noticeably English) but it is not a tourist destination. It is a town for people to settle and live. As a result, at the street level, it is not so picturesque. Or perhaps, it was the lack of a clear blue sky above that made the town feel a bit more ordinary.

Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua

While we were in Frigiliana, we made a visit to the Church of San Antonio. It is a small church, but quite nice. It is billed as a good example of Mudéjar style. As Wikipedia describes this style:

Mudéjar (Spanish: [muˈðexaɾ], Portuguese: [muˈðɛʒaɾ]; Catalan: mudèjar [muˈðɛʒəɾ]; Arabic: مدجن‎, translit. mudajjan, "tamed; domesticated")^[1] refers to an architecture and decorationstyle in (post-Moorish) Christian Iberia that was strongly influenced by Moorish taste and workmanship, reaching its greatest expression in medieval Aragon, Andalusia and the city of Toledo. The distinctive Mudéjar style is still evident in regional architecture, as well as in music, art, and crafts, especially Hispano-Moresque ware, lustreware pottery that was widely exported across Europe.

 In this particular church, it seems to be a mashup of Moorish, and Baroque. Lots of gilt surfaces in this place.

One thing I've never seen in another church is the collection of masks of the apostles in the case below Christ carrying the cross. Kinda spooky.

At the other end of the transept we find Mary in her mourning dress standing over the case with the effigy of Christ.

The altar is lovely and here you can see the islamic influence in the design on the wall behind the figure of Christ and in the floor in front of the altar.

On the same side of the transept as Mary is Saint Anthony.

The lights on either side of the altar are of an interesting design and apparently in silver.

Toward the back of the church we find some arches that really show the islamic influence in the designs.

At the very back of the church, nearest the street, is the baptismal font and an interesting iron chandelier hanging over it.

Frigiliana

Not far from where we are staying is the small mountain town of Frigiliana. These folks have done it right. There is parking on the edge of town and the rest is all walking distance...provided you don't mind a hill or two.

Bosque del Apache - 4

I now understand why it takes so long for a wedding photographer to get back to you with the images. Now, after nearly 2 months, I finally completed the processing of the final images from Bosque del Apache. Here's the best of the last of that trip back in December.

Alhambra - 2

From the balconies and battlements, the views are splendid. In one direction, the mighty Sierra Nevada are visible since we are on foothill with our back to the mountains.