Thea Martin Photography

Temple of Debod in Madrid Spain. This ancient Egyptian temple was dismantled and brought to Spain as a gift in 1968 as a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the Abu Simbel temples by helping UNESCO build dams to save other national treasures. In Egypt this temple was dedicated to the goddess of Isis.

The temple was rebuilt near the Royal Palace of Madrid, and opened to the public in 1972. The reassembled gateways have been placed in a different order than when originally erected.This temple constitutes one of the few works of ancient Egyptian architecture that can be seen outside Egypt and the only one of its kind in Spain.

This is the dome of the Almudena Cathedral as viewed from the Sabatini Gardens. The Sabatini Gardens are part of the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, and were opened to the public by King Juan Carlos I in 1978. The Cathedral is built on an old mosque site and final construction was not completed until 1993 when it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II. The facade of this cathedral was purposefully designed to match the Royal Palace.

This alcove intrigued me quite a bit. I think it really speaks to the close ties between the state and church in Spain.

The Almudena Cathedral which was completed in 1993 was designed to match the Royal Palace. Thus reinforcing the close ties between church and state.

This view was made even better with the clouds surrounding the area just made this shot even better.

The corridors at the Royal Palace are wonderful and were fun to work to capture. As the sun was setting the shadows grew and the light kissed the bricks just right. This is a single shot and hand-held.

Home to the Kings of Spain from Charles III to Alfonso XIII, Madrid's Royal Palace takes us on a journey through the history of Spain. Though it is no longer the royal family's home, it continues to be their official residence.

The Royal Palace in Madrid viewed through the fence which encompasses the Plaza de Armeria. The palace has 1,450,000 sq ft of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Europe by floor area.

The clouds were spectacular that day and it was fun to get my depth of field just right to capture both the fencing and the palace.

The Imperial Palm Tree is the main attraction in the Jardin Huerto de Cura (Palm Grove). This one of a kind specimen was dedicated to the Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the fall of 1894.

This palm tree has seven off-shoots and it weighs approxiametly 8 tons and it is over 55 feet tall! According to the garden's website, the Imperial Palm Tree is 165 years old.

Soothing Aloe? The shark-like teeth on this aloe plant found in the Jardin Huerto del Cura look rather ominous.

One of the many succulents found in the Jardin Huerto de Cura in Elche. This was a great visit and I loved learning about all of the different Palm Tree species!

Established in 1943, this garden houses many different plants from the Mediterranean. Anyone visiting the area needs to spend a few hours here.

This was a hand-held single frame shot.

Prickly Pear cactus and flowers. Like all true cacti, the prickly pear is a plant that is native to the Americas and most likely brought to the Mediterranean region in the 1800s.

This "mother and children" cacti is tucked in a corner of the rock garden area of the Jardin Huerto del Cura. There were so many interesting cacti and succulents here; all plants were in great shape. I could tell this garden is loved by the city of Elche.

Palm abstract from a very symmetrical set of plam leaves. It is so interesting to see the different types of palm trees in one location. The Jardin Huerto del Cura is very unique and a must see if you're in the area.

Palm tree reflections in the main pond where a replica of the Lady of Elche regally looks over this pond at the entrance of the gardens.

Elche is the City of Palm trees where there are more palm trees that humans! Palm trees are inherent in all of the Elche traditions including a play called Misteri which is performed in the Elche Cathedral; these perfomances are thought to have started in the mid-1500s.

From the Visit Elche website: "With more than 200,000 palm trees, 50,000 of them in the town´s nurseries ready to be transplanted, the Palm Grove of Elche is the largest in Europe. Although, when viewed from a distance, it may appear to be a great forest, it is, in reality, a plantation with an agriculture purpose. Hence the plots of palm trees or their groupings are called "huertos" or orchards. Each of the plots is flanked by rows of palm trees, in such a way that, as seen from the air, they form a grid pattern. The terraces created within the plots have traditionally been dedicated to agricultural production."

Palm tree imagery all over Elche. This was on a huge wall on the path to the Basilica de Santa Maria.

Everything is Palm related in Elche and it is rather cool. This is the weather vane topper on top of the main dome of the Santa Maria Basilica. This was taken from the bell tower of the basilica.

Elche is the City of Palms and this is one of the views from a top the bell tower of the Santa Maria Basilica. The palm grove is HUGE and it was perfect that the Spanish flag was flying in the midst of it.

Currently, in the urban area of Elche there are a total of 97 different orchards containing about 70,000 date palms. This number does not include other large plantations located around the city proper. All together, the number may be close to 275,000 palms, which is larger than the population of Elche.

This is the only palm grove of its type anywhere in Europe and the northernmost of its kind and one of the largest in the world, surpassed in size only by some in Arab countries.

Inside the Basilica De Santa Maria in Elche. This was taken at 3200 ISO on the second floor and across the church in almost pitch black conditions - hand held.

My goal was to capture Mary's ornate dress which is part of the Mystery Play of Elche that is performed within this church.

The Mystery Play of Elche, according to the Visit Elche website, is the most authentic symbol of the city's identity and it traces its history back to medieval times.

The three icons of Elche in one picture: a Palm Tree, the dome of the Basilica De Santa Maria with the bell tower, and the Palacio de Altamira. All three have a deep and rich history and make Elche what it is today.

Torre del Tamarit is now in the middle of the Las Salinas Nature Reserve of Santa Pola. I was scoping out a location for a sunrise shoot when these colors appeared and the reflections were amazing.

This was a guard tower that was built in 1552 by King Phillip II and it was used to monitor the "enemy" which I would presume were the moors. From this tower, the soldiers could communicate with the castle in Elche and monitor the "white gold" - salt.

This area is now a National Wild Refuge as it is permanently flooded with salt water and the local wildlife have adjusted to the conditions. This area is known for having thousands of pink flamingoes.

Sunrise in Torrevieja which is south Santa Pola, Spain. The Mediterranean sea is very calm as compared to an open ocean. I went very wide for this shot to get some action on the rock formations.

The town of Torrevieja was named for a guard tower. This town became a salt mining town for many years and now is a popular get-away for many Europeans.