The spammers bombed this old entry, so I decided to post it again. The picture's too good!

This picture, from a post card bought on a recent trip to Spain, shows the little-visited Church of San Roman in Toledo. The building, which houses a small collection of nondescript Visigothic artifacts from the 6th and 7th centuries, mostly belt buckles and such, is extraordinary. It must be very old. The architecture is a perfect fusion of Moorish and Christian styles. The arches and motifs are Islamic; intact Arabic inscriptions still run around the windows; and intricate screenwork abuts fading murals of Christian saints. Go there if you can! Admission is cheap and the post cards are too...

One guidebook suggests that the look of this church results from the use of Moorish ("mudejar") workers and designers to build it, but you have to wonder. The inscriptions around the windows suggest it was originally a mosque. And a wall at an odd angle suggests a mihrab (i.e., it may indicate the direction of Mecca).