praise you

The Cathedral, Sevilla

I had an fairly non-religious upbringing, so visiting places of worship and looking at how people express their faith always interest me. Religion and history and culture is so deeply entwined that understanding the role of religion in a country is one thing I always feel I need to know about a place.

In Spain, this obviously means visiting churches, but their fascinating history with the Moorish invaders from North Africa and the resulting Mudéjar architecture (a mix of Muslim and Christian architecture) left behind made for a far more complex and intriguing visit than I had expected.

Even now, weeks after I have returned, sifting through the photos I took allows me to pleasantly muse over the experience and what it means to eyes like mine living in the present 21st century, when Islam is often viewed with such trepidation and suspicion.