VIVACIOUS, DRAMATIC ANDALUCIA

FLAMINGO

I am a great fan of travelling and have been to a number of places but a visit to Spain had never been on my wish list. I did not know much about the country except that it was called Espana and was also known as the Iberian peninsula. I knew about the Spanish Armada and the Spanish Inquisition,  about its bull fighting, stylish matadors and the beautiful foot tapping gypsy dance filled with elan, colour, direct eye contact and gusto- the Flamingo. Had heard of its artists Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Gaudi and also about its Oranges and Olive oils.

PABLO BLANCA-WHITE VILLAGE

My daughter took us to visit Andalucia for a holiday with them and that was my entry into an altogether new world of discovery. Incidentally, this is also the area from where an Italian by birth, Christopher Columbus set sail to find the Indies and actually found America. Spain is a big country and Andalucia is situated in the South Coast of the Iberian peninsula. The beautiful calm and warm Mediteranean sea as well as the huge Atlantic ocean form its border on two sides. The small British territory of the famous Rock of Gibralatar is also located in this area.

Andalucia has  eight provinces, stretching from the south-east to the south-west of Spain, each province is named after its capital city: Cadiz, Cordoba, Jaen, Huelva, Almeria, Malaga, Granada and Seville. After reaching Malaga on 17th July, we drove to Marbella and were delighted to see that the beautiful motorway showed us an amazing landscape of the Mediterranean sea on one side and one could see vast stretches of beautiful mountains on the other side. Marbella is an immensely popular town, but before I proceed further let me tell you that in the Spanish language when you place two L’s together then the pronounciation of the two ll”s becomes "Y.” "R” is usually silent, Marbella is therefore pronounced as Mabeya. I wish life could have been simple and words could be pronounced as they were spelt. Oh, never mind, I guess these are the mysteries of the evolution of languages and phonetics and spellings, and then if everything gets simplified then what challenges would be left for us in life….Just wondering!

                                         
                         NARROW BEAUTIFUL ALLEY AT MARBELLA

So coming back to Andalucia, there is a lot of Moorish influence in its grand and spectacular buildings. Moors were a mixture of Berbers(ethnic group-inhabitant of North Africa) and Arabs who crossed into Spain from North Africa through the Straits of Gibraltar and occupied the peninsula  for more than seven centuries, dating from 710 a.d. when they first landed. They conquered the entire country, but soon withdrew to the southern part of the peninsula, where they established the towns of Cordoba, Seville and Granada. They left behind a legacy of architectural landmarks at the Alcázar castle in Seville, Córdoba’s Mezquita Mosque-Cathedral and Granada’s Alhambra palace.

  SALVADOR DALI CREATION

The beach at Marbella was beautiful and as we walked towards the beach  we went through a spectacular park dotted with the work of Salvador Dali placed all along the route. It was an open air museum and art was available for everyone to admire, literally, ”by the way”. Having had our fill of the Mediterranean sea and eating enough of almonds and peanuts freshly roasted by the wayside, surprisingly sold at the same price, we went on to explore Plaza de los Naranjos or the Orange Square in the old town of Marbella.  

PLAZA DE LOS NARANJOS

It was a very beautifully laid out geometric square filled with the Naranjo trees laden with the golden orange fruit. There are small restaurants all along the square where one can eat the local Tapas to ones heart’s content and drink Sangria the golden fruity drink with wine for more delight. The entire square and all the lanes leading away from it are beautifully cobbled. After enjoying an open air dinner with local performers playing Spanish music, eating "Gambas pil pil" and "Patata Bravas" amongst many other wonderful dishes, after paying "pagar" we walked into the charming cobbled alleyways.  Incidentally "pagar" the word which means "pay" in Spanish is used for "salary" in Marathi. Influences of invaders!

IN FRONT OF A CHURCH

As we walked down the cobbled alleys, I noticed that the very narrow alleys where one could barely stretch out both the arms together were maintained very clean. The quaint little shops in the alleys sold beautiful white dreses and souvenirs. As we wandered down lanes, bylanes and alleyways, we came across many beautiful Churches dotted all over the place. It reminded me of the many little temples that dot our gallis of Chandni Chowk.  Although the Church doors were closed, there was space in front of the Church to sit down and rest for a while. We had to literally pull ourselves away from the Old Town and make plans for the next day.

CHURCH AT MARBELLA

Next day we visited Sierra de Mijas. It is a lovely village on top of a mountain and one can see the Mediterranean  sea from the top of the mountain. At the foothills of the mountain by the sea is another village called Fuengirola. There were so many tourists that day at Mijas that traffic was diverted away from the town and free shuttle coaches were provided to park and ride. The view from this lovely boutique town was to die for.

THE SEA FROM THE MOUNTAIN AT MIJAS

The next day we drove to Rhonda which is a Pueblo Blanca or a white town. It is a lovely little town situated on top of a small mountain where all the houses are uniformly white with brown tiled roofs. This town has a deep gorge over which is located Puento Nuevo or the New bridge. When we entered the town in our big eight seater Volkswagon we saw a formidably narrow steep street which seemed to be the only road that went to the New Bridge. There were no signboards and not a single person on the road as it was siesta time. As soon as we spotted a person who looked like a local we asked him if that was the road to the Bridge and if our car would go through. The local person profusely explained to us the route in pure Spanish with enough gestures but left us looking as bewildered as we had been to begin with. A couple of cars soon appeared and went on that narrow steep mountain road which also had a right angle turn to the left. Seeing those cars going on that road,  we quickly followed suit. Once over the bridge we saw the Moors Castle which is not open to the public, but went into its garden and ventured into the water mine which is a ticketed place for tourists. It is quite interesting to note that defence of a settlement has always been on the minds of settlers, therefore we find settlements on hilltops and in those places from where invaders would be visible and defence of their lands would be easier from a vantage point. Rhonda in addition to this castle and New Bridge also had water mines called Casa Del Rey Moro.

NARROW ROAD TO NEW BRIDGE-RHONDA

As we went down the round shaft of steps into the Water mine, (reminding me of our own Qutab Minar with its circular steps), the descent looked quite daunting as, often the steps were uneven. The saving grace was that there were places where one could sit down for some respite before proceeding further. There were 200 steps down the shaft. Once we reached the bottom of the steps we could see a beautiful view of rocks and clear water. The climb up is not all that difficult and we soon emerged out into a little cafe with a wonderful view of the beautiful town, serving excellent Sangria and some local Tapa. The neat little garden laid out in the Moorish pattern is not as old as the 14th century, it was created a century ago in 1912. These strategically located hilltop castles are all over this region, they are  perched protectively above towns with their long, impregnable walls still intact almost 1000 years after they were built.

LILY'S AT BENAHAVIS

On the way back we visited Benahavis, a very beautiful, modern golf village with amazing villas sprawling across a lovely vista. There are seven Golf Courses in this small town. We ventured into its old town area and found an extremely cute and friendly Tapas bar called Lily's. It is owned and run by Lily and her daughter. It was very cozy with Lily's little four year old niece running in and out of the place making it all a very pleasant and happy dining experience. The food was divine. Incidentally Benahavis has the highest concentration of restaurants in the region and the cuisine is excellent.

RHONDA FROM CAFE

The next Pueblo Blanca village that we visited on the next day was Arcos de la Frontera. The drive to this place was from Seville(pronounced Seviye) and it was a beautiful canvas of nature at its best. There were vast plains as far as one could see which was filled with bright yellow sunflower. Sunflower is cultivated here for extraction of oil. Further on, we saw olive trees being planted, a few grape vineyards too were sighted but orange trees were few and far between.

  

NARROW 2 WAY ROAD TO PLAZA DEL CABILDO

Arcos de la Frontera is dramatically positioned on top of a rocky limestone ridge  from where a sheer cliff plunges down to the river Guadalete. The view from this point called the Plaza del Cabildo is breathtaking as one views the river and the rolling plains filled with plantation. There was a narrow cobbled steep street that leads up to the sandstone castle, the Castillo de los Arcos, located  at the Plaza del Cabildo. At this Plaza is also located a Church built in 1530. This church was also closed during siesta hours and opened only at 4pm.There was a roadside taverna and cafe on that very road which was open to two way traffic.

CARS GO UP THIS ROAD

Arcos De la Fontana was declared a national historic-artistic monument in 1962, because of its exceptional architecture and impressive location.

It is said that this settlement was founded by King Briga who was the grandson of Noah around 2000 B.C. The Romans who also ruled this land called it Arx Arcis which means Strength in height.

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                                          14TH A.D. CHURCH & VIEW FROM TOP.

Andalucia is also well known for its wonderful cuisine. Every village or town has a number of Tapas bars located close to each other. Seating is mostly outdoors which gives a very festive look to the entire place. Food is very fresh and every dish brought to the table is freshly prepared and brought as soon as it is cooked and ready. The dishes  come one after the other and not all together.

Siesta is rather sacred in this part of Spain. every shop, house, is shuttered and closed and no local person ventures out in the sun. Almost everything is shut from 2 to 4. Most windows had heavy drawn curtains, some had shutters. When we had reached Arcos, it seemed like a town devoid of human beings until we sighted a couple walking down the steep mountain. They reassured us that people do live in this town and life would begin at 4 pm.

SIESTA FROM 1415 HRS TO 1800 HOURS.

Our next stop was the capital of Andalusia-Seville. This is a big city away from the sea. That will follow as a sequel to this. This one was all about the villages and lovely little towns.

THE MUCH PLUNDERED SOMNATH TEMPLE

SOMNATH TEMPLE

My daughter says that I am a pseudo atheist. That is because I have visited so many places of worship that I must have completed almost all the "dhams" and "teerths" that a person is expected to visit.

My visits are basically to see the architecture, the wealth at display, the unbelievable devotion of the pilgrims and to try and understand the entire philosophy of worship.

My latest venture was to Gujarat and I visited amongst many other places the much attacked and plundered Somnath temple, situated near the city of Veraval.

I wanted to see what had attracted Mahmud of Ghazni(998-1030) of Afghanistan to Somnath in the year 1025 A.D. I had read that Mahmud Ghazni invaded India 17 times starting from 1000 A.D. and his last invasion was at Somnath. It is said that in 1025 A.D. Mahmud Ghazni attacked, destroyed and looted goods  worth 20 million dinars from Somnath. The temple at the time of Ghazni's attack was made of wood, the doors it is said were made of Sandalwood. Some historians also think that the attack of Ghazni may not have totally destroyed the temple in 1025 A.D. as there are records of pilgrims visiting the temple in 1038 A.D. too.

It is not known when the first temple was built at Somnath, but the second time it was built by the Yadava kings in 649 A.D.  When the second temple  was destroyed in 725 A.D. by the Governor of Sindh  named Al Junaid, the temple was built a third time in 815 A.D. by the Gurjara Pratihara King Nagabhatta II.

The fourth temple was  constructed in stone and was studded with jewels. It was built by Kumarapala in 1169 A.D.  In 1299 A.D. Alauddin Khilji's army led by Ulugh Khan sacked the Temple again.

The temple was re built by Mahipal I, a Chudasama ruler in the year 1308 A.D.

Amir Khusro(1253-1325) the famous poet of the 14th century who was courtier to seven rulers of Delhi and who also introduced the Khadi boli of Hindi,  who gave us many puzzles in the form of poetry, is said to have recorded that Muslim pilgrims leaving for Haj would visit the Somnath temple before embarking on their Haj pilgrimage. Religious tolerance and respect?

 In 1395 A.D. the temple was again plundered by the Governor of Gujarat who was working under the Delhi Sultanate.

In 1546 A.D. the Portuguese invaded and destroyed many temples of which Somnath was one.

In 1655 A.D. Aurangzeb ordered that the temple be destroyed.
Interestingly in 1782, Mahadji Scindia of Gwalior victoriously brought back three gates from Lahore after defeating Mahmud Shah Abdali, but the priests and ruler of Baroda, Gaekwad refused to put the gates back on the temple. those gates were then placed in the Mahakaleshwar temple of Ujjain.

THE TEMPLE

So like the proverbial phoenix, we find that Somnath has been destroyed many times and has always been re constructed by its devotees through the ages.

The present temple, last of the restored ones, is situated at the same place and was made in 1952 after India became independent.

It is said that if you look up straight from the South Pole, the place where the Somnath temple stands is the first piece of land that one can see.

I was duly astonished and full of awe until my brother pointed out to me that most places on the Western coast of India would be the first piece of land when one looked up from down south. After all India is shaped like that. My awe struck jaw then quickly went back to normal.

The present day temple is quite simple looking, it has none of the beautiful sculptures adorning its facade as most ancient temples of India have. There is a huge flag which flutters on its shikhar(pinnacle).

There is a neat and clean walk into the temple from the east entrance past the security check. No belt not even cloth ones, electronic watch, mobile, electronic device including remote controlled car keys or camera is allowed inside. One can keep everything in a secure locker outside the entrance before walking in.

When we reached the entrance to the premises we found lots of people waiting to enter, the men had to walk on one side and the women had to walk on the other side.  We were let inside the temple premises in small groups. We had to walk on, look inside the sanctum sanctorum and walk out with the group. Personal prayers are not allowed inside, one can just have a view of the deity and watch the proceedings of the prayers being performed by the Pujari on TV screens located inside the sprawling compound and outside the temple building.

Without a phone for communication, when women and men leave the temple from different gates, then it is a proper game of seek and seek. No, there is no hide and seek, it is only seek, stress, seek. We had not fixed a point for meeting as we were not aware of the layout of the place so we kept looking for each other and then decided to wait near the Sound and Light venue as we had bought tickets to watch the show.

The temple is counted as Number one amongst 12 Jyotirlinga shrines located in India.  The shivling was beautifully decorated with flowers.

The walls of the sanctum sanctorum as well as the doors are fully covered with gold. Gold is what Mahmud Ghazni and so many others had actually come for.

 

SUNSET AT SOMNATH

In the evening we saw the very beautiful sun setting in the west across the Arabian sea.

After that we saw the Sound and Light programme, which is projected on the Western wall of the temple. We had bought tickets to watch the show, but it could also be seen from outside without buying the tickets.

The beautiful building of the Somnath Trust guest house called Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Guest House is just next to the temple. It is a comfortable and clean Guest House with every room facing the beautiful Arabian sea, where they do not actually trust their guests. When you check in,  an attendant comes with you to the room, counts every item with a check list and makes you sign that everything mentioned in the list is actually available in the room. This is not a free guest house mind you, one books on line and pays a small deposit as security besides the rent. When one vacates the room, again the attendant comes and counts everything and after his clearance is given, your security deposit is refunded. So much for trust!

The food that they serve is good, clean, hygienic and very reasonably priced.

Veraval is the nearest town and is a nice place where the main business appears to be construction of boats. Fishing is big business of the people here and for going into the sea the fishermen require dhows and fishing large wooden boats where they can stay for 15 days at a stretch. These boats are made by traditional skills passed down the ages. Modern technology is not used here.

 

PRABHAS PATAN

Quite close to Veraval is a place called Prabhas Patan.

 It is said that after the Mahabharata war, Krishna left Mathura and Braj bhoomi and moved westward to set up his kingdom at Dwarka. It seems that even then the trend was to move westward!

Dwarka the kingdom of Krishna is about 258 Kms from Somnath. One day at Prabhas Patan as Krishna sat resting under a tree,  a hunter by mistake  shot an arrow at the foot of Krishna who then walked about 1 km away to a place called Dehotsarg from where he left  this earth for his heavenly abode. His brother Balaram who was the avatar of Sheshnaag also left  earth at this very place.

MIGRATORY BIRDS ON RIVER HIRAN

The temple constructed on this spot  at Dehotsarg is on the banks of the river Hiran. There is a simple temple at this place, where visitors or pilgrims can sit in peace and at leisure. There was not much crowd here as devotees were not thronging the place. After visiting this temple we spent some time looking at the migratory birds flying or sitting on the banks of the River.

 

BHALKA TEERTH

We then went to the temple  Bhalka teerth at  Prabhas Patan where the arrow was actually shot. The temple over here has good sculptures as it is a relatively old temple. The interior of the temple was quite simple, and had the statue of an injured Krishna and an apologetic shikari kneeling in front of Krishna.

 

NEW TEMPLE

As we moved towards Veraval, we came across a more beautiful temple being constructed by the Somnath Trust.

 

TRIVENI and MIGRATORY BIRDS

Close by is the Triveni sangam  where besides the invisible Saraswati there are two visible rivers the Hiran and the Kapila.

I was quite fascinated to realise that Somnath is a very important place of pilgrimage for both the Shaivites as well as the Vaishnavites. The most important Jyotirling  of Shiva is the Somnath temple and the place where Krishna is believed to have been injured and from where he ascended to his heavenly abode is also situated here. What could be more sacred than this place? A visit to Somnath is quite enchanting, the history of plunder, the simplicity of the temple facade, the gold in the sanctum sanctorum and the twin advantage of being in the very important place from where Krishna left this earth is really worth it.
Somnath is well connected by road as well as railway. The nearest airport is at Diu,which is a beautiful place by itself and is about 84 kms away. The drive is quite scenic. The nearest railway station is at Veraval which is less than ten Kms. away.
It had long been my desire to visit this place which attracted so many plunderers. I did like the temple but what I loved best was the calm and clean Arabian sea and the wonderful sunset. I was also fascinated to see the port of Veraval, from where many people of Gujarat, through the ages, went westward-some for pilgrimage and  some to settle down and earn their livelihood.

DEHOTSARG TEERTH

PAANCH PANDAV TEMPLE