You smell like a Christian!

I am starting to recognize people on the street from this neighborhood.  I especially love seeing the guy with the cuddle dogs.  He is always so loving with them.

I've kind of developed a routine.  I've discovered that I don't mind standing on the bus, but the back is hot and vibrates my teeth out.  I've found a place for a chocolate croissant (I tried to call it pan con chocolate because that makes sense to me, being a direct translation from French...but no, it is called a Napolitana, which is something altogether different in France.  But I digress...)and coffee.  The coffee I like best is called "cafe cortado" and is an expresso with just a little milk and a tablespoon of sugar!  It would be hard not to like that, I think.

I've gotten more used to which number bus to take, how to cut through the air conditioned supermarket and where are the closest bus stops.  I know pretty much when the crosswalk light will be green and how long, and if I have time to make it across the road before the latest Ford Fiesta knocks me over.  (BTW, they have smart cars here.  They look like they do at home, but smaller.  More like a roller skate you'd use on your doll than an actual vehicle.  Even the Vespas are bigger! I'd be afraid someone would pick up my car and move it as a practical joke.  Maybe they need to develop bike chains for Smart Cars...)

 

I had a moment this afternoon as I was wandering "El Carmen" district.  I was walking and taking pictures. And, I suddenly realized, "I'm here.  Wandering the streets of an incredibly old town."  I know it sounds rather trite, but it really was a surreal moment.

bathing accoutrements

roof of the bathing chambers.  those round globes are the skylights seen in the other photos

the oldest original piece of the floor

Today's lesson took place at the Christian Islamic Baths.  These date from the 15th century and were working baths right up until 1960's when it was purchased by the city and renovated.  While the city was under Christian rule at the time, it is extremely evident how much the Islamic society affected the daily life even centuries after the expulsion of the Muslims.  The first Christians (Visigoths) were pretty much barbarians, clothed in animal skins, washing at most once a year.  The Islamic society in Al-Andalus highly valued cleanliness.  Deodorant, soap and daily bathing were all improvements created by the Muslims.  One highly offensive phrase you would only save for your worst enemy:  "You smell like a Christian!".

Even though these baths were created when the area was already under Christian rule, the structure of these baths was based on the Romanic hot/cold/temperate rooms, with skin being scraped then massaged with oil. These baths further demonstrate the Islamic improvements in the quality and efficiency of the construction.  The fact that they existed at all, with soap, is proof positive of the enduring influence of Islamic society.