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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Getting to know Spain, by Dee Day
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Getting to know Spain
+
+Author: Dee Day
+
+Illustrator: Don Lambo
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29591]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GETTING TO KNOW SPAIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+Extensive research found no evidence that the copyright on this book
+has been renewed
+
+
+
+
+
+Getting to Know
+
+Spain illustrated by
+
+DON LAMBO
+
+
+
+
+Getting to know
+
+Spain
+
+by Dee Day
+
+COWARD-MCCANN, INC.    NEW YORK
+
+(C) 1957, BY COWARD-MCCANN, INC.
+
+All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
+in any form without permission in writing from the publishers. Published
+simultaneously in the Dominion of Canada by Longmans, Green & Company,
+Toronto.
+
+
+ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
+
+The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance and hospitality of
+Direccion General del Turismo in all its offices in Spain, the Spanish
+State Tourist Department in New York, and Iberia Air Lines of Spain,
+without whose co-operation the gathering of much of the material and the
+personal experience reflected in this book would have been impossible. A
+majority of the pictures were drawn from photographs by Herb Kratovil,
+taken especially for this book.
+
+  New York, 1957              Dee Day
+
+Editor of this series: Sabra Holbrook
+
+
+Seventh Impression
+
+Library of Congress Catalog Number: 57-7427
+
+MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+For My Parents
+
+[Illustration]
+
+You probably know that it was a Queen of Spain, Isabella, who made it
+possible for America to be discovered in 1492. It was an Italian sailor,
+Christopher Columbus, who first had the strange new idea that he could
+sail westward from Spain in order to reach the Far East. He came to
+Spain to tell people about his idea, and everybody he met thought he was
+crazy because they knew, or thought they knew, that the northern corner
+of Spain, jutting out into the Atlantic, was the very end of the world.
+Even the most daring sailors and fishermen wouldn't go very far from
+that shore for fear they would drop over the rim into nothingness.
+
+But Queen Isabella didn't think Columbus was crazy. She took time to
+listen to him and decided she wanted to help him. She didn't have any
+money to buy ships for his expedition, so she ordered a little fishing
+village, Palos, to build three ships as a way of paying a fine they owed
+her. The fishermen of Palos knew how to build good, sturdy sailing
+vessels, and they soon had the three ships ready for Columbus and his
+brave sailors.
+
+That is why, in August of 1492, the daring expedition started from this
+little Spanish village. What a sight! Three little ships, the _Nina_
+(Small Girl), the _Pinta_ (Spotted), and the _Santa Maria_ (named in
+honor of the Virgin Mary) cast off from the wharf of Palos. Flags
+fluttered in the breeze as the sails billowed out from the masts. All
+the villagers were lined up on the shore to pray and to cheer, and the
+bells in the church rang as Columbus and his crew sailed off "the rim"
+to the west in search of wealth and glory for Spain!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Many Spanish explorers followed Columbus to the New World, and even
+sailed all the way around the world, west to east, but the Spanish
+people today are mostly "stay-at-homes." Sometimes they leave home for a
+little while to make money, like the Spanish shepherds who are so good
+at handling flocks of sheep that American ranchers in California, New
+Mexico, Nevada and other western states pay them a lot of money to come
+and work for them. But those who leave always go back to their beloved
+land as soon as they have earned what they need.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+If you were to meet a Spanish person, you would find that he would be
+interested in America and other countries, but he couldn't imagine
+living the rest of his life anywhere except in Spain. "Why should I ever
+live anywhere else?" he would ask you. "Everything beautiful and good in
+life is right here." He would feel this way even though he might be very
+poor and might even have to leave for a little while, like the
+shepherds. To him, the important things in life are his family, his
+friends, his church and his country.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+His country is a large, squarish, mountainous land at the
+southwesternmost tip of Europe. To the north, over the tall wall of the
+Pyrenees Mountains, is France. To the west is Portugal and the Atlantic
+Ocean, and to the east is the Mediterranean Sea. Spain has more seacoast
+than any other European country and more mountains than any except
+Switzerland. Spain and Portugal together make up what is called the
+Iberian Peninsula. It is named for the Iberian people who came there
+from North Africa almost 5,000 years ago and settled down to become the
+ancestors of the Spanish people.
+
+If you were to stand at the bottom of the Iberian Peninsula, on a hill
+overlooking a town called Algeciras, you could look right into Africa,
+only twelve miles away. You would also see the Rock of Gibraltar--a
+giant rock rising out of the sea and turned into a fort to guard the
+narrow passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
+This passage is the Strait of Gibraltar, and all ships must go through
+it to get from the sea to the ocean.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+In this mountainous country between two seas, more babies are born every
+day than in any other country in Europe. There are 29 million people in
+Spain already, although it is only the size of our state of Montana,
+where 600,000 people live. This country might seem very small to us, but
+it is the third largest country in Europe. And because their mountains
+shut different parts of the country away from each other, there are many
+differences in ways of living among the 29 million Spaniards. There are
+15 different regions in Spain, and each one has a different way of
+dressing, different music and dances, different ways of fixing food, a
+different sort of house to live in, and even different ways of
+speaking. Sometimes you will meet a Spaniard who has never been out of
+his own region, or even away from his own village, because the mountains
+make it very difficult to travel when your way of getting around is on
+your own two feet or in a little cart pulled by a small burro or donkey.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Another reason for the many different ways of living is that Spain is a
+very old country which has been invaded many times by other countries.
+These countries were jealous of the beauty and wealth of Spain and
+wanted to get it for themselves. For hundreds of years the Spanish
+people were always fighting to protect their beloved homeland against
+invading armies.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Iberians themselves were invaders, because they weren't the first
+people who lived in Spain. We don't even know the names of those very
+first people who lived there when most of Europe was covered with ice.
+We only know that they lived in caves and hunted wild animals, because
+some of their caves have been discovered and the walls are covered with
+bright drawings of the animals these people hunted--bison, deer, wild
+horses and wild boars.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+After the Iberians, came the Celts, Greeks, Phoenicians, Carthaginians
+and Romans. From Rome, Spain took her language, her system of laws, and
+her church. There were once more than 80 Roman cities in Spain, with
+roads and bridges and walls which were built so well that they are still
+used by Spanish people today. In the city of Segovia, the Romans built
+an aqueduct to bring drinking water into the town from the nearby
+mountains, and this aqueduct still brings water to the people of
+Segovia.
+
+The Romans liked Spain so much they stayed 500 years, but finally
+barbaric tribes from central Europe drove them out. A short time later,
+these tribes were conquered by Moors from North Africa. The Moors
+brought many new ways to the Spanish people. They spoke the Arabic
+language, and worshiped Mohammed instead of Christ, in churches called
+mosques. They taught the Spanish people algebra and the science of
+astronomy; they introduced a new kind of poetry, music and dancing. They
+brought many new kinds of trees and flowers to Spain, like the date
+palm, the orange and the pomegranate, and taught the people how to grow
+them with an irrigation system which is still in use today. Many little
+Spanish boys learn how to run it, so that they can help their fathers
+and mothers.
+
+The Moors built many mosques and palaces in Spain which are still in
+use, and they look like buildings from Arabian fairy tales. These
+Moorish buildings have their rooms built around open courtyards, called
+patios, where orange and lemon trees and many bright flowers grow, and
+fountains splash in the sunshine. The rooms have many pillars to
+support the ceiling, and all the pillars and arches and ceilings are
+beautifully carved. The Moors could carve hard stone so that it looks
+like delicate lace, and this is what gives their buildings such a
+fairy-tale look.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Spanish Christians, however, didn't like the Moors, and during all
+of the 800 years the Moors ruled Spain, the Christians were fighting to
+drive them out. Finally, Queen Isabella and her husband, King Ferdinand,
+led their Christian army to victory against the last Moorish stronghold,
+Granada. Because of this victory, Queen Isabella didn't have to worry
+about fighting for a while, and she was able to help Columbus.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+When Columbus discovered America on October 12, 1492, he began Spain's
+most exciting period of history. The next century after Columbus was
+called the Age of the Conquistadores. Conquistadores were adventurers
+who set out to find and conquer new lands for Spain in the New World
+which Columbus had discovered. Many of their conquests later became part
+of the United States. For instance, De Soto claimed the Mississippi
+River and all the rivers that run into it, as well as part of the land
+that is now the American Southwest. Ponce de Leon, looking for a magic
+fountain that would keep people young forever, discovered Florida and
+claimed for Spain the land that is now the American southeast. Cortez,
+who had conquered Mexico for Spain and had sent millions of dollars'
+worth of gold and jewels back to his homeland, also traveled through the
+Southwest and as far north as Colorado. The great Pacific Ocean, which
+washes the western coast of both North and South America, was discovered
+by a Spaniard named Balboa. One Spanish sailor, Juan Sebastian Elcano,
+was the very first man to sail all the way around the world.
+
+The Conquistadores sent back a huge treasure of gold, silver, copper and
+jewels to Spain, and more than paid Queen Isabella and her family for
+her faith in Columbus. In fact, Spain became one of the most important
+countries in Europe. Her queens and kings and princesses married rulers
+of other countries so that soon, in addition to being very rich and
+owning many countries across the ocean, Spain owned most of Europe too.
+She was sitting on top of the world. Only England had stood up against
+the Spanish power. So in 1588, Spain sent a great fleet of warships,
+called the Armada, to challenge England. England won.
+
+Spain never recovered from this defeat by England. It became harder for
+her to govern the lands she had conquered. Today only two places outside
+the country are still Spanish. They are the Canary Islands out in the
+Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Africa, and the Balearic Islands in the
+Mediterranean.
+
+At the same time that Spain was losing lands she had conquered, her own
+lovely land tempted other countries, and the Spanish people were called
+upon to fight invading armies from England and France. The real losers
+during all these years of fighting were the Spanish people. They had to
+fight instead of grow crops, and natural resources, like forests, were
+neglected or used up. Spain fell further and further behind other
+countries, and even today she hasn't been able to catch up as far as
+she would like.
+
+All the unhappy years of fighting in Spain weren't in the long-ago past.
+Just a while ago, in 1936, a Civil War broke out between the Spanish
+people who wanted their king to come back to the throne he'd left in
+1931, and the people who wanted Spain to set up a republic, like ours in
+the United States. This war went on for three years, and in the end,
+everybody lost. General Francisco Franco and his army defeated the
+forces which wanted a republic, and also those who wanted to set up
+Communism. He is now the head of the Spanish government. Because he is
+considered a dictator, there are many Spanish people who disagree with
+the way he runs the government and are hoping to change it. In 1947 a
+new constitution was written in which General Franco agreed that Spain
+would one day have a king again, but the person who becomes king must be
+at least twenty-five years old. The old king is dead and there is nobody
+for the job right now. But the king's grandson, young Prince Juan
+Carlos, is taking special studies so he will be ready to be king when he
+is old enough. And of course there are still people who would like to
+see Spain become a democratic republic, like the United States, and not
+have a king at all.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+In the meantime, the Spanish people and their government have a lot to
+do to make their country stable and strong again. If you were to visit
+Spain, you would see why the Spanish people love their country so much.
+You could also understand why so many different nations wanted to
+conquer Spain. Spain is a very beautiful country and also a country that
+can produce many good things. It has minerals such as iron, lead, copper
+and sulphur in the earth. In the south, it has a warm climate that helps
+grow luscious crops of oranges, lemons, olives and grapes for wine.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+You might like to take a trip from one region to another by riding on a
+little donkey as Spanish boys do, or in a little high-wheeled cart
+pulled by a donkey, the way little Spanish girls might do. Your donkey
+would probably not have a saddle, but just a rug or a straw mat folded
+across his back, and he might wear a headband of bright red and blue
+wool woven into a gay pattern to shade his eyes from the sun. You could
+carry your food and clothes for the journey in a pair of straw bags hung
+one on each side of your donkey's back. Along the way, you would see
+dozens of other little donkeys and burros. The burro is a donkey-cousin
+but even smaller. Donkeys and burros work with the Spanish men and boys
+in the fields or carry stones to help build new roads, or carry jars of
+water from a well to someone's house. These gentle little animals work
+to earn their keep in Spain.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Suppose you start your trip in the north. At the very most northwestern
+tip of Spain is the region of Galicia, which everybody thought was the
+end of the world before Columbus showed them it wasn't. People in
+Galicia call themselves "Gallegos," and they live in a country of rocky
+seacoasts, where the ocean pokes long fingers called "rias" back into
+green hills and fog rolls in almost every day. In Galicia and the
+neighboring region of Asturias, fathers earn their living by fishing or
+by farming, and mothers make all the clothes for their families from
+cloth they weave themselves. Families live in houses built from stones
+cleared from their own fields. This is where the bagpipes are played
+while the young people, gaily dressed in red and green, dance their
+lively dances.
+
+This northern region is quite different from the sunny south, where the
+climate is very hot in the summer and never really gets cold in the
+winter. Here in the south is Andalusia, where mountain ranges may have
+snow on their peaks all year round, but down in the valleys and plains
+sweet-scented tropical flowers bloom in bright colors every single
+month. On the hillsides, grapes are grown to make wine, or silvery-green
+olive trees make groves against the red earth. This is a region of
+horses and good horsemen. Here big ranches stretch along the river banks
+and huge black bulls are raised.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The people of Andalusia are full of music, dancing and the love of life.
+They live in white houses built around courtyards full of flowers, with
+windows covered with designs in black wrought iron. Black-haired
+Andalusian women wear black lace mantillas draped over their heads, a
+kind of veil and shawl. They like to carry lacy fans and wear long
+flashing earrings. Lots of gypsies live in Andalusia, many of them in
+caves in the chalky-white hillsides. Gypsy girls wear long red or green
+or blue dresses dotted with white. They fold bright-colored silk fringed
+scarves around their necks, and they love to wear many gold bracelets.
+Andalusia is the region the Moors loved the most, so this is where
+you'll see many of their lovely stone buildings full of lacelike
+carvings.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It's like going into another world to journey from Andalusia into
+western Spain. In Extremadura, the land where the Conquistadores lived,
+and in Leon, there are great sweeping plains where the land is not very
+fertile because there are long dry seasons. Raising sheep, fruit and
+pigs are the main sources of making a living, and the people must work
+very hard. They don't have time for as much fun as the Andalusians do.
+These people are quiet but proud. They are especially proud of their
+universities, libraries and cathedrals.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Still another little world in this country of contrasts is found in the
+eastern part of Spain, along the Mediterranean coast and in the region
+inland from this coast. The coastal regions are called, from north to
+south, Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia, all very pretty names. Catalonia
+has a long seacoast which is cut by many bays and coves reaching back
+right into the mountains, which rise straight from the sea. Many white
+sand beaches, rimmed with pine trees, invite you to stop and swim and
+sun. If you stopped, you could have fun climbing around the ruins of old
+walls and watchtowers on the hills looking out to sea. Once upon a time
+on these hills, lookouts used to give warning when pirates were sailing
+up to plunder the villages. One of these Catalonian villages, called
+Tossa de Mar, has a whole village built inside the walls on top of a
+hill above the regular village. People used to gather in this hilltop
+hideout for protection against pirates. The second largest city in
+Spain, Barcelona, is in Catalonia, and it has a very busy harbor where
+ships of all nations sail in and out every day.
+
+Valencia, south of Catalonia, is a land of flowers. Carnations, roses,
+jasmine, scarlet bougainvillea vines, and orange and lemon blossoms fill
+the air with perfume. Every Spaniard loves flowers, and every window and
+courtyard is full of blossoms. In the city of Valencia there's a Battle
+of Flowers every year during one of their festivals. Great baskets of
+rose petals and carnations line the streets and everyone dips out
+handfuls to toss over his neighbors and friends. You can imagine that in
+a very short time the whole city looks as if it were paved with flowers.
+
+In Sitges, a small fishing village a few miles north of Valencia where
+the most beautiful carnations in Spain are grown, there is a Carnation
+Festival every June, and here the main square actually _is_ paved with
+flower petals, laid out in gorgeous designs for the occasion. The land
+in the region of Valencia is so fertile that, with the help of the
+irrigation system set up long ago by the Moors, the people today grow as
+many as four crops a year of rice, vegetables, melons and oranges.
+
+Murcia has a small bit of seacoast, but the rest of it is mostly desert
+land where the earth looks like chalk-dust. It gets so hot people can't
+go out in the middle of the day. They stay indoors in the cool darkness
+as much as possible. Murcia is very much like North Africa, and in some
+of the old towns the women still wear heavy veils over their faces the
+way the Moors from North Africa did. You wouldn't be at all surprised to
+see a camel train in the chalky dust of the dry river bed, but instead,
+it's just another procession of little donkeys carrying goods to market
+in their straw saddlebags, driven by men hiding under huge hats from the
+burning sun.
+
+The regions of Navarre and Aragon, in the northeast, are quite different
+from Murcia's desert. They have a rich, mountainous countryside with the
+tall Pyrenees marching across the north. Many wild animals are found in
+these regions, including some which are rare in other parts of the
+world, like the chamois, the ibex, the wild boar, bears, several kinds
+of deer, and the great golden eagle. Like other northern regions of
+Spain, there's snow in the winter and people go sledding and skiing.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Just to the north are the Basque Provinces, on the southern slopes of
+the Pyrenees and stretching along the Bay of Biscay. The Basque people
+are known as the "Mystery Men of Europe," because nobody is sure where
+they came from. Nobody knows where the strange language they speak came
+from either. We do know that they are a very ancient people, perhaps
+direct descendants of the original Iberians. The Basques are fearless
+and daring, and are noted throughout the world as excellent sailors and
+sheep-herders. When you visit the Basques, you will notice that they all
+like to eat enormous meals, they like to gamble, and they like to play
+"jai alai," a very fast ball game which they invented.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Jai alai" means "happy festival" in the Basque language, and the game
+is a very exciting and happy one. The ball, slightly smaller than a
+baseball, is very hard and can travel very fast. Players have curved
+baskets attached to their right wrists, and they must scoop up or catch
+the ball in these baskets and immediately throw it and try to hit a
+certain spot marked off on the wall. If it doesn't hit the right spot,
+the opposing team scores a point. If it hits the right spot, the other
+team must try to scoop it up before it bounces and send it back, hitting
+a certain spot on the other side of the court.
+
+You can see that it can be a very fast and complicated game. You could
+see jai alai played in specially built concrete courts in many cities in
+Spain, also in the state of Florida, right here in our own country. A
+jai alai court is called a "fronton." But in the Basque country you'd
+see all the men and boys in the village playing jai alai back of the
+church, using the high stone wall as their court. Girls don't play it
+very often, but when they do it is a very pretty sight, because they
+wear wide skirts of blue or red with many white petticoats underneath.
+When they run and turn to hit the ball, their skirts swing around wildly
+and make them look like spinning tops.
+
+Completely different from the Basque country and all other regions is
+the central part of Spain. It is a high plateau bordered by still higher
+rugged rocky mountains. The weather is very hot in summer and very cold
+in winter, with scorching or icy winds blasting across the land because
+there are no forests to break their force. Great gray boulders thrust
+out of purple-green hillsides, and rivers cut deep gorges in the gray
+soil. This central part is made up of two regions, Old and New Castile.
+Old Castile is to the north, and cattle are raised in the green fields
+fed by mountain streams.
+
+Castile means "land of castles," and both Old and New Castile have
+cities built around castles and cathedrals, sometimes surrounded by
+walls built during the years of warfare. One of these cities in Castile
+is Avila, which has high stone walls so thick that four or five soldiers
+could march side by side on top all the way around the city. There are
+88 round towers rising from these walls, where sentries and lookouts
+were posted, but only 16 ways to get in and out, so that the city could
+be guarded more easily.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Not far from Avila is the famous palace of El Escorial, where most of
+the kings and queens of Spain are buried. Castile isn't the only part of
+Spain with castles, of course. If you were visiting Spain today, you
+could stay overnight in many of these castles and pretend you were a
+king or queen of lovely Spain. These castles made into hotels are called
+"paradores," and a visit to one of them is great fun.
+
+Because Castile is in the very heart of Spain, the capital, Madrid, is
+located there. Madrid is a lively, bustling, modern city of more than
+1-1/2 million people. It is the highest capital in Europe, being almost
+half a mile above sea level in the center of the great mesa or tableland
+of Castile. Madrid is not a very old city compared with such ancient
+cities as Avila, but it has an old section built around the Plaza
+Mayor--the main square--where steps lead down into winding, narrow
+streets with arches and covered sidewalks. The larger part of Madrid is
+a modern city with wide boulevards lined with trees, where people can
+sit at sidewalk terrace cafes sipping coffee or wine or lemonade and
+watching other people streaming by.
+
+Sometimes it seems that everybody in Madrid lives outdoors all the time,
+because there are always so many people on the streets all day and all
+night. Meals are served very late--lunch is at 2 o'clock or later, and
+dinner not until about 10. Concerts, plays and movies don't start until
+11 o'clock at night, or even midnight. Even very young children and
+babies stay up late with their parents, to visit with friends at a
+sidewalk cafe or to go to a movie. Only in the middle of the day, when
+it is hot, everybody goes indoors for a long nap. This is called a
+"siesta," and during siesta time the streets of Madrid and all other
+Spanish cities are deserted. Shops and offices are closed. There is
+almost no traffic on the streets and boulevards. From 1 to 5 every
+afternoon, a stranger in Spain might think that a great calamity had
+happened and made Spain a land of sleeping princes and princesses.
+
+After siesta, the streets wake to an even more bustling life than
+before. Offices and stores open again to serve their customers until 7
+or 8 o'clock at night. The sidewalk cafes and restaurants become busier
+than ever. Every chair is taken, and the conversation goes on at such a
+fast rate that unless you understood Spanish very well, you could be
+lost in the rushing sound of it.
+
+Spain has other proud cities besides Madrid. Two, whose history goes way
+back to the days of the Moors, are Granada and Toledo.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Granada is the city in Andalusia which the Moors loved most and held
+longest. They fought hard to keep it, and when they finally surrendered
+it to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492 they wept bitterly, for it seemed
+to them they had lost a Paradise. The great fortress-palace of the Moors
+in Granada is called the Alhambra, which means "red castle." About a
+hundred years ago an American author, Washington Irving, went to live in
+the Alhambra. He found the romantic castle very much as the Moors had
+left it, except for the dust which hadn't been removed in 400 years. He
+walked through the echoing corridors and into the moonlit courtyards
+with their silent fountains. He talked with dozens of old Spanish and
+gypsy storytellers to learn all he could about the Alhambra. He even
+claimed he could see the ghosts of the sultans who had once lived there.
+Then he wrote a book, _Tales of the Alhambra_, which we can still read
+and enjoy. Because of his book, the Alhambra was cleaned and restored to
+all its former beauty.
+
+Today the carved white and golden stonework of this castle shines with
+the splendor of long ago. One of its most interesting courtyards is
+called the Court of the Lions. Twelve very old stone lions, each with a
+different expression on his face, stand in a circle in the center,
+supporting the curved bowl of a fountain on their backs. Out of each
+lion's mouth trickles a little stream of water, helping to cool the air.
+Everyone who visits the Alhambra loves these funny old lions and goes
+away with a picture of them.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The Moorish sultans entertained their guests and held big parties in
+courtyards like this one. But they lived with their families and
+servants in another part of the Alhambra, with gardens and a sparkling
+pool where the royal ladies bathed. Looking out through certain of the
+arching, carved windows, the sultans could see the snow-covered Sierra
+Nevada Mountains. The Sierra Nevada peaks have snow the year round, even
+in the hottest summers. When the Moors lived in the Alhambra,
+swift-running slaves would bring snow from the mountains to make sherbet
+for the sultans and their guests in hot weather.
+
+From other windows in the Alhambra the sultans could see Sacro
+Monte--the Holy Mountain--where gypsies still live today in whitewashed
+caves. Many centuries ago the gypsies didn't have homes, but wandered
+throughout the world. When some of them came to Granada, they fell in
+love with the city and decided to stay. Now there are thousands of them
+living in Andalusia, many of them in Sacro Monte. Their cave-homes are
+really quite comfortable. Many have fine copper cooking pots hanging on
+the walls and beautiful works of art, and hangings of hand-woven
+fabrics. If you go to Granada, you can visit a gypsy cave and the
+gypsies will dance for you to a kind of music which is called
+"flamenco." Nobody knows where the flamenco came from, but some say it
+is as old as the Phoenicians, and some say--even older.
+
+Toledo is another old, old city in Spain--at one time the capital.
+Toledo is built on a series of hills above a river, called Tagus, which
+winds around the base of the city like a natural moat around a fortress.
+Nearly four hundred years ago a Greek painter came to Toledo and stayed
+to become one of Spain's--and the world's--greatest artists. He was
+known as "El Greco," which means The Greek, and today most people have
+forgotten his real name.
+
+Perhaps you have seen his famous painting of the city he loved, called
+"View of Toledo." If you have, you know what Toledo looks like today,
+for it has changed very little since El Greco painted it. You could take
+your crayons or paints to the same spot across the River Tagus where he
+stood with his canvas and easel, and you would see the same rapids in
+the river, the same arched gateways in the city walls, the same
+cathedral spire rising from a hill.
+
+Then you could cross an old bridge, and go through a Moorish gateway
+into town. Walking along a cobblestone street, you might pass an old
+church which has iron chains hanging on its walls. These are the chains
+of Christian slaves captured by Moors, then freed by Christian armies.
+
+At the top of one hill you would discover an old house with red tiled
+roof and a garden full of roses, geraniums, mimosa, Jasmine and
+oleanders. This is the house where El Greco lived, and you'd see his
+easel, his bedroom, his kitchen and furniture just as he left them. In a
+small museum next to the house you'd find paintings by El Greco, mostly
+pictures of saints and portraits of famous Spaniards of his time. One of
+his paintings is in a chapel in town and others are in other churches
+throughout Spain, and in the Prado Museum in Madrid, along with those of
+other great Spanish painters like Valesquez, Goya and Murillo.
+
+The people of Toledo have a special art of their own--making fine
+jewelry called "Toledo ware." The Moors brought the knack from the
+ancient city of Damascus. Threads of gold and silver are woven into
+intricate patterns with fine steel. When the piece is put into a hot
+furnace, the steel part of the pattern turns black, then the gold and
+silver designs are polished until they shine. Originally the Moors made
+their big swords this way, but today Toledo ware is bracelets, earrings,
+cuff links and other small jewelry.
+
+The people of Toledo also make glistening glazed tiles. Some of these
+show scenes from the lives of favorite Spanish heroes, real and
+imaginary. There are some Toledo tiles that will tell you about Don
+Quixote of La Mancha, a hero invented 350 years ago by Miguel Cervantes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Cervantes wanted to tease his fellow countrymen about reading so many
+books with stories that could never happen in real life. So he wrote a
+book of his own about Don Quixote, a foolish old fellow who imagined he
+was a handsome knight. The poor Don rode all around the country on a
+rickety old horse dreaming he was rescuing beautiful ladies and
+fighting imaginary battles for his king. Once he even tried to fight a
+windmill, thinking it was a giant! Another time he thought a shepherd
+and his flock were an army!
+
+Cervantes' fun-poking book is still read and laughed over by people
+throughout the whole world. Today, if you were to drive from Granada to
+Toledo or Madrid, you would pass through Don Quixote's country, La
+Mancha, and you would see windmills and the shepherds leading their
+sheep and goats, with all the countryside looking much as Cervantes
+described it through Don Quixote's eyes.
+
+Wherever you stopped for the night, you would see a great
+walking-around, which begins at 7 o'clock. Every family comes out to
+join in this evening custom which is called "paseo." Of course the
+children come too, dressed in their best clothes. But boys and girls do
+not walk together. Two or three girls will walk by, arm-in-arm, and
+several boys will walk by, talking together and looking at the girls
+from the corner of their eyes. In the smaller places, all the older boys
+walk together in one direction while all the older girls walk arm-in-arm
+in the opposite direction, or else on the other side of the street.
+
+Just as boys and girls don't walk together in the paseo, they don't
+often play games together either--at least not after they are old enough
+to go to school. Before school days start, all children play singing
+and dancing games something like our "London Bridge." They play tag and
+a favorite game called "Hit the Pot." They put a tin can or an old clay
+pot on the end of a long stick and blindfold the child who is "It." The
+others then run around with the stick while "It" tries to knock off the
+can with another stick. But when they are six years old, all little boys
+and girls must go to school, and--except in small villages where there
+are only a few children to study with one teacher--they go to separate
+schools, so they stop playing together then, too.
+
+Little girls jump rope, play with jacks and dolls. Or they play singing
+games which act out the parts of kings and queens and princesses. Little
+boys are most interested in games with balls, like jai alai or football.
+
+The favorite game of most little boys in Spain is "Torero." In this game
+they pretend they are bullfighters, who are called "toreros." Every boy
+in Spain dreams of growing up to be the greatest bullfighter in the
+world. Bullfighting is one of the most exciting things in life to every
+Spaniard.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Every big city has a great bullring, a round building with many steps of
+seats and no roof, called the "Plaza de Toros." "Toro" is the bull. The
+bulls are especially bred for the ring, because no ordinary cow or bull
+would be able to take part in this colorful pageant. Almost every Sunday
+afternoon throughout the year, and at holiday times, there is a
+"corrida" or bullfight, and everybody goes to see the toreros fight the
+bulls.
+
+Bullfighters in Spain are the same heroes to Spanish boys and girls that
+baseball players are to American youngsters. This is the reason why
+you'll see all the little Spanish boys playing Torero. One pretends he
+is the toro and wears a basket over his head as he charges at the one
+pretending he is the torero with a red cape and wooden sword.
+
+Although Spanish children like to play, they are also very serious about
+schoolwork, because they know that if Spain is to be a wise member of
+the family of nations, she needs educated citizens. During the Civil War
+it was very hard for young people to get an education, and some of the
+schools and universities were destroyed by bombs or fires. Now the
+universities have been rebuilt, and more schools are being built every
+year.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Some boys and girls go to schools run by their church, and they are
+taught by priests and nuns. According to law, everyone must go to school
+until the age of fourteen. Then, if the family can afford it, they can
+go on to higher schools and the university. If the family is poor but a
+boy is very bright, he may win a scholarship by getting high marks.
+Because boys are more likely than girls to go to a university, they
+study more science and mathematics in school than their sisters do. Of
+course they all study reading, writing, history, arithmetic and good
+manners.
+
+When a Spanish boy grows up and has a university education, he may
+become a doctor, lawyer, banker, newspaperman or government worker, just
+as any of you may. If he is going to be a farmer, a fisherman, or
+fashion things with his hands as a carpenter or wrought-iron maker does,
+he probably won't go to school after he is fourteen. If he's going to do
+the same thing his father does, his father will teach him. Otherwise, he
+may become an apprentice, which means that he will work right along with
+grownups who already do what he wants to learn. He learns by doing it
+with them.
+
+Little Spanish girls, who wear pinafores to school and do their hair in
+pigtails, are more interested in learning how to be good mothers,
+because every little Spanish girl dreams of marrying and having lots of
+children. They learn how to read and write, and the history of their
+country, but they also learn how to cook and sew and bring up children.
+
+Recently some Spanish girls have started learning how to be lawyers,
+doctors and teachers. These girls, like their brothers, go on to
+universities. Some girls also learn shorthand and typing so that they
+can work in offices. Before the Civil War there were no girls in
+offices, but today they like being secretaries and typists just as girls
+in America do. Still, even these modern Spanish girls don't have the
+freedom to go to parties or on dates with boys, the way American girls
+do, unless they are engaged to be married. When they go out at night for
+the paseo or to attend the theater or a movie, they go with other girls
+or with their whole family.
+
+A strong family bond unites all Spanish people. Fathers and mothers and
+children spend as much time together as they possibly can. If being
+together means that children must go with parents into the fields at
+harvest time, then they go, even if they only play around and don't
+really help. In the evenings when the father and mother go to the paseo
+or sit in a cafe to talk with their friends, their children go with
+them.
+
+Always the whole family goes to church together. One of the most
+important days in a Spanish child's life is the day of confirmation.
+Then the family and relatives and friends from miles around come to
+celebrate. All over Spain, on a Sunday morning, you'll see the little
+girls in their long white dresses with white gloves and veils, looking
+proud and happy as they walk to church with their beaming mothers and
+fathers for their confirmation. When boys are confirmed, they wear white
+suits, with a cape lined in scarlet or blue satin and trimmed with gold
+braid. If the family has enough money, they may hire a horse-drawn
+carriage. The driver wears a tall black stovepipe silk hat and the
+carriage doors and horses' bridles are decorated with white flowers.
+
+The church is very important in Spanish life. The Apostle James himself
+came to preach in Spain, and later, after he had been killed in
+Palestine, his body was brought back to Spain for burial. His tomb is in
+the beautiful Cathedral of Santiago--which is the way Spanish people say
+St. James--in Compostela, in northern Spain. For thousands of years
+people from all over the world have come as pilgrims to Compostela. Many
+little Spanish boys are named Santiago, or perhaps Jaime, another way to
+say James in Spanish, for Santiago is the patron saint of all Spain.
+
+Every city and village also has its very own private patron saint. Once
+a year there is a village festival or "fiesta" in his or her honor. If
+you were to travel through Spain you would find a fiesta somewhere every
+day of the year! These fiestas start in the morning when all the people
+go to church, which is always decorated with hundreds of flowers and
+candles. Then in the afternoon or evening there is a long parade from
+the church through the main streets and back to the church again, with
+the figure of the saint standing on a flower-draped platform which is
+carried on the shoulders of young men.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Choirs sing, candles and incense burn, and all the people stand in
+reverence along the route. A bullfight is usually a feature of a saint's
+day too, with the whole town going to the Plaza de Toros to watch. The
+paseo will be especially gay at fiesta time, and as darkness falls, the
+guitars will start to twang, castanets will click and all the young
+people will gather in the main square to take part in folk dances until
+morning. Sometimes the saint's fiesta will last a whole week, with
+bullfights every afternoon and a fair every night.
+
+One of the most unusual fiestas in all Spain is held every March in
+Valencia in honor of St. Joseph. It is called the "Fallas de San Jose"
+because of the huge, grotesque figures called "fallas" which are the
+main feature of the celebration. Every club and religious group in the
+city spends weeks in advance of St. Joseph's Day building these figures
+out of papier-mache, and each group tries to keep its design secret
+until the fiesta takes place. The best falla wins a prize, and at the
+end of the three-day celebration, all the fallas except the prize-winner
+are burned in a big bonfire while the people dance around it and
+fireworks are shot into the sky.
+
+Of all holidays, Christmas is one of the merriest in Spanish homes.
+"Noche Buena," or Christmas Eve, is a time for families to sit down to a
+wonderful feast. The mothers and older sisters of the family have been
+preparing this feast for months, and fathers have been collecting the
+best Spanish wines to store away until now. Turkey is the traditional
+dish at Spanish Christmas dinners just as it is here. But Christmas is
+one of the few times turkey is ever served in most Spanish homes, so it
+is really a special treat.
+
+Spicy hams, stuffed roast lamb, and special fish dishes are also served
+with the roast turkey. And no Christmas table would be complete without
+"turrones"--a candy made of honey and almonds, something like our
+nougats. Dried figs and grapes, walnuts and hazelnuts load the table
+even more. After dinner, the family goes to midnight services at church
+called "Misa de Gallo"; then they come home and celebrate until morning.
+
+There are no Christmas trees in Spain, but each family makes its own
+Nativity scene, which is set out in time for Christmas Eve. In some
+cities contests are held for the most beautiful "Belen" scenes, as they
+are called, because "Belen" is the way Spanish people say Bethlehem. On
+Christmas Day everybody goes calling to see the Belens in other people's
+houses.
+
+Sometimes grownups exchange gifts on Christmas Day, but Spanish children
+don't receive their gifts until January 6, Three King's Day. Instead of
+Santa Claus, the Three Wise Men, Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar leave
+gifts in the children's shoes. The shoes are set out in a window or near
+the fireplace, filled with hay so the camels of the Three Kings may
+feast. In the morning the hay is gone and toys, nuts, fruit and candy
+have taken its place.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Holy Week, the week starting with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter, is
+another important time in Spanish life. On Palm Sunday, everyone
+throughout the country has palm branches from Elche, an old town where
+the only palm grove in Europe grows. After carrying the branches in
+processions through the streets and into the churches and cathedrals,
+people hang them on the balconies of their houses, where they remain
+until the fresh palm branches of the next year replace them.
+
+The most colorful celebration of Holy Week is held in Seville, a city in
+sunny Andalusia. Every night there are processions of robed and hooded
+men moving silently through streets lined with thousands of men, women
+and children. All the figures of saints and Madonnas from all the
+churches and the Cathedral are carried in one procession or another. The
+figures are dressed in costly vestments and jewels, and the procession
+is lighted by flickering torches and candles. As the figures pass
+beneath balconies crowded with watchers, a singer will suddenly break
+into a spontaneous, unaccompanied song, called a "saeta," to salute the
+saint being carried by. The saeta is the same sort of song the Moors
+used to sing when they lived in Seville and other cities in Andalusia,
+and today it is usually sung by gypsies, thousands of whom live here.
+
+Night after night these processions go on, until Good Friday, when the
+most gorgeous one of all starts at 3 o'clock in the morning. This is the
+procession of the Virgin of Macarena, the patron saint of bullfighters
+and all Seville. The Virgin is dressed up in robes of silver and gold
+and wears jewels given by famous bullfighters and wealthy people. The
+men who march in this procession wear costumes of rich red and gold, and
+there is an honor guard dressed like ancient Roman centurions. The
+"Macarena" is the most popular saint in Seville, and everyone watches
+her procession until it takes her back to her shrine in the gypsy
+section, Triana, followed by thousands of gaily clad gypsies who spend
+the rest of the night singing and dancing to the throbbing of guitars.
+
+Shortly after Holy Week, Seville has another gay festival, this time
+called a "feria," which is rather like a big country fair. For two weeks
+everybody celebrates all day and all night, singing and dancing and
+visiting friends for a glass of wine. Every day there is a bullfight,
+and at night there are concerts, dance and art shows, and plays. The
+huge fair grounds blaze with light, and ferris wheels and
+merry-go-rounds spin gaily round and round.
+
+Once upon a time, the feria was an auction for horses and cattle, and
+today it is still a time when the best horsemen show off their fine
+horses and their skill at riding. During the feria, the proud horsemen
+wear leather aprons something like our cowboys' chaps over their tight
+gray riding pants. Their bolero jackets are black trimmed with braid,
+and their hats are black too, the flat, wide-brimmed felt hats which
+horsemen always wear in Spain.
+
+Horses are curried until they shine, and flowers and ribbons are twined
+in their manes and tails and decorate their bridles. Beautiful
+black-haired girls dress up like gypsies, something they would not be
+allowed to do at any other time. As the girls ride in the saddles behind
+their young men, the long, flounced, polka-dotted skirts of red, green
+or blue fall down over the horse's side. Black lace mantillas are draped
+over very tall combs in their hair, and a gay flower is usually pinned
+behind one ear. Every carriage, every farm cart, every house and every
+person is decorated with flowers.
+
+At harvest time, when olives, grapes, fruit or grain are brought in from
+the land, there is much merry-making, too. At Jerez de la Frontera, a
+sunny town in Andalusia where everybody works at growing grapes and
+making them into a famous wine called sherry, the harvest festival comes
+just before the grapes are ready to be harvested, in September.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+High-wheeled vineyard carts decorated with vines and flowers are pulled,
+by sturdy oxen, out of every vineyard in the countryside, carrying all
+the pretty girls who work there and a basket of new grapes. The carts
+wind through the streets to the Cathedral, where the grapes are blessed
+and all the people pray and give thanks for a good harvest. Then, in the
+square in front of the Cathedral, a great flock of pigeons is loosed
+into the air. These are homing pigeons, and they fly back to their homes
+in every part of Spain, carrying the message that the harvest is about
+to begin. There's dancing in the streets all night, and the next day
+there are bullfights, races and more dancing. Then the people all go to
+work to harvest the grapes.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+On Spanish holidays, there is plenty to eat and drink. For visitors,
+eating is fun even on any ordinary day. If you were to travel from
+region to region in Spain, you would notice that people eat different
+foods in different places. Along the seacoasts, of course, they eat many
+kinds of fish. In the north, one of the favorite seafood dishes is made
+of codfish cooked in a delicious sauce of red and green peppers flavored
+with garlic. In Valencia you would eat "paella" made of many kinds of
+shellfish, chicken, ham and rice flavored with saffron, a yellow spice
+which grows in Spain. Paella is made in a big round iron pan over a
+charcoal fire, and the little clams, shrimps, pieces of chicken and
+everything else that makes it good are tossed in, a handful at a time,
+until the whole dish is ready to be served, right from the pan it was
+cooked in.
+
+Most families have a big lunch, at about 2 o'clock. If the weather is
+cool, this is very likely to be a pot of stew, or "cocido." Depending on
+what part of the country you are in, this cocido might be made of fish,
+lamb, beef or chicken. Whatever the meat or fish may be, the cocido also
+includes all the vegetables that grow in the garden at that time of
+year. It's apt to be flavored with garlic, sweet Spanish red peppers,
+and perhaps several spoonfuls of sherry wine.
+
+In the hot summer weather in Andalusia, people eat a delicious cold soup
+as their main dish at lunch, and sometimes at dinner too. This soup is
+called _gazpacho_, and it is made with Spanish olive oil, vinegar,
+tomato juice and ice water. Very fine bread crumbs help make it thick,
+and little pieces of fresh, cold tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers,
+olives and onions float on top.
+
+Everybody in Spain eats a great many "churros." Churros are something
+like doughnuts, but they are twisted into odd shapes and fried in olive
+oil until they are crisp all the way through, not just on the outside.
+They are very fine for breakfast with hot chocolate, and they are also
+good with sugar sprinkled on them as a between-meals snack. Another
+snack is almonds, grown right in Spain, and shrimp the size of your
+little finger.
+
+Some of the foods the Spanish children eat are the same ones their
+great-great-great-grandfathers and mothers ate, too. Mostly, the houses
+where they live are also very old--as old as the holiday customs that
+haven't changed in hundreds of years. These old ways and scenes are some
+of the reasons Spain has been called "the land where time stands still."
+
+Only just now is this old Spain about to become modern Spain. New roads,
+railroads and airfields are being built to help people get around the
+country faster and to send food from farms and seacoasts to markets in a
+hurry. All over Spain you hear the sound of hammers and chisels, busily
+building a new life for the people.
+
+Spain has joined the United Nations and Spanish boys and girls are eager
+to join all boys and girls who want their countries to be partners in
+progress. If, in getting to know Spain, you have learned to like it,
+perhaps you'll want to say "hello" and "good luck" to your Spanish
+friends. Here is how to say it: "Saludos, amigos!"
+
+
+
+
+History
+
+
+     Before 200 B.C.--Earliest people lived in caves in northern Spain;
+     were conquered by Iberians, then Celts. Phoenicians and Greeks
+     came, and finally all were conquered by Carthaginians.
+
+     201 B.C.--Romans conquered Carthaginians, began a rule lasting more
+     than 500 years.
+
+     406 A.D.--Barbarians, especially Visigoths, came into Spain from
+     central Europe and eventually drove out the Romans.
+
+     711 A.D.--The Moors came from North Africa and conquered all Spain
+     in less than 10 years. Although the Christian Spaniards started
+     fighting almost immediately for the "Reconquest" of Spain, the
+     Moors were masters for almost 800 years.
+
+     January 2, 1492--The Reconquest of Spain was completed when the
+     armies of Ferdinand and Isabella drove the Moors out of the
+     Alhambra in Granada, their last stronghold.
+
+     August, 1492--Columbus sailed with his three ships from Palos in an
+     effort to reach the Far East by sailing west; on October 12, he
+     made his first landfall in the New World and claimed it for Spain.
+
+     1492-1588--The Golden Age of Spain. Columbus discovered more lands
+     in the New World, and Conquistadores planted the Spanish flag all
+     through North and South America. Spain controlled most of Europe.
+     It was a time of great artists and writers like Velasquez, El
+     Greco, Murillo, Lope de Vega and Cervantes.
+
+     1588--Spain's great naval Armada was defeated by England and the
+     power of Spain began to decline throughout the world. Last overseas
+     possessions were lost at the end of the Spanish-American War in
+     1898.
+
+     1931--King Alfonso XIII abdicated from his throne, went into exile;
+     Spain became a republic.
+
+     1936-1939--The Spanish Civil War. Nationalists led by General
+     Francisco Franco won the war and the General became Chief of State.
+
+     1947--The Law of Succession was adopted by Spanish Parliament,
+     providing for a future King and new Spanish monarchy; this law
+     altered in 1956 so that the monarchy may be established sooner than
+     originally planned.
+
+     1953--American aid program began; airfields, pipelines and other
+     construction projects using American money and American builders
+     help Spain develop a defense network and natural resources.
+
+     1956--Spain admitted to the United Nations.
+
+
+
+
+Index
+
+
+  Alhambra, 37-40
+
+  Andalusia, 26-27, 37, 55, 57, 60
+
+  Aragon, 32
+
+  Armada, 20
+
+  Asturias, 25
+
+  Avila, 34
+
+
+  Balearic Islands, 20
+
+  Barcelona, 30
+
+  Basque, 33
+
+  Bulls & bullfighting, 26, 45-46, 51-52, 56, 58
+
+  Burros, 14, 24
+
+
+  Canary Islands, 20
+
+  Castile, 34-36
+
+  Castles, 34-35
+
+  Catalonia, 29, 30
+
+  Cave drawings, 15
+
+  Christmas, 52-53
+
+  Church, 15-16, 46, 49-50
+
+  Civil War, 21, 46
+
+  Columbus, Christopher, 7, 8, 18
+
+  Conquistadores, 19, 20, 28
+
+
+  Donkeys, 14, 24, 32
+
+  Don Quixote, 42-44
+
+
+  Elche, 54
+
+  El Escorial, 35
+
+  El Greco, 41-42
+
+  Extremadura, 28
+
+
+  Festivals, 31, 56-58
+
+  Fiestas, 50-52
+
+  Flamenco, 40
+
+  Food, 52, 53, 58-61
+
+  Franco, Francisco, 21
+
+
+  Galicia, 25
+
+  Games, 45
+
+  Geography, 11, 12, 25-36
+
+  Gibraltar, 12
+
+  Granada, 19, 37-40
+
+  Gypsies, 27, 40, 56
+
+
+  History, 7-8, 15-21
+
+  Holy Week, 54-55
+
+
+  Iberians, 11, 15, 32
+
+  Isabella, 7, 8, 17, 19, 20
+
+
+  Jai alai, 33-34, 45
+
+  Jerez, 56
+
+
+  Leon, 28
+
+  Lions, 38
+
+
+  Madrid, 36-37, 42
+
+  Moors, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 37-40, 41-42, 55
+
+  Murcia, 29, 32
+
+
+  Navarre, 32
+
+
+  Palos, 8
+
+  Paradores, 35
+
+  Paseo, 44, 49, 51
+
+  Prado Museum, 42
+
+  Pyrenees, 11, 32
+
+
+  Regions, 12, 13, 24-36, 58
+
+  Romans, 15, 16
+
+
+  Saints, 50-51, 55
+
+  Schools, 44, 45, 46-48
+
+  Segovia, 16
+
+  Seville, 55-57
+
+  Shepherds, 9, 33, 44
+
+  Siesta, 36-37
+
+
+  Three Kings Day, 53
+
+  Toledo, 37, 40-42
+
+
+  Valencia, 29, 30, 31, 52, 60
+
+
+
+
+Sources
+
+
+In preparing this book, the author drew upon her own experience in Spain
+as well as historical and other information supplied by official Spanish
+sources both in Spain and the U.S.
+
+  Teachers may obtain additional information from Library of Congress,
+  Washington, D. C.; Hispanic American Society, Inc. 80 Wall Street, N. Y.;
+  Hispanic Institute, 435 West 117th Street, N. Y.;
+  Hispanic Society of America (Museum and Library), Broadway between 155
+  and 156 Streets, N. Y.;
+  Iberia Air Lines of Spain, 339 Madison Avenue, N. Y.; Spanish Embassy,
+  Washington, D. C. (Commercial Office and Office of Cultural Relations);
+  Spanish State Tourist Department, 485 Madison Avenue, N. Y.
+
+
+
+
+THE GETTING TO KNOW BOOKS
+
+COVER TODAY'S WORLD
+
+
+  _Africa_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW AFRICA'S FRENCH COMMUNITY
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW ALGERIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE CONGO RIVER
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW EGYPT
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW KENYA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW LIBERIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW NIGERIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE SAHARA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW SOUTH AFRICA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW RHODESIA, ZAMBIA AND MALAWI
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW TANZANIA
+
+
+  _Arctic_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE ARCTIC
+
+
+  _Asia_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW BURMA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE CENTRAL HIMALAYAS
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW HONG KONG
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW INDIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW JAPAN
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE NORTHERN HIMALAYAS
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW PAKISTAN
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE RIVER GANGES
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THAILAND
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE TWO CHINAS
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE TWO KOREAS
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE TWO VIETNAMS
+
+
+  _Caribbean and Central America_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE BRITISH WEST INDIES
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW COSTA RICA, EL SALVADOR AND NICARAGUA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW CUBA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW GUATEMALA AND THE TWO HONDURAS
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW MEXICO
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW PANAMA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW PUERTO RICO
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
+
+
+  _Europe; East and West_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW EASTERN EUROPE
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND AND WALES
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW FRANCE
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW GREECE
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW ITALY
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW POLAND
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW SCANDINAVIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW SPAIN
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW SWITZERLAND
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE SOVIET UNION
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE TWO GERMANYS
+
+
+  _Middle East_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW IRAN-IRAQ
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW ISRAEL
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW LEBANON
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW SAUDI ARABIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES RIVERS
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW TURKEY
+
+
+  _North America_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW ALASKA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW AMERICAN INDIANS TODAY
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW CANADA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE U.S.A.
+
+
+  _Pacific_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW AUSTRALIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW HAWAII
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW INDONESIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE PHILIPPINES
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE SOUTH PACIFIC
+
+
+  _South America_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW ARGENTINA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW BRAZIL
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW CHILE
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW COLOMBIA
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW PERU
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE RIVER AMAZON
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW VENEZUELA
+
+
+  _United Nations Agencies_
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW F.A.O.
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW UNESCO
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW UNICEF
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW THE UNITED NATIONS PEACE FORCES
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW WHO
+
+  GETTING TO KNOW WMO
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Getting to know Spain, by Dee Day
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GETTING TO KNOW SPAIN ***
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