City of Three Faiths

History is merciless.

Yes, Toledo's Alcazar (Arabic: al-qasar, meaning palace-fort) is like no other.

And the cathedral? Well, just look at it ...

Yet, it is hard to escape the feeling that these landmarks are now mere trophies, like medals on an old, worn uniform – vague allusions to an illustrious past, the full measure and glory of which will never be known.

And what a past it is.

Founded by the demigod Hercules himself (Spanish myth).

Capital of Visigoth Hispania.

Administrative center of the Muslim Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain).

And one of the most cosmopolitan cities of Spain through the Middle Ages.  

If the land makes the people as much as the people make the land, it is possible that Toledo's dramatic location on top of the Tajo river gorge sealed its fate at the center of Spain's affairs.

Meandering the town's steep (they are steep!), narrow streets, past geladarias and marzipan shops and past tourists queuing up while they wait for the next tourist bus – one would be forgiven for mistaking that they are in just another medieval village, one of the many that dot Western Europe. But the feeling does not last long.

Toledo is different and it makes it known.