Cemetery Keeping: The Municipal Cemetery of Haro (La Rioja, Spain)





Visiting the Haro Cemetery on a Sunday morning in early autumn is like being invited onto the set of Pedro Almodovar’s popular film Volver. Last Sunday it seemed that half the town had turned out and were all there on a housekeeping mission. Well, gravekeeping mission. Washing, sweeping, polishing, changing flowers... everyone (except us) was there sprucing up the tumbs! And just like the Manchego widows in the opening scene of Volver - energetically cleaning their family graves in the village cemetery - the visitors to the Haro Cemetery were carrying out their tasks with all the spontaneity and naturalness in the world.  All around us we could hear bits of cheerful conversation. And what did we observe? Small children skipping and playing among the tumbs while their parents swept, young couples bringing in fresh flowers, elderly widows strolling arm-in-arm, and large gypsy families congregated around colorful family plots. If we had felt a bit like extras on the Volver set when we entered, it was soon apparent that we had landed very interesting parts. By far, this was quite the lively cemetery! 

Location and surroundings: The Haro Cemetery is located about 5 kilometres from the city centre (you need a car to get there) and is out amongst the motorway hotels, an industrial park and some small vineyards. The exterior surroundings are not very attractive, but the cemetery itself is beautiful. If you have never visted Haro  (in the northwest of La Rioja, Spain’s renowned wine-producing region) plan to spend, at least, a weekend as there is plenty to do and see.

The main entrance is a tall wrought iron gate which opens into this walled cemetery. Designed by architect Juan Cabrera de la Torre, it was inaugurated in 1893



Cypresses:  Very tall cypresses fill a good part of the cemetery giving it a fresh, green feel. This is what most impressed me once inside the attractive main entrance. Also the shaded central avenue which leads to a large chapel. All this invites the visitor to relax, stroll and have a look about. Firstly, you’ll come across some very large and imposing family plots on both sides of the central avenue. The one that stands out the most is that of a prosperous local wine business family:  a huge geometric bathtub-shaped scupture, high above the private gated garden at its feet. Definitely one of the biggest and most imposing grave markers we’ve seen. We couldn’t figure out if the “bathtub” might have some relation to the family business, but there was so much else to see that we decided to move on.

You can do the Haro Cemetery in a couple of hours if you move around quickly. But I recommend arriving at the opening hour so you don’t feel rushed – there is a lot of funerary art and interesting tombs to see.  The cemetery is open all year: mornings 10-1, and  afternoons  3-7  (summer) and 3-6 (winter). The friendly groundskeeper rings the chapel bell when it’s time to leave.

Angels and more angels.... there are many - and in all shapes and sizes in this cemetery. It took us a good while to see all of them; some of them are a photographer’s delight. However, a number of them have the same strange defect: sunken, blank eyes which make their faces rather disturbing to look at. In fact, many of the other figures on the graves: virgens, weeping maidens, Baby Jesuses and an excellent death-like monk, exhibited the same scary, blank eyes. Was a local sculptor responsible for this?  Hmmm...

Crucifixes: Like all catholic cemeteries in Spain, crucifixes are the most common grave marker here, most of them of stone and unadorned. However, in the oldest section of the cemetery (to your left as you enter) there are some interesting wrought iron crosses. Small and simple by today’s standards,  they feature ceramic plaques with the photographs and DOB’s/DOD’s* of the tomb’s occupants, which line the cross up and down. I imagine they were a less expensive grave marker in their time. Also in this section, you’ll see a row of tombs which include small glass-enclosed alters with statues of religious figures inside. Haro is well-known for the glass-enclosed balconies miradores on its houses. I wondered if the glass enclosed alters at the top of the graves were intended to resemble miradores. However, a local visitor assured me the glass was simply intended to house and protect a favourite saint or virgen, for example,  Haro’s well loved Virgen de la Vega.

Gypsy graves: Walking towards the back of the cemetery and on the right, you can visit some gypsy graves. As you walk in that direction, you’ll spot them immediately as they are very colourful and stand out from all the others in the cemetery. Adorned with bright flowers and various ornaments (horses, eagles, angels, maidens), those we saw were expensive-looking tombs with the pictures of their occupants- all handsome men - in a prominant place. Last Sunday, a local gypsy family was visiting their family plot so we viewed this area of the Haro Cemetery discreetly, deciding not to  photograph the graves until the family had left almost at closing time.

I’ve since looked for the significance of the figure of the eagle which we saw on all of the gypsy graves, but I didn’t’t find specific information. Only that when a gypsy dies, he/she is usually buried with his/her intimate personal belongings such as jewellry and trinkets. And that floral tributes are usually on a grand scale at both the funeral and gravesites. Gypsy childrens’ graves are often decorated in observance of their birthdays or favourite holidays along the year.

Closing time: We left the Haro Cemetery right at closing time with the many people who had entered with us. The handsome young groundskeeper, clad in shorts, a pink t-shirt and friendly smile, had rung the chapel bell and then moved around amongst us, reminding us it was time to leave.  



Cemetery of Haro (La Rioja, Spain) Photo Gallery

Istanbul (Turkey), the city of the hundred graveyards.

Not many cities in the world are as fascinating to visit as Istanbul, a city with over 2,600 years of history and currently inhabited by more than 15 million people. This 5^th most populous city on the planet lies between two continents: part of its metropolis in Europe and the other part, across the Strait of Bosphorus, in Asia.



Ostaköy Mosque. Istanbul



Throughout its long history, Istanbul has been the capital of three different empires: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman and has been conquered  and lost by Persians, Greeks, Romans and Crusaders. It is a city of many cultures and identities, a city which does not leave anyone indifferent.

Istanbul is currently very popular with European tourists. When you go, you must visit Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, buy something in the Grand Bazaar, the Spices Bazaar, take a boat tour on the Bosphorus, but....  What about its cemeteries? Just like the city, they are unique.

To start with,  there are over a hundred cemeteries (mezarligi in Turkish) within the city. Seems no one knows the exact number,  the main reason being that burial sites in the Arab culture always remain sacred ground, and just as mosques, are never moved to other areas or designated for other uses. The cemeteries of Istanbul are of all sizes, from very small cemeteries in the city center next to mosques, to the huge cemetery Karacaahmet, further away, which some say is the largest cemetery in the world (for sure it’s the largest in Turkey).



Hagia Sophia. Istanbul



The guidebooks will recommend you visit these three: (1) Eirnekapi Sehitligi Mezarligi (also known as Eyüp Mezarligi) located in the European part of Istanbul on a hill overlooking the Golden Horn (entrance to the sea). Burials here were initiated after the Siege of Constantinople in 1453 to provide tombs for the Ottoman soldiers who died in battle.   (2) Asri Asiyan Mezarligi, also on the European side, this is the resting place of important Turkish artists. Overlooking the Bosphorus, it’s a smaller cemetery with  beautiful views. (3) Karacaahmet Mezarligi, on the Asian side of Istanbul, was founded around 1550. This gigantic cemetery, a city in itself,  is the resting place of over 150 million Muslims. And it’s over 400 hundred years old.



Graves of men, Ottoman period.



However, one doesn’t have to look hard to find a pretty cemetery for a quiet walk in Istanbul. Scattered throughout the city there are numerous lovely graveyards worth visiting, you come across them without the help of any street map. The ones I visited caught my attention because they looked like patios or gardens from the outside and I wanted to go in.



Small cemetery near the Grand Bazaar.





Woman's grave.



The tombs for the most part are above ground and the head stones very interesting. The older headstones are the ones that attracted my attention - because of the different symbols used on them. Most of them are tall, narrow standing stones with information about the occupant. However, there are important differences between graves for men and graves for women. Those gravestones of men from the Ottoman period feature a stone turban on top, and curiously it’s the folds of each sculpted turban which show the man’s social class/status: more folds, more class or status. When in 1828 turbans were banned, graves for men began to be decorated with the Turkish fez (typical red, tasseled, pot-like hat).  Very different are the headstones of women, quite ornamental and adorned with small sculpted flowers (usually roses), one blossom for each child she gave birth to. Or  there may be a live planted rose bush on the woman’s grave.

Men's graves, after turbans were banned.

It’s quite common to see the people of Istanbul in the city cemeteries: walking, resting or quietly visiting the graves of their loved ones.  Each that I visited was a welcome haven from the crowded, noisy streets just outside.

Carcassonne Cemetery (La Cité). France

If you are visiting Carcassonne, the lovely medieval fortress city in the south of France, don’t miss the opportunity to take an early morning stroll through this historic graveyard. What makes it truly unique is its location immediately outside the walls of La Cité (castle-fortress).  Inside La Cité it’s hard to find any place or space that  feels even remotely  authentic, given the hundreds of tourists traipsing back and forth among snack bars, restaurants and souvenir shops.  A visit to the cemetery makes up for it.

The discreet entrance to this stone-walled cemetery is located right behind the old carousel which is a stone’s throw from the main entrance to the fortress. Easy to locate, easy access and not at all popular with the tourists; the morning we visited Le Cimetiere, it was practically empty except for one groundskeeper, an elderly French lady who greeted me with Bonjour madame and two young fellows, who looked like American college students, probably there for the same reason as we were. The morning we visited was beautiful, crisp and sunny, blue skies above and that gorgeous backdrop of medieval towers and stone walls.

Le Cimetiere de La Cité is very manageable. Not especially large, and neatly laid out in a few main lanes, you can see most of it in a relaxed manner in 60-90 minutes. This gives you plenty of time to stop and read the names and dates (mid-1800’s up to today) on the above-the-ground tombs,  have a look at the many photographs of its occupants, and stop from time to time to appreciate the beautiful views in all directions. As you look across the cemetery towards the castle, the graveyard seems to melt into the walls and towers of La Cité. If you look down the lanes toward the entrance, you can see the lovely Carcassonne countryside.

The graves in this French cemetery are not very different from the country cemeteries in Spain that I’ve visited over the years. Except perhaps for the practice of placing stand-up, rectangular, ceramic-stone plaques on top of the long tombstones as “souvenirs” to lost loved ones. A notre ami, a mon papa chéri, a ma grand-mere, a notre fils .... some of the graves had up to 30 of these plaques. They are decorated with flowers, birds, virgins and/or sculpted images of the loved one's profession, favourite sport or hobby while in this life. As you walk through, you can appreciate if the person had been a farmer, a hunter, a rugby player, etc during his/her lifetime. As far as photographs go, there are many. There are some lovely ones of small children in their first communion dress from the early 1900's and a few of young men and women who died in their teens or young adulthood which leave you feeling very solemn.

 What you won’t see in Le Cimetiere is much funerary art or statues. Except for a few angels here and there, most of the grave markers are crucifixes (many crucifixes in fact) and the souvenir plaques. And just a few of the narrow stone family vaults so common in the large city cemeteries of Paris.

Last tip for you photographers: take advantage of La Cité on a clear summer night to photograph the shadows and silhouettes of its cemetery against the fortress walls. Awesome.

Carcassonne Cemetery (La Cité) Photo Gallery

Why My Favorite Cemeteries?

Since I was a young girl, I have always loved strolling through pretty and peaceful cemeteries. My maternal grandparents, Charles and Josephine Stowell, used to have big holiday dinners and family gatherings as I was growing up. On Easter Sunday, 4^th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas.... they were family celebrations my brother, sister and I very much looked forward to: lots of cousins to play with, lots of good food, lots of chatter and good cheer. Late in the afternoon on these days,  my  dear cousin (and now good friend) Melodie and I would go out for a walk. You know, to get out of the house for a while, stretch our legs and most importantly, to have a good girl-to-girl chat. But my grandparents lived in the middle of the country and   were miles away from any village or populated area where one might walk down the sidewalks, looking at the houses or shop windows. Fortunately, Melodie and I did have two options: the old back road –or- the Hill Cemetery. We would take turns choosing which one,  but the Hill Cemetery was always my favorite. Located on a high grassy knoll, right across the road from an abandoned, one-room brick school house, it was a small and simple graveyard with lovely country views from the top - and the perfect place for a stroll and a chat on a holiday afternoon.  Far more interesting than the old back road because we could stop by the different graves, read the names and dates, compare tombstones, comment on family names we knew....  

You may laugh and think “wow, strange habit!” However, over the years, I’ve met cemetery walkers in a number of countries and it seems we all like cemeteries for the same reason: a cemetery is almost always an island of peace and the perfect place for a relaxing walk. Especially when we need to get away from from our hectic day-to-day routine or from overcrowded touristy places when we are travelling.

And as for the cemetery occupants? Well, I think of them as the loved ones of the persons who live in the area. And for sure, they are all very pleased when you stop by for a visit.