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The Old Alcazar
The section of the Old Alcazar is known with the name of Saint Basil, remin ding the saint of the closer church, Nuestra Señor de La Paz Church (Our Lady of Peace).
Its history is related to the first years of the Reconquest of the city by Ferdinand the III the Saint, in 1236. At the beginning of the XV Century there was a big problem of unhabitated zones so it was decided to send the soldiers and their families to leave there, so that they could control the zone.
The urbanism in this zone was quite different from the Jewish Quarter, in fact the streets were straight, and these streets were: Postrera, Enmedio and San Basilio. These streets were longer and larger than the muslim ones.
Despite this new concept of urbanism, there was a clear tradition in order to build the houses: they were built around a court and there was a second floor. There were more walls than arches and the whiteness of the walls predominated.
Since the last years of the XIV Century, the Old Alcazar was occupied by jewish, turning it into a ghetto. In the second half of the next century there was an attempt to destroy it. But this was not possible, because the Christian Kings avoided it. Some years later the jewish were moved to another zone, Saint Nicholas of La Villa zone, because the Old Alcazar section was not healthy.
One of the most important points of the zone was the Tower of Bethlehem. It is near to a door that was close to the walls, and after some years, lost its defensive aim. It was converted into a hermitage, the Saint Benedict Hermitage, later it was called Images Hermitage and since 1774 its name is Our Lady of Bethlehem and Shepherds Hermitage. This one has a squared plan with 7,5 meters each side, the tower is made with sandstone bricks and it has three storeys. The main entrance has a horseshoe arch framed into an alfiz, reminding the muslim period.
In the heart of Saint Basil there is a church, belonging to the basilian monks. The works began in the last decade of the XVI Century, setting quickly because of the different devotions: Our Lady of Transit, Our Father Jesus of Passion, both are conserved and even go out in the Holy week.
During the XVIII Century the Brotherhood of the Peace (Hermandad de Nuestra Señora de la Paz) is owner of the convent and many works are reflected in the temple, one of the example is the little room of the Virgin of the Main Chapel that covers the altarpiece, brought from the Convent of Saint Claire in the middle of XIX Century.
The temple has three naves, being the central one larger, higher and larger than the others and covered by a wooden ceiling. In the Epistle Side there is a humble chapel, covered by a vault on groins that keeps the images of the saints: Jesus of the Passion and Holy Mary of the Love, both anonymous of the XVII Century. Finally you can see Saint John the Baptist.
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