Our first planned stop is the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma is a Gothic Roman Catholic Cathedral built on the site of a pre-existing Arab mosque. It is 121 metres long, 55 metres wide and its nave is 44 metres tall. By way of comparison, the height of the central nave reaches 33m in Notre Dame de Paris, 38m in Reims, 42m in Notre-Dame d'Amiens and 48m in Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, the highest of all Gothic cathedrals.
Designed in the Catalan Gothic style but with Northern European influences, it was begun by King James 1of Aragonin 1229 but finished only in 1601. It sits within the old city of Palma atop the former citadel of the Roman city, between the Royal palace and the episcopal palace. It also overlooks the Parc de la Mar and the Mediteranian Sea.
The story goes that James looked like he would be beaten in the battle and pledged to our lady to build a church if he was victorious...and so he did! There is a wonderful audio tour that even the girls could manage. It was a great combination of fact and stories and art work, perfect for our group. The setting, looking out the main door to the harbour, is breathtaking.
We also visit the Arab baths, a bit of history included below, but in actuality they were a bit underwhelming. Oh well, as jerry says, everything can't be a home run! The 10th century baths are virtually all that remain of the Arab city of Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma)They were probably part of a nobleman's house and are similar to those found in other Islamic cities. The tepidarium has a dome in the shape of a half orange, with 25 round shafts for sun light, supported by a dozen columns.
each of the columns is different - they were probably salvaged from the ruins of various Roman buildings, an early example of recycling. Hammams were meeting-places as well as wash-houses, and the courtyard with its cactus, palm and orange trees would have made a pleasant place to cool off after a hot bath. The garden outside is very pretty, and the twisting streets to get to the baths are really neat!
We also popped in and out of four other gorgeous churches, one of which we thought was the cathedral because it was so grand! One of the nicest parts of touring was strolling in our summer clothes. It isn't as warm as Molly and I like, but is is lovely. The stores are decorated for Christmas and that adds a lot. We visited two Christmas markets, one of which specialized in the elaborate manger scenes which we see everywhere. They Re designed to look like they are built into hillsides, and families and churches must add to them year by year. The pieces are really neat.
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