Marvel at the incomparable Alhambra in Granada and the unsurpassed beauty of the mesquita in Cordoba. Explore the Barrio de Santa Cruz, the old Jewish quarter of Seville, just steps away from La Giralda, the minaret turned tower and the magnificent Cathedral of Seville. Seville also houses the Archives of the Indies where many original documents from the New World explorations can be found.

Modern Spain emerged out of the confluence of three medieval religious cultures: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The Muslim conquest led to the flourishing of Spain as a major center of commerce, art, and poetry in the tenth century. Its tolerant atmosphere gave rise to a Golden Age of Jewish culture of rabbis, philosophers, poets, and political leaders. The reconquest by Christianity brought about a brief period of convivencia, or "living together," in which the three cultures stimulated each other in many ways.