The Cathedral of Seville and its Alligator.

When entering in the Cathedral of Seville by the group´s entrance, the first thing that captures your attention is the wooden alligator hanging from the ceiling, together with an elephant tusk.

As the legend goes, long ago, in the middle of the XIIth Century, a Sultan from Egypt, a certain Al Malik, wanted to marry a Castillian Princess, Berenguela, the beautiful daughter of the Castillian King, Alfonso the X, known as “The Wise”.

To impress both Berenguela and her father, the Sultan send a present to the King, an alligator, a giraffe, that could be ridden like a horse and an elephant tusk. The marriage never hapened, but the animals stood in the city and when the alligator died, was embalmed and  it was place hanging from the ceiling of the ancient mosque, used as christian temple. Still today the place where the alligator is place is one of the few remains of the XIIth. Century Mosque over wich the Cathedral of Seville was built.

The scary face of the alligator function as the gargoyles, proctecting the Cathedral from the evil spirits.

If you want to learn more about the history of Seville and its monuments, ShowMeSevilla offers you a great variety of routes.