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I
really wanted to get a photo of the Tower
of Gold. After all, who can resist a
tower with "gold" in its name?
Unfortunately, when I was in the area of
the tower, the rain was just pouring down.
Minutes before getting to the tower, I'd
gotten out of the car to get a photo of
the Bullfighting Ring and got totally
drenched. I was now cold and wet, and the
tower was not even visible through the
rain and fogging car windows.
Torre
del Oro photograph. A big thanks to
Dennis for providing me with the above
photo.
It was the Moors that built the 12-sided Torre del Oro. At the
start of the 1200's A.D., the Almohades
needed to protect the city from the river
side of town and keep Christian invaders
from moving up the river. So this tower
was built with a twin on the opposite
bank of the river, and a long chain was
drawn between them. Undoubtedly, the
tower was the site of many a battle
during the Re-Conquest.
Exactly how the tower received its
name is a little unclear. Some reports
indicate that in Moorish times the tower was
gilded in gold (or at least the tiles
used to decorate it were). Others believe
the tower's name was derived from its use
during the time of Christian monarchs,
when gold from the Americas was
transported off the ships and stored in
the tower.
Some
additional Information on the Tower
can be found midway down on this page
from TravelNow (Information
from the Rough Guide).
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