TOLEDO—the name brings images of  a place  steeped in romance and history. The first glimps  of the old city across River  tagus did city across river tagus dad not disappoint.
Bright sunlight washed  over its contours adding to its mystery and charm. This was the city the great artist  el greco,  the greek,as locals  called him, loved inspiring him to create some of his best works.
Situated at about 70 km  south to madrid, Toledo was the old capital of spain. In 1561, the capital was shifted to madrid when king philip 2 , suffering from gout, wanted to go somewhere less arid.
Arid it is. After all, this is cervants” Don Quixote, land with the red , dry earth of the meseta plateau rolling  away to  the distant hills. The place itself spane the history of spain.  Its different kingdoms are reflected in the varied styles of the Alcazar (royal palace for the moors), churches, synagogues and buildings.
For its  historical  value, the whole fortified city is listed as a unesco heritage site.  New construction in the city limits is prohibited. So when you stroll  on wide courtyards, or saunter down the narrow cobbled streets shadowed by tall medieval buildings, it seems as if you are walking into  a set of  a film with a storyline positioned in medieval  times.
The awe deepens as you enter the ancient city throught puerta de bisagra, the main entree gate with its coat of arms .
Toledo was once the confluence of jewish, arab and christian people. This is way it is often called “The city of Three culturess.”
The moors from morocco on  the tip of northern Africa invaded  Spain in the 8th century and regined for almost four  hundred years. These various influences had enriched the capital, and  as a commercial centre, too, Toledo had propred. Toledo’s    jewish heritage can be traced today only in a few synagogues like the serence santa maria la Blance ( saint mary the white ) with its pillars beautifully decorated with compelx geometrical medallions.
Its great cathedral,with still remains the primate cathedral of spain, and is  ranked as one of the greatest gothic structures in the world. However , different architectural styes exist  side by side as it was built   over more  then 250years  beginning at 1226. It  harburs glorious murals, stained-glass windows and works by el greco, velazuez and goya. The richly embellished wooden choir is astounding, to say the least. Then there is el transparente   signifying   the ingenuity  of 18th century  sculptor narciso tome; he cut a skylight  on the dome to bring light  to dark  corner and draw attention to the magnificent marble  and alabaster baroque wall with christ and angels, a move which once brought bitter criticism. But  as you look at the  shaft  of  light    illuminating  the intricate  work you realise that being rebellious- be it artists, painters or  sculptors, throught the ages have introduced new thoughts  and creativity in the world and generations in posterity have enjoyed  the fruit of their daring.
The  Alcazar is not only imposing and cornucopia of love stries, intrigues and  tragedies but also a symbol of  tenacity as it went throught many  disasters; napoleon burnt it, and  then it went  through a 70-day almost  destroyed it. Today, it has been restored into  an army museum.
The famed tiles of spainsh but of moorish origin. The  combination of christian and islamic art fused into what know as  mudejar art, beautifully in viws on the ceilings of the alcazar. Though   the art  of tapestry has been known from Egyptian times, during the medieval  period it reached its peak  and tapestry artists were much asteemed. Great swathes of tapestry telling  stories of kings and battles decorate the walls of the palace in Toledo.
The mors also introduced many arabiana medicines in the country. Damascene is another moorish art-  inlaying gold or silver threads against black steel backdrop, quite like  hyderabadi bidri work  but looks much more gorgeous. Toledo’s swords are reminders of days  when swords and sabres played a major role in battles. Walking  around shopping for mementoes and artefacts, people often drop into confectioneries which sell the famous  toledo marzipan, orginally made by nuns of a monastery.
Though  day tours from madrid are more popular staying overnight  gives more scope to in the atmosphere of this beauteous city that seems to stand still in a time long past.