In the A Storm of Swords, the third book in the series (or Season 5 of the show), the audience is introduced to the House Martell. The Martell’s hail from the Kingdom of Dorne, which the A Wiki of Ice and Fire website describes as:
Dorne is the hottest region of Westeros. The region is rocky, mountainous, arid and dry, and features the only desert on the continent…
Most of Dorne south of the Red Mountains is an arid wasteland. Eastern Dorne largely consists of dry, stony soil ill-suited for agriculture, while western Dorne contains deserts of red and white sand…
Dorne’s rivers provide some fertile lands and even during a long summer there is enough rain and other supplies of water to keep Dorne habitable.
Inland water is almost as valuable as gold, and wells are jealously guarded.
Sound somewhat familiar?
The Palace of the House Martell in Dorne was filmed at the Real Alcazar in Seville, the next stop on our tour of Andalusia. Notwithstanding any associations to the fantasy novels, Sevilla (name in Spanish) is an undeniably beautiful city.
The al-qasr (Romanized to Alcazar from Arabic, refers to a “castle” or “palace”) still exists today as an official residence of the Spanish Royal Family. Originally built as a citadel by the Moors, the palace complex was further expanded between the 11th century and 13th century by subsequent Muslim rulers. In 1248, during the Reconquista, the fortress was surrendered to the Spaniards. As a show of dominance, the building’s architecture was transformed from Classical Islamic to Mudejar, a blending of Christian and Muslim styles.
FUN FACT: Mudejar (from the Arabic al-Madjun for “those who remained or stayed on”) not only describde an architectural style but also Muslims who chose to continue living on the Iberian peninsula under Spanish rulers, albeit under severe subjugation.
No visit to the castle could be considered complete without a stroll through the walled garden.
A pleasant surprise to be had is a visit to Banos de Dona Maria de Padilla on the Alcazar grounds.
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