Touring Toledo

Good things happen if you are a good person. Saints may even come down from heaven to help with your burial. In this painting El Greco conveys  connections between the divine and the every day. Toledo is replete with connections like this.
The Gothic cathedral came alive with the procession marking Corpus Christi.
Clergy, notable people, children and musicians all joined in.

The procession wound its way through cobblestone streets for an hour or more. During this time myself and four others undertook a guided walking tour with Rachel.

Toledo’s history is long and complicated. We visited the Jewish quarter in which no Jews have lived for centuries. There is a synagogue named after Mary . . ?
The painting by El Greco, the Burial of Count Orgaz

is a mural in the Christian parish church of Santo Tome that was formally a mosque and is located in the Jewish quarter. How does that work?

Only a few doors away is the largest marzipan sculpture ever produced (Guinness world record).
Standing over 3m high, Don Quixote is an impressive  blend of almond meal, eggs and sugar - and I thought he was only a fictional character.

In the Plaza de Zocodover, locals and tourists take time out - while expectant tour guides await customers.
Siesta is over - the streets are coming to life again.

The Knight is approaching - Sword making and steel fabrication have been big business in Toledo since Roman times; and especially since the Templar knights banded together on the plains below the city in the 11th century.
Toledo is a living history - a vibrant museum and a fascinating world heritage site- so many facets of human culture and religion and cooperation and power and conflict over 2000 years. 

So much to take in, so many questions . . .

Time for tapas!