I knew nothing about it, it hadn’t been mentioned before. Nobody had told, and I had no need to ask. It had to be quiet, calm, humble, in its own state. If it had an extraordinary feature, it would be written and drawn somewhere; it caught my eye. Valencia (Valencia) is our penultimate stop on our Spain tour. It was a city where we could stay without obligation. It wouldn’t even be half a day to travel. I thought we would sit in a cafe, have a snack, then go to the hotel and go to sleep.
However, the situation was not the same as I found in my head, I was badly wrong. As soon as we entered Valencia, the first thing we saw was a dazzling turquoise colored pond. As we got off the bus, we started running towards the water. Even though it is afternoon, this view, which we see at a temperature of 41 degrees, can “mirage?” he did not think of us.
We were in the modern art and science complex in Valencia. Behind that sparkling turquoise water, the architecture of the future, futuristic structures were designed. After all the medieval architecture we have visited during our trip to Spain, we have been exposed to culture shock when we saw the buildings in Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències.
This futuristic complex, which many of us find successful, is the work of Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava Valls.
Unfortunately, it is forbidden to swim in the huge turquoise pond of 24 thousand square meters in front of it. However, it is possible to go for a ride with canoe, pedal board and similar toys that you can rent from there. It’s pretty fun for both kids and grown-ups.
City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain
There is a huge botanic garden that you can visit in this complex, which is established on a total area of 350 thousand square meters. The eye-shaped 13 thousand square meter El Hemisfèric is also an interesting building. In addition to the planetarium and exhibition area, it has the largest Imax hall in Spain with a total of 900 square meters of viewing area. The film is projected into the sphere in three dimensions. And most importantly, Europe’s largest aquarium is also here.
The total water volume of the Valencia aquarium is 41.6 million liters. To give an idea, the Istanbul Sea Life aquarium had 7 million liters, 25 million liters in Moscow and 6 million liters in Barcelona. It is really huge in Valencia. 45 thousand animals are on display. It has two tunnels, 70 meters and 35 meters long.
Unfortunately, we could not go to the door of the biggest aquarium of Europe and travel because it was not our time. I can’t tell you how I stayed.
A full day should be reserved to visit this complex and participate in activities.
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain in terms of population density. Moreover, it has one of the longest city beaches in Europe with its 26 km long coastline. It is amazing that people can swim from the center in the city where they live.
Malvarrosa Beach, Valencia, Spain
One of the most important features of Valencia is undoubtedly that it is the homeland of Paella, the world famous dish of the Spaniards. There are many types of Paella but Paella Valenciana with chicken, which is unique to Valencia. Although it is called chicken, this saffron pilaf, which is created by mixing all the leftovers in the kitchen, naturally contains other ingredients. For example, green beans, rabbit meat, duck meat or even snails … So it is useful to learn exactly what is used before ordering.
Valencia, which is ambitious about food, also has its own drink. They call this drink made from a variety of plant seeds, Horchata. This drink, which the drinkers find very sugary, is very much liked by them like our buttermilk, but it is not very attractive by the tourists.
There is also the famous Holy Grail subject, which is claimed to be in Valencia Cathedral. If you say what is the Holy Grail, it has more than one explanation.
According to a narration of the Holy Grail, Hz. The glass that Jesus used for his last dinner, according to another narration, Hz. The bowl of blood flowing while Jesus was crucified.
There is also a third explanation that Dan Brown wrote this in the Da Vinci Code book, and some art historians and religious people were very angry.
paella
According to Brown, in the “Last Supper” painting of Leonardo Da Vinci, Hz. The young apostle sitting to the left of Jesus is not John, this is Mary Magdalene. Allegedly, Mary, Hz. Jesus’ wife. Moreover, Hz. His wife is pregnant while Jesus was crucified. The Holy Grail symbolizes the womb of Mary Magdalene. According to Brown, Hz. The ancestry of Jesus still continues. Their identity is protected by the knights of the temple.
I don’t know which one is right or wrong, but there were about two hundred bowls that were candidates for the wine glass title that Jesus used for the last dinner. One of them, even one of the most important, stands in Valencia Cathedral. The desire can go and examine.
Valencia Cathedral was built as a mosque by the Andalusian Umayyads in the 13th century, and then returned to the cathedral. Its exterior architecture is rather complicated. Gothic, baroque, neoclassic … it was an interesting cathedral that was influenced by all trends since its construction took too long.
This is what I thought it was ordinary, the homeland of Paella, the host of Europe’s largest aquarium, the longest city beach or even the “Holy Grail” that the whole world could not find, Valencia is the third largest city in Spain.
Mostly, the turquoise colored giant pond and its futuristic structures that I love are beautiful city that I can’t get enough of. I hope our path crosses again one day.
This article was previously published on the Media Diary site.
Images: VisitValencia