Rising above the city of Madrid, overlooking the Royal Palace and the Cathedral, we discovered Egypt in the middle of Spain! In 1968 the Egyptian government made a gift to the Spanish government for their help in rescuing monuments that had been threatened by the rising Nile waters above the Aswan Dam. What a gift! They bestowed upon the city of Madrid and entire Egyptian Temple first erected about 200 B.C.
What an experience, walking the rooms of Templo de Debod felt as though we had suddenly shifted our trip from the hills of Madrid to the banks of the Nile River. The temple was erected to honor the gods Amun and Isis and including side chapels for Osiris and Horus and others. The temple was actually expanded by Emperors Julius & Augustus Caesar after they had conquered and made trips to Egypt. How wild to think: yesterday we walked streets where Romans had walked, followed by Visigoths (who ruled Toledo and most of Spain after Rome fell), as well as many of the earliest monarchs of the Spanish empire, and even Miquel de Cervantes; and now today we walked on stones where the feet of priests and Pharaohs had walked as well as Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus! What connections we are making with our physical presence in this ancient and amazing land.
After the Egyptian Temple we entered the massive halls built as a temple to human pride, vanity, and obscene wealth and power as we walked through the second floor of the Royal Palace (Palacio Real). The third largest palace in Europe, after Versailles and Vienna's Schonbrunn, the similarities to Versailles are everywhere evident. That should not be surprising since the palace was commissioned in the 18th century by King Philip V. Though he ruled Spain for 40 years, he was very French. (The grandson of Louis XIV, he was born in Versailles and preferred speaking French.) His wife was originally from Italy and her influence is very evident as well, especially in many of the interior frescoes, ceilings, and other decorative flourishes. The palace is huge, with more than 2,000 rooms and though you only tour 24 in the public tour that is more than enough opulence and over-the-top wealth to convey the majesty and power of the Spanish royalty.
While the current King & Queen do not reside in the Palace, living in a mansion a few miles away, this place still functions as a royal palace, and is used for formal state receptions, royal weddings and funerals, and special state occasions (such as when Spain officially joined the European Union the signing ceremony took place in the Hall of Columns.) We walked on the Grand Stair up which all guests walk when arriving for state functions. We cannot remember, but I am sure we trod the same steps some of our Presidents have walked, possible President Bush and First Lady Laura, or President Clinton and First Lady Hilary. Again, it was a day for realizing connections with many, many people are much closer than we usually realize as we live day to day.
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