ALCALA DE HENARES - PREPARING FOR THE JOURNEY

I arrived this morning (4/23) in Spain and have settled into the residence in Alcalá de Henares where the group will be for the next two weeks before we begin our trek. I thought that I would give you a quick look at some of my favorite places Alcalá with a little explanation on each one.

Let's start at the Plaza Cervantes that is at the core of the old city. It is a lovely place where people come to stroll about and book sellers set up stands. The tower belonged to a church that is to be the one where Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote de la Mancha, was baptized. 

Today the remaining part has been turned into an exhibition hall and the open area that was once the nave has become a skateboard park for the local youth! 

From the plaza you turn down the Calle Mayor. It is like stepping back in time. The street is lined with shops (on the lower level) and residences on the upper. There are a few interesting little tidbits of information that make this are particularly interesting.

First, the second floor overhangs a columned walkway where businesses are located. Access to the residences was from a narrow doorway that opens up onto the business level of the walkway. I order to allow visitors into the private areas above ground the family had a small opening in the floor above the door where they could drop the key and allow entrance to visitors (see below).

Also, take a close look at the columns. Many of them are "repurposed" from the ruins of Roman constructions in what Alcalá once was, the city of "Complutum."

On this same street is the home of Miguel de Cervantes.

If you turn the corner here you will find the Convento de las Carmelitas Descalzas de la Purísima Conception (Covent of the Discalced Carmelites of the Immaculate Conception) also known as the Convento de la Imagen (Convent of the Image). It was established by sor María de Jesús in 1563. Saint Teresa de Jesús, the well-known mystic, visited the convent on numerous occasions.

Backing up to the Calle Mayor, we proceed toward the far end of the street where we find the Catedral Majestral de los Santos Justo y Pastor. It is a late Gothic style (1497) under the supervision of Cardinal Cisneros. 

There are two things to notice here that are of great interest. First, this is the beginning of the Camino de Santiago Complutense that winds north until it meets the French trail (that we will be walking) in León. Also, you will note that on the tower of the Cathedral are storks nests. The birds are protected and left undisturbed. They are seen as being a sign of fortune. (see both below)

From the Cathedral move towards the Plaza de las Bernardas flanked by the Monasterio de San Bernardo and the Convento Madre de Dios. Contiguos to the plaza is the Archbishop of Toledo's palace with its Torreón de Tenorio. The tower was named for the 14th-century Archbishop Pedro Tenorio who served from 1377-1399. Here again you see the "recycling" efforts of early builders to use the precious stone left from the Roman ruins of Complutum.

I wind my way back to the Plaza Cervantes to a final stop (for the moment): la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares. One of a several "institutions of higher learning: the university was "refounded" under the hand of Cardinal Cisneros in 1499.

Welcome to Alcalá. I will continue to post items as the days move along.