Viva Valencia - The Essentials

Tuesday, we did a second tour offered by Free Tours - Valencia.  This one was called Valencia Essentials.  We probably should have started with because it provided a very good overview of the city.

Our guide, Helana, was very good and she started by outlining the history of Valencia starting with the Romans, through the Muslims to the Christians.  She talked about how the silk trade brought wealth to the city in the 13^th and 14^th centuries.  At that time, there was also a significant Jewish population.  Gradually, the Muslims were kicked out, as were the Jews, and the city became mostly Christian.  However, the symbolism on the main cathedral (photos further below) refers to all three groups - aside from the usual Christian symbols, one of the entrances faces East in deference to the Muslim faith and there is a star of David embedded in the Rosetta window to acknowledge the Jews.  As Helena pointed out, you can remove the various peoples but not the history that they were there.  The tour lasted 2 ½ hours and was quite comprehensive.  We started at the Basilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados.

The Basilica is the building on the right and its interiors below

 

During the tour, we also saw one of the only two city gates still standing (the one where we'd had a drink nearby the previous evening), a palace which is now the seat of the regional government, the former silk exchange (another UNESCO site), the old Central Market that Nawal and I had previously wandered through, the exterior of the cathedral and some other buildings.  The tour was very good and thorough.  Again, it is clear that, like Seville, I need to spend more time here. 

The exterior of the main city gate

The building which was the former silk exchange (a UNESCO site)

The Central Market dating from 1916 (another UNESCO site)

The narrow building in between the yellow and corner building used to be the narrowest building in Europe
until one in Amsterdam beat it out.  It is now an Air BnB if you want to try sleeping in such a narrow space!

The main entrance to the cathedral

The cathedral entrance which faces east in honor of the Muslim religion

The Rosetta window with the star of David

After lunch, we found a lovely restaurant where, for 15.50 Euros, we had a three course lunch which was one of the best meals we have had on our trip.  I had grilled prawns then a  chicken and Bechemal sauce lasagne followed by panna cotta.  We both had a couple of glasses of rose wine because the first glass was included in the price.  What a deal!

Moma, our lovely lunch find

Our significant lunch meant we didn't really need any dinner so we only went out for a short time to have a drink.  I did manage to get photos of the bull ring which is in the centre of the city plus the older train station, another classic building.  I have really enjoyed Valencia and hope to come back here one day.  It is a city that has a really lovely vibe about it.

Tomorrow, we head by train (not from this station but the bigger one) to Barcelona where we will spend three and a half days.