Impressed and exhausted after a long visit to the Mezquita, I headed towards the river to see the 16-arched Puente Romano that crosses the Guadalquivir. It was once part of the road from Girona to Cadiz. Rebuilt many times over the centuries, what we see today is mostly medieval.
The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos was built in the 13th and 14th centuries as a palace and fortress until 1821, then later became a prison. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ruled Spain from here and Christopher Columbus came calling to pitch his seafaring plans to the Far East, finally succeeding in 1492.
The gardens are quite spectacular and worth a visit.
The royal stables at Caballerizas Reales were built in 1570 to breed a tall thoroughbred warhorse. Their work continues today along with training them and their riders, although the original stables were destroyed by fire in 1735 and rebuilt afterwards.
