The Fairy Tale Encounter : City of Segovia, Spain.....

 City of Segovia......

My last visit to Spain mainly covered the Andalusia Region on the Southern part of The Iberian Peninsula. As our flight into and out of Spain passed through City of Madrid, I did search around to look for nearby attractions for our must-visit list…… then I found Segovia. I have never heard of the City of Segovia before ( A UNESCO World Heritage Site), until my search revealed an impressive fortress of Roman or Celtic influence as their major attraction here.

Built in the 14^th Century, the Alcazar de Segovia used to be a fortress and also has served as the Royal Palace.  It stands in a perched position over a cliff where it can be seen from miles away. With its fairy-tale appearance of the conical turrets and moated walls, it was said that The Disney’s Magic Kingdom was an adaptation of this lovely castle. Open to the public, the Alcazar now served as a museum where there are displays of armor suits, tapestries etc. Some of the rooms have extensively decorated ceilings…..  You can also enjoy very nice views outside the surrounding areas from the castle.

Another major attraction in the City of Segovia is the Roman Aqueduct. I must admit, this is by far much more impressive than the castle itself!!!  Probably built in the year AD 50, this huge structure amazingly has survived and has been well preserved. The construction of this aqueduct is definitely an engineering marvel!  Just imagine, to erect an enormous construction of masonry 813 m in length, consisting of four straight segments and two superimposed arcades borne by 128 pillars!!!  At the lowest point of the valley, the aqueduct stands at a height of 28.5 m above ground!!!

This aqueduct served to supply water to the city and the castle from its origin in Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range with total extension of 14,965 m. It was declared as the National Monument back in 1884 and declared as World Heritage in 1985. It is a good example of a Masterpiece of Roman hydraulic engineering, the aqueduct is composed of large un-mortared, brick-like granite ashlars. Water flows through the channel on its attic or top portion and crosses the city beneath the pavement towards the Alcazar. This aqueduct is also the tallest and most well-preserved found outside Italy.