Year 1356 Royal Alcazar of Seville 1 Maidens Courtyard This is the main hall of the Pedro I Palace. Once inside the Pedro I Palace, all the rooms are organized around this central courtyard: the Patio de las Doncellas It is a 21x15 meter rectangular patio surrounded by four galleries; two of seven and two of five arches. In the center there is a pool with large sunken beds one meter on both sides. The sides of these flower beds are decorated with interlocking semicircular arches. Between 1580 and 1584 all this was buried and a marble floor was placed. The flowerbeds and the pool were discovered in archaeological studies in 2002 The upper floor of this patio was renovated between 1540 and 1572 in the time of Charles V with a Renaissance style. That floor is for guests. From this period, the semicircular arches are supported by marble columns with Ionic capitals. 2 Royal Alcove One of the most important rooms was the Royal Alcove or room of the Moorish kings It was used as the bedroom of King Pedro I and is divided into two rectangular rooms: The first and largest is the King's room, which receives natural light from the patio itself. The second room is cooler and less sunny, it is the summer bedroom, which is accessed by crossing three horseshoe arches. The ornamentation of this bedroom is sumptuous. Most of the capitals and arches are Mudejar in style. The tiles with geometric motifs were made by artisans from Toledo. As you will see King Pedro I was in love with Arab art, he was an ally of the Arab kingdom of Granada, whose Alhambra was inspired by the Alcázar of King Pedro I. This alliance with the Muslims will end up stating life 3 Courtyard of the Dolls We are now in the courtyard of the dolls surrounded by Arab architecture. This patio is named after two small doll faces that do not have much to do with the decoration of the room. It is a private courtyard for the king and his family. We can see the windows on the first floor. They are windows from which you can see without being seen yourself, typical of the harems of Muslim palaces. Auspicious place to look without being seen. Remember that this palace is made by Christians, everything that was done was under Arab influence. The columns were brought from Medina Azahara, a caliphal city near Córdoba and which has been declared a World Heritage Site. Originally it was an open patio, it was roofed in the 19th century