GEEO Spain Google Earth Presentation

USA

Today I’d like to share with you a great experience I had while traveling to Spain through a non-profit organization called GEEO. GEEO helps educators travel abroad so that they can learn more about different cultures to share with their students. I was joined on my trip by teachers from all around the United States.

Europe

We traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from North America to Europe. Europe and Asia share a long land border to the east, but Europe is conventionally understood as a separate continent—one of seven on Earth. The ancient Greeks are the ones who created the concept of continents as we think of them today.

Iberian Peninsula

Portugal is located on the Iberian Peninsula in Europe.

The Iberian Peninsula is shared by two countries: Portugal and Spain.

Spain

Spain’s location at the crossroads of Europe and Africa has made it one of the most contested places in history. The Carthaginians and Romans fought over it, the Moors conquered it, and Catholic monarchs reclaimed it, building the most powerful empire in the world after Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in 1492.

In the 19th century, the Spanish Empire collapsed as most of its overseas territories declared independence. In the 1930s, Spain endured a devastating civil war that brought dictator Francisco Franco to power for nearly 40 years. After his death in 1975, Spain became a democracy and joined the European Union. Today, Spain’s cities showcase layers of this rich history—from Roman aqueducts to Moorish palaces to modern architecture.

Madrid

Our trip started in Madrid, which has been the capital of Spain since 1561. Madrid has it all: history, architecture, museums and galleries, beautiful parks, and wonderful food. With about 3.9 million people, Madrid has roughly the same population as Los Angeles, making it one of the largest cities in Europe.

Royal Palace of Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish royal family, though King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia actually live elsewhere and use the palace primarily for state ceremonies and official events.

With over 3,000 rooms, it is one of the largest royal palaces in Europe. The current palace was built in the 18th century after a fire destroyed the medieval fortress that previously stood on this site. That earlier fortress dated back to the 9th century, when Moorish rulers controlled Madrid.

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor has been Madrid’s central gathering place since 1617. Over the centuries, the square has hosted markets, festivals, and bullfights. It also has a darker history—during the Spanish Inquisition, public executions were carried out here.

Museo del Prado

The Museo del Prado is one of the world’s greatest art museums, housing masterpieces by Spanish artists including Velázquez, El Greco, and Francisco Goya. The museum’s largest collection is by Goya, who served as court painter to the Spanish royal family.

One of Goya’s most powerful paintings is The Third of May 1808 (el Tres de Mayo), which shows Spanish citizens facing execution by Napoleon’s soldiers during the French occupation of Spain. The painting captures a moment of resistance and has become one of the most famous anti-war images in art history.

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

Fútbol—or soccer as it’s called in the United States—is the most popular sport in Spain and across Europe. The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is home to Real Madrid, one of the most successful and well-known soccer teams in the world.

Granada

From Madrid we traveled south to the city of Granada, which has a population of 232,000 people. Do you see the mountains behind the city? Those are the Sierra Nevada Mountains (not to be confused with Sierra Nevada in the Western U.S.).

Alhambra

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting the Alhambra in Granada. The Alhambra is a fortress-palace complex and one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in the world, with intricate carvings and decorations throughout.

The Alhambra has three main sections. The Alcazaba is the 11th-century fortress at the front, with towers offering spectacular views of the city. The Palacio Nazaries in the center is most famous for its detailed tile work and gardens. The Generalife at the back was the summer palace of the Moorish sultans.

📣 Share your photos, or share these images from wikimedia:

View from distance | Reflecting pool | Ceiling | Ceiling closeup | Outdoor pool

Córdoba

We then traveled to Córdoba, the capital of Islamic Spain for centuries. From the 8th-15th centuries, when the Moors controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula, the region was known as Al-Andalus and became a center of learning where mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy flourished while much of Europe was in the Middle Ages.

At its height, Córdoba was the largest city in Europe with a population of 250,000 people, featuring street lighting, running water, and over 300 public baths when most European cities had none of these.

Mezquita Catedral de Córdoba

The Mezquita is one of the most remarkable examples of Islamic architecture in the world. Around 600 AD, the Visigoths built a Christian church here called the Basilica of San Vicente. When Muslims took control of Spain in 711, they initially shared the building—half mosque, half church. In 784, Emir Abd al-Rahman I bought the Christian half, demolished the entire structure, and built the grand mosque of Córdoba. After Christians recaptured Córdoba during the Reconquista, they converted the mosque into a Catholic cathedral. Rather than tearing it down, they built a Renaissance cathedral nave in the center of the Islamic structure, creating the unique building you see today—a church inside a mosque.

Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos

The name of this site literally means the Castle of the Christian Monarchs, because it was one of the main residences of Queen Isabella of Castile and her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon. You may have heard of these royals before, because they financed Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage that led to the Europeans’ discovery of the “New World.”

Seville

Our next stop was Seville, the vibrant capital of Andalusia in southern Spain. Seville is known as the birthplace of flamenco dancing and is famous for its Moorish palaces, orange tree-lined streets, and lively tapas culture.

Catedral de Sevilla

The Cathedral of Sevilla is the third largest cathedral in the world. Christopher Columbus is buried inside the cathedral.

📣 Share photos you took inside the cathedral, or share these images:

Cathedral interior | Ribbed vaults | Tomb of Christopher Colombus

Real Alcazar of Seville

The Alcazar of Seville is the oldest royal palace in Europe that is still in use. The palace is built in the Islamic mudejar style. Have you ever heard the word alcazar before today? It is a word used specifically for castles in Spain and Portugal that were built for royals. The word actually comes from the Arabic word for fort, castle, or palace. Can anyone guess what the word real means (as in Real Madrid)? Real means royal.

📣 Share photos you took at the alcazar or show this image.

Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza

The Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza is the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain. Bullfighting has been part of Spanish culture since the fourth Century. It is a controversial sport because of its violence and abuse towards animals.

📣 Share photos you took at the plaza or show this image.

Plaza de Espana

The Plaza De Espana was built in 1928 and today houses many government offices for the city of Seville. It is a great example of Moorish revival or neo-Moorish architecture—using design elements from the Moors in a 20th-century building.

Barcelona

The last city on our program was Barcelona. It is the second largest city in Spain and is well known for its architecture, music, and fashion. It is located in Catalonia, a region of Spain with a long history of secessionism, including recent attempts to become independent from Spain. Catalans voted in a referendum in 2017 to become an independent state, but the referendum was declared unconstitutional and illegal by the Spanish government, and most voters who did not support Catalan independence did not turn out to vote.

La Rambla

La Rambla (the Catalan name; Las Ramblas in Spanish) is one of the most famous streets in the world and is popular with both the locals and tourists. It is a wide tree-lined pedestrian boulevard filled with interesting shops, markets, museums, street performers, and stalls selling souvenirs, flowers, and art.

Casa Mila

Barcelona is famous for the unique architecture of Antoni Gaudí, an architect who lived from 1852 to 1926. He designed several well-known buildings and parks throughout Barcelona, including Casa Mila, an apartment building.

Parc Güell

Gaudí also designed Parc Güell, a park filled with mosaics and buildings designed in Gaudí’s unique style. Inside the park is the house in which Gaudí lived for 20 years. The house has now been turned into a museum where you can see furniture and other items that Gaudí designed.

Sagrada Familia

The cathedral known as Sagrada Familia is Gaudí’s most famous project. Construction for the cathedral began in 1882 and it still remains incomplete. The detail of the church’s facade and interiors are bizarre and amazing. Show these images: Sculptures | Nave roof

Gaudí designed the church’s columns to look like trees and branches. It was expected that the church would be completed in 2026, 100 years after Gaudí’s death, but that has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.