Hello all,

Thought I'd share my day with you all if you don't mind...

Went to an incredible, ancient monastery today in the small, Spanish village of Uclés where the knights of the Order of Santiago were granted lands in Perpetuity for fighting off the ferocious moors. It is said that Santiago (Saint James) himself turned the tide of the battle, descending from heaven on a white horse cleaving the heads of hapless moors to and fro with a sword made from steel forged of heaven.
It’s a site to behold for sure, off the beaten tourist path and quiet as the aged wind-swept stone that surrounds it. The monastery itself is filled with mysteries, one of which being the number 36 is carved all over the building and nobody knows exactly what it means. After getting a private tour - just speak nicely to people and good things will happen to you - I wandered around the grounds for a bit, looking for a hint of lost treasure or maybe even a clue to the secrets of the holy grail. It was then when I stumbled upon something even more ancient than the monastery; a worn, roman road that winds itself onward to Segobriga. After walking on that for a spell I sat on a rocky knoll overlooking golden yellow fields dotted with gnarled, silver-leafed olive trees that shivered and shook in the wind, whispering to me their secrets of long dead Roman travelers.
There I took some photographs, scribbled some notes, contemplated life, then contemplated death. I ate a sandwich with some fresh, red cherries bought earlier from a young man and his stunningly-beautiful raven-haired wife Feeling wistful I scanned the horizon for a sword in a stone, a ghost on a white horse, or perhaps a portal back in time. The sun sank, and I yearned to know the mysteries of this hallowed ground where the sword-shattered bones of legends were born and died with the setting of a thousand suns. The truth of it is, as I sat there today my friends; only the wind knows for sure.

There are wonders here.

From a Canadian living in Spain ( El Spanadian)

N.

PS: Great board you've got here...think I'll stick around

Thank you so much for your post. I had not heard of this site, and in doing a quick search, not much is available, but this site and it is in Spanish
[img]http://www.mispueblos.com/thumb.aspx?f=6645315003.jpg&w=100&h=100[/img]

But it does say that Ucles was the birthplace of Jorge Manrique, one of my favorite poets.

It also says the architect Juan de Herrera who worked on El Escorial, called the Monastery of Ucles the Little Escorial. Did you find a resemblance to the Escorial?

Did you drink their famous water?

Saludos,
Carmen

Hmmm no to both your questions Carmen. I haven't gone to the Escorial yet but I hear it's immense and now I'm curious about it's comparison to the monastery. A friend from Canada is visiting in October so we'll check out the Escorial for sure and I'll let you know!

By the way since you're a book-lady can you recommend some interesting reading (in english) on Spain? I have the "Story of Spain" by Mark Williams which is one I'd recommend for a well written, light history read and I'd like to read more. Fact or fiction is fine (my tastes are broad)as long as it's about España. I love books that are hard to put down and I'll try anything you recommend.

Thanks for the reply!

N.