Medieval Spain

This is such a beautiful bridge 13th century bridge, the hump-backed Puente de Romano or Roman Bridge, at Cangas de Onis. It is an illustration of the Roman's engineering skills...From the central arch of of the bridge hangs a reproduction of the cross which Pelayo is said to have carried at the battle of Covadonga; the original is in the Cámara Santa of Oviedo Cathedral.

Little do I know that Spain would won the World Cup 2010. Paul, the Octopus' prediction as well as my children's prediction came true. During these two nights of the last two matches of the FIFA World Cup match, my facial bone undergoes tremendous changes...

Little did I know that Spain is not only an enchanting country, but it is a country rich with traditions and culture. It is such an ancient country with rich historical happenings...

Bone fragments found in several locations in Spain suggest that humankind's remote ancestors wandered around here a million years ago. Their descendants, Stone Age cave-dwellers, created the fascinating cave drawings of Altamira, in Cantabria. By 1000BC, Iberian tribes were mingling with immigrant Celts. Phoenician traders landed in southern Spain and founded Gadir in 1100 BC. Their objective was gold and silver from the mines of the legendary kingdom of Tartessors. Greek colonists settled in Empuries, in the northeast, around 600 BC. In 237BC the great Carthaginian general Hannibal (247-182BC) swept through Spain North Africa and marched across Gaul (France) and the Alps to attack Rome in the Second Punic War. The Romans Landed at Empuries in 218BC to cut him off from possible reinforcements. The plan worked. Carthage lost the war and by 206BC all Hispania (Spain) had become a Roman territory. Intermittent tribal revolts disturbed the peace until the empire crumbled in the fifth century. In AD 410 the Vandals, a Germanic warrior tribe, wrought havoc in Spain. The Christianized Visigoths, pushed out of Gaul by the Franks, followed them, gradually taking control of the entire peninsula by the early seventh century...


The Altamira cave paintings give a glimpse of Stone Age life and are recreated in the Neocueva at the Museo de AAltamira.

Very Old Masters
In the 1870s Marcelino de Sautuola, a well-t0-do Spaniard with a penchant for archaeology, started digging around in the caves of Altamira, west of Santander on the northern Spanish coast, and discovered the oldest Stone Age cave drawings ever seen.
The expressive but subtle red and black images of bison, horses, wild boar, deer and other creatures date at least to 12000 BC, possibly 20000BC and cover the walls and ceiling of an inner cave that has been nicknamed the Sistine Chapel of Prehistory. Also depicted is a series of people and handprints. The semi-nomadic people who created these pictures lived by hunting the animals they drew, so perhaps they were sufficiently easy prey to allow them time for such artistic pursuits.

From the caves to the visigoths, the history of Spain I am so curious to find out now! But I need time, time to find out more about this marvellous country, especially about the Church. It is known that Church attendance may have declined, but the Catholic Church still plays a key role in community life, especially as the focus for numerous religious festivals. However, the number of atheists and agnostics is increasing steadily. Many hundreds of priests have left the church over the marriage issue and basic questions of reform versus conservatism...

In my family, and at my 'hometown' Singapore, such things occur also. Children baptised and end up not returning to the church. Parents brought up the children, but they had no control over the faith of the children. Generation after generation, the Catholic Faith seems to die out... in my family, nobody goes to church now...

Spain is suffering from a much reduced birthrate (just like Singapore) and the family of the future is likely to be based on a different model... However, the belief in Jesus Christ, Our Lord, is the 'twist' of fate. My life is a journey of seeking and knowing my Lord, Jesus Christ. He saved me from sins and guide me in my pathway. Want to buy cheap airline tickets to Spain? During my stay in the hospital, how many times I wanted to 'come back', but was 'fall back' again... This is really the time of the 'battle of the gods (GOD)' Who is the real God of this world? If you believe in the wrong 'god', you are going to be doomed. Hell is misery and fear. It is a place where you can hear souls crying and it is very noisy (scary sound)... However, if you believe in Jesus Christ, there is salvation. Jesus has saved me.

To me, I cannot afford to go Spain now. I cannot afford cheap airline tickets to Spain also. During my stay in the hospital for a total of 11 fateful days, I experienced the spiritual world... My brain is like a 'outerspace'. There, lying on the bed of Tan Tock Seng Hospital, I experienced 'probability' kind of system... hard to describe, but it is very real -- because Richard told me that on the day of Feast of St Anthony, someone known himself as "man of the future" talked to him and told him about the outcome of the final FIFA match. Of course, the prediction of the man is not true. But where is this man now?

This is a scary world. If you believe in the wrong thing, you are working for the wrong 'god' and you are going to be in 'slavery'. There is no happiness and no peace. What you see in the end is only full of illusion and destruction in this world. But, if you believe in our Saviour Jesus Christ, there would be Resurrection of the Dead, and the life of the world to come. There will be Real Peace in this world where we do not need to worry about anything. We can travel to any place we like, don't need to search for cheap airline tickets nor buy anything. Everything is provided by God, just say the magic words and you can reach your destination, with your 'magic finger tips'!!