Mysterious Toledo: the Houses of the Temple and the Alleys of the Devil and Hell

It is not surprising, if when I speak of Toledo, I immediately get carried away by the romanticism of other travelers of the time and I quote, by way of introduction, part of that deep impression produced in his spirit, by this immeasurable peninsular Axis Mundi.

So, I will begin by appropriating the same impression that the German poet and writer, Erich María Remarque, made, echoing that interesting reflection that he gave to his friend and teacher, the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, in the early 20th century, telling him that famous phrase, which makes Toledo 'a capital of forgotten empires'.

If we take as a basis this definition, without forgetting for a moment, that in Toledo they met, coming to live, with the joys and hardships that characterize any union, however fraternal, the Three Most Important Cultures or at least, not to belittle anyone, the Three Peoples of the Book: Christians, Jews and Muslims.

From the remote antiquity of a city like Toledo, the Tagus river, which surrounds it and at times, when the heavy rains manage to vary its rush to the sea, dragging an important flow, leaves memories of a thousand and a provenance, many of which, believe it or not, adorn many private houses of its old and narrow historical streets.

It is not surprising either, that based on the models, also old, Toledo is defined as a symbolic Axis Mundi, where, symbolically also, it serves as a model of union of heaven with earth ... and also with hell or world underground, present in all cultures and traditions.

Part of the mysterious attractions of Toledo, they are located in the highest part of its old town: there where the narrow and steep streets surround a church, that of San Miguel el Alto, which is supposed to be of the Knights Templar.

Following these narrow streets, whose houses still preserve the ancient tunnels, which in addition to the winery, served their former inhabitants as an escape and communication between different houses and places, it flows into a huge building, the size of a palace, in whose façade, immersed in a greenish patina by time and rust, the type of cross that defined these mysterious knights can still be seen: the pate or kick cross.

Little or almost nothing is known about the activities carried out by the Templars in this place, but in addition to serving as a shelter for the brothers of the Order, it is possible that it was also a pilgrim's shelter and bank where they could deposit their money or make cash Any kind of promissory note.

It is possible that for this reason, this area is reputed to have housed, in medieval times, all kinds of heterodox, such as alchemists, magicians, sorcerers and other followers of Occultism and that for that reason, part of the many legends added to the nearby alleys of Devil and Hell, have your base there.

In the basement of the Casas del Temple, in the winter of 2010, I had the opportunity to enter the Restaurant 'El Palacete', by then, one of the best in the city, and see part of what had been inside .

It is still preserved - I suppose because of the impossibility of throwing it away, since it is a Cultural Historical Heritage - part of the old medieval architecture. An architecture, which you can see in the photographs, is of marked Muslim origin: with its lock-shaped arches and its unique mandalas, which begin or end, as imaginary ouroboros or snake that bites its tail, usually in stars of eight tips.

And another notable and mentionable detail, are the medieval graffiti that also endures with them.

Reasons that show some cruciferous element, as well as interesting wavy motifs, that perhaps could have been snakes in origin: because you know, that Toledo, after all, is still, metaphorically speaking, a tempting apple worthwhile run the risk of taking a no less metaphorical bite.

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