Cadiz
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sat 4 Sep 2010 17:52
As it is a walled city, limited by its geographical position, it is very small, about 1.5km x 1.5km in total. The buildings are incredibly close together and the streets are very narrow and fortunately quite shady, so we spent a few hours wandering through the town and it's various squares. The sightseeing bus tour which we got on as soon as we arrived was only able to take us round the outside of the old town rather than through it. Expansion of the town within the walls was also restricted as Cadiz is on an isthmus out in the bay. As well as the old town, there is a large new town which has been added on outside the walls to allow a bit of expansion.
The buildings are very moorish in character and style, and the cathedral was built with a huge dome on top covered in gold coloured mosaic tile so that it would catch the light and could be seen by sailors arriving from America. As it was a thriving port lots of rich merchants lived in Cadiz and their houses were often built with towers on top so they could see when the ships as they came into harbour. The promenade is lined with gardens full of tropical plants.