La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
As I rounded the Mezquita-Cathedral onto Torrijos Street on my return from the Roman bridge Sunday, I noticed something embedded in the wall that I had never noticed before. It looked like a fossil to me and, on closer inspection, it clearly was. It turns out it’s known as the Estrella de los Deseos (the wishing star).
I’ve since read that if you touch the Estrella de los Deseos and make a wish, it might be fulfilled. Might? Not a very convincing sales pitch, but I’ll give a try. It’s an Echinoidea, a type of sea urchin known as a cake urchin or sea biscuit related to the sand dollar.
Another thing I hadn’t registered before were the Roman columns embedded in the walls and placed around the exterior. Clearly, they’ve been there a while.
Something I never miss on my way home is the Palacio de los Caramelos (The Candy Palace). I don’t permit myself to enter.
Storm Nils has arrived. Today is simply gray and dreary again with intermittent rain. Heavy rain days are expected Wednesday and Friday. After that, it looks like it will be partly cloudy (partly sunny) with a low chance of rain for the foreseeable future.
I was going to end with the song, “When You Wish Upon a Star,” but the cynic in me just couldn’t do it. However, don’t let me stop you. And may anything your heart desires come to you.
Al rodear la Mezquita-Catedral y entrar en la calle Torrijos al volver del puente romano el domingo, vi algo incrustado en la pared que nunca antes había notado. Me pareció un fósil y, al observarlo más de cerca, claramente lo era. Resulta que se conoce como la Estrella de los Deseos.
Desde entonces leí que si tocas la Estrella de los Deseos y pides un deseo, podría cumplirse. ¿Podría? No es un argumento de venta muy convincente, pero lo intentaré. Es un Echinoidea, un tipo de erizo de mar conocido como erizo de mar o galleta de mar, emparentado con el dólar de arena.
Otra cosa que no me había fijado antes eran las columnas romanas incrustadas en las paredes y colocadas alrededor del exterior. Claramente, llevan ahí un tiempo.
Algo que nunca me pierdo de camino a casa es el Palacio de los Caramelos. No me permito entrar.
La borrasca Nils ya llegó. Hoy vuelve a estar gris y sombrío, con lluvias intermitentes. Se esperan fuertes lluvias el miércoles y el viernes. Después, parece que estará parcialmente nublado o parcialmente soleado) con baja probabilidad de lluvia en el futuro previsible.
Iba a terminar con la canción “When You Wish Upon a Star” (La Estrella Fugaz), pero mi cinismo interior no pudo. Sin embargo, no dejes que te detenga. Y que todo lo que tu corazón desee se cumpla.
• En calle Magistrado Luis de la Cerda, a punto de girar a la derecha por calle Torrijos.
• Esquina de Calle Cardenal Herrera y Calle Torrijos.
• Cerca de casa. La torre de El Palacio de los Caramelos.
• Esquina Calle Cruz Conde y Avenida Ronda de los Tejares. Me he prohibido a mí mismo.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
Candy palace, hm. Maybe a candy tiara.. I like that idea. Meanwhile the weather outside is frightful, to quote another hackneyed song. Boud
Boud,
I cannot complain to you about the weather. I’m not a candy addict. Chocolate is my major weakness and his shop diesn5 have the kind I like. But sometimes those candies are so alluring. Imaginevan ermine stole of Good N Plenty. The pink ones could be jewelry.
It’s always a joy to see fossils exposed in the stonework of ancient buildings – a reminder that despite their history, the buildings themselves are really not that old by comparison.
Beautiful detail on the dome of the “Palace of Forbidden Temptations” 😍! Jx
Jon,
Yes, I love that dome and ceramic adornments. Amazing to consider how contemporary the buildings are in that sense. You have plenty of examples where you are I’m sure.
Sounds like the Estrella’s promised wish fulfillment was carefully written by a lawyer.
Debra,
It has your profession written all over it!
The things you see when you aren’t really looking.
Though, yeah, that “might come true” clause is a bit disconcerting.
Bob,
I love that qualifier. I didn’t have to comment, “As if!”
The Roman elements are everywhere in that part of the world, they carved things to last, and be recycled.
David,
All over Great Britain, too. It’s so moving to actually step on the stones of a Roman road.
What grand stone/marble/Roman column structures jammed-packed with history these are.
Jim,
I hope this never stops enchanting me.
Estrella de los Deseos. I wonder if its magical powers have diluted through the eons of its existence and all of the wishes it has been used to fulfill. It might have fulfilled.
I like to say the names of the places you photograph in my head where they sound beautiful. As beautiful as their namesakes.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon,
Given the history here, I wonder how many good people actually got their wishes. I DO love the sound of some of the Spanish names.
There is nothing old here in this country. We Americans tend to tear down anything old and replace it with new no matter if the building was award winning architecture or not. So I really love seeing all the remnants of history in Cordoba, millionea worth.
Ellen Abbott,
I remember being dumbstruck by the still-standing Old Stone House built in our town of Guilford, Connecticut the year the village was settled in 1639. Now THAT was old!
Sometimes, the most I can say is just, “Wow”… but, it’s a heart felt, jaw dropping “Wow”!
Judy C,
I still do, too, and I hope I never lose this sense of awe.
I love the dome on the Candy Palace. And the fossilized sea biscuit! I used to have a more modern sea biscuit that I found snorkeling in the Florida Keys. (Don’t worry — it was already dead.)
Steve,
I would love to have El Palacio de los Caramelos as my home — without the candy. Sand dollars were always a magical find.
I love all these hidden (and not so hidden) treasures that you find and share with us!
Kelly,
I appreciate it. I get so excited about these discoveries.
Curious what the history of Hotel Maimonides would be. Thanks for showcasing all these lovely sites. That palace dome especially. Good for you avoiding sweet temptation. The sun will come back! Olivia
Olivia,
That side of the street begins the Jewish Quarter (everything behind it). Since that’s such a popular neighborhood, the connection is often taken advantage of in names. I think the building is fairly contemporary (1800s or much later). I wish I could accept the praise for avoiding sweet temptation. But at least I avoid candy stores.
I’m curious how that urchin got there in the first place. I imagine it was already embedded in the rock before the bridge was built.
Kirk,
The bridge is Roman (early first century). The Mezquita is Moorish (1038). The fossil was part of the limestone wall of the Mezquita and might not even have been visible originally. The surface of the limestone has eroded over the centuries.
Please include a photo of the statue of Maimonides!
Margaret Butterworth,
Will do. I have before. Not near the hotel. There’s one outside one of the old city gates.
The fossil is beautiful. Something my heart desired came to me last year when I made contact with Favorite Young Man. I have many more wishes, but I am content to text with my son every couple of weeks and especially happy to email and text with his beloved K on a regular basis. She is my bonus baby.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug,
I was so happy to read that you are reconnected!
I gather the “wishing stars” are those things that, once you know what to look for, you can’t unsee them?
Nothing like that here. I got a 3 ton boulder that was excavated from our yard when they put in the septic system. Rather than pay to have it removed, I just had the guy with the excavator put it yard near the road. The excavator left scratches in the rock. When kids would come by and be nosey, I would tell them that “…a T-Rex made those marks!”. They would get real quiet and quickly leave.
Rade,
GREAT story for the kids. That myth will live on.