It was a book that motivated our trip to Spain: "The Rise and Fall of Paradise", by Elmer Bendiner. It describes the early history of the Moors in Spain, when the Omyads ruled a civilization in which Muslims, Jews, and Christians worked together, and created a culture in which philosophy and the arts could flourish. We went to pay our respects to the philosopher/scientist Averroes and other great men of that time.

Our journey began in Seville, a "pleasant city, famous for oranges and women", according to Lord Byron. Seville is indeed charming. The old section is a maze of narrow alleys that lead eventually to elegant plazas.

Adjacent to one of these plazas is the cathedral and its bell tower, La Giralda. The cathedral is mostly 15th century gothic in its architecture, but its Moorish origins are evidenced by the orange grove, which serves as a courtyard. The Giralda itself was built by the Almohads (successors to the Omyads) in the 12th century. From the top of the bell tower one can enjoy a commanding view of the city, the colorful roof tops, and some of the local wild life.

The other well known feature of Seville is the Alcazar. Much of this royal palace was built in the Mudejar style (the Mudejars were Moors who remained behind after the Christian re-conquest). Typical of the style are the ornate arches with their elaborate decoration, and the glazed tiles that were first introduced by the Moors.

The gardens of the Alcazar feature huge bougainvillea vines, elaborate pools and fountains, and strange shrines.

The Museum of Fine Arts, formerly a convent, features a magnificent baroque ceiling. One of our favorite sites, though, was the Casa de Pilatos. Built in the 16th century, in a strange blend of Italianate and Mudejar architectural styles, the house features quiet gardens and unusual fountains.

The university, housed in the former Royal Tobacco Factory (as featured in Carmen), is surrounded by a protective moat - whether to keep students in or riff-raff out was not clear.

We spent hours wandering the narrow streets. We ate in charming restaurants, explored the markets (we were not tempted by the live snails), enjoyed watching young children, and avoided buying lottery tickets from the ubiquitous lottery salesmen.

We encountered many odd or entertaining events. On any evening one can see small or large religious processions. Young members of a local church, dressed in traditional costumes, escort through the streets a shrine dedicated to their church saint, which is born on the heads of young men who wear distinctive protective headgear.

Another unexpected encounter was the Fiesta de la Piragua, a kind of festival of swimming and boating on the Guadalquivir river. In the midst of all the sporting activity a church service, complete with choir singing the mass, was under way on one of the boats. The Bishop of Seville conducted the service as kayaks and canoes passed by. After the bishop had greeted his flock and disappeared from view, a huge flotilla of boats marked the official start of the fiesta.

We left Seville for a tour of the "white towns" set in the hills around Seville. We spent two nights in Ronda, which is set dramatically on cliffs either side of the Guadalevin river. From our room in the parador we could watch the light changing on buildings on the other side of the ravine.

A walk below the town took us past an old city wall built by the Moors, and by farm houses not quite that old, with tile roofs that encourage the growth of vegetation. We were treated to dramatic views of the countryside.

One of the most interesting of the white towns is Setenil, "home of the semi-troglodytes", where many of the buildings are constructed in caves under the cliffs.

We stayed for three nights in Vejer, another hill top town built originally by the Moors. It is typical in its streets of steps adorned with beautiful flowers.

A day trip to Gibraltar provided us with a close-up view of its most famous inhabitants, the Gibraltar apes (monkeys actually), who roam happily on the rock. It also provided a chance to enjoy fish and chips and a Guiness.

Finally, we spent a short time in Cordoba, center of the Omyad culture during the ninth and tenth centuries. The day we arrived the streets were full of women in traditional dress, including flower girls passing out carnations to advertise a beer company.

We discovered the reason for the dresses that evening, when we encountered the largest feria procession we had seen. Many families had dressed up the horses and come to town in the family carriage. Elegant caballeros surveyed the crowds, then set off through the streets of the old quarter. The parade stopped at one point, where a choir serenaded the procession as everyone stood silently. Then the group moved off across the Roman bridge to the other side of the river.

The most magnificent of the palaces built by the Omyads had been the Medina Azahara, which was destroyed by Berbers in the 11th century. Now, archeological reconstruction can only hint at its former magnificence.

For dramatic architecture, though, nothing surpasses the Mezquita, a mosque built by the Omyads on a site that had been a Visigoth church. As in Seville, an orange grove serves as a courtyard. Then, inside the mosque, the most dramatic array of pillars continues the sense of the orange trees. An elegantly carved Mihrab, or prayer niche, is set in the oldest part of the mosque. Following the expulsion of the Moors, a succession of Christian kings constructed a cathedral within the confines of the mosque, making for a most bizarre clash of architectural styles.

Bendiner's "paradise" was followed by a thousand years of religious persecution, internecine conflict, and international warfare. But now, people of all faiths and national origins visit and admire this little relic of a beautiful era.

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