I just can’t get enough of Spain, so I am featuring it again this week on Photo Friday! There were also way too many photos to choose just one, so you get a little photo essay.
Roman Theater circa 18 BC
They say the sun never set on the Roman empire and one could certainly say the same for the Spanish empire. These two once great empires collide in Extremadura, the rough and tumble province of Western Spain. The conquistadors of the new world came from this place, where over a millennium earlier Agrippa built a theater in the city then known as Emerita Augusta. Agrippa and the conquistadors are long gone, but the theater still stands, or most of it anyway. It is the best preserved example of Roman architecture in the world. Next door is an amphitheater where gladiators and exotic animals met their end.
Arched entrance to the amphitheater
Spain is a place where the old and new live side by side. In Mérida, the Mithraeum, a temple used by the Romans for bull sacrifice, sits just down the street from the bull ring, where the age old battle of man versus beast plays out for a modern crowd.
The amphitheater is still used today – for concerts
When we visited Mérida in late August they were celebrating a fiesta. In the late afternoon, the narrow city streets filled with people participating in another ancient custom still thriving in Spain – imbibing merrily with a group of friends. While in many Spanish cities the practice of drinking in the street, the so-called botellón, has been outlawed, the citizens of Mérida, young and old alike, seemed to have no problem with it. The DH and I loved the jovial atmosphere. (Botellón describes the custom of people, usually teens/youngsters, gathering in a park, plaza or the street to drink {alcohol generally}, eat and gab. There is serious debate about botellón in Spain as some view it as a serious nuisance due to noise, mess and juvenile delinquency, while others view it as harmless.)
Remains of an aqueduct (and fuzzy trash bin – I took this from the car)
Beyond the bacchanalia, Mérida is a cornucopia of Roman delights – theater, amphitheater, mithraeum, circus maximus, aqueducts, arched bridge (the longest of all Roman bridges and still in use), triumphal arch, temple of Diana, etc… No wonder the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This post is part of Photo Friday featuring travel photos. Visit Delicious Baby for more! Come back next week for more from Extremadura, the city of Cáceres.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting locations. Love the old amphitheater throughout the Mediterranean countries.
lovely photos!! it makes me want to go there, and explore!
Jessie Voigts’s last blog post..Travel Photos: Butterflies at Meijer Gardens
Spain is very high on my travel list….hoping to get there in the next couple of years. Thanks for this sunny “taste”!
Lucia’s last blog post..Travel Photo Friday: Taiwan
Really love pics! I love the contrast of the blue sky and the earthen buildings.
Beth Whitman’s last blog post..Photo of the Day: Sitting Sadhu
These are beautiful photos!
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Do not forget “El Secreto IBERICO” but may be that is an entire future post
Wine on “La terraza del hotel” the families with kids roaming around (well behave or I will tell them, not like in some parts of the world) and then the steak! all that on a 25C summer night
Thanks for stopping by everyone! And yes, DH, I will be writing an entire post about our evening at the terraza – you’ve inspired me. How could I not mention the “secreto iberico”!?
SHHHHH!
es un secreto!
These are all hermosa fotos. I really liked the arches. And you got a great photo from the car. I do that all the time, can’t stop taking pictures even though I’m moving.
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We loved seeing all of the old to ancient structures in Spain..something you just don’t see here in the States. Spain also had some of the coolest modern architecture we’ve seen in our travels.
Wish we’d had more time to spend lazy afternoons in the plazas or tapas bars. That was sort of a nice “custom”
Although it meant everyone was just ending their day and having dinner around 10 p.m.
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