European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 5, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday april 5 2007 stars and stripes Page 25 the Bakers of Seville Spanish cites nuns prepare easter sweets to glorify god by Carol Pucci the Seattle times in a City where even the tapas bars display images of the Virgin Mary next to pictures of bullfighter and flamenco dancers finding some thing sinfully Sweet to go with your morning Coffee is a religious experience perhaps if s a sign of Southern Spain zest for the Good Lif e but if s sevilles oldest tavern that s my landmark for navigating the Maze of narrow streets that Lead to the convento de Santa Ines the medieval Home of a group of Catholic nuns devoted to feeding the stomach As Well As the soul at Al Rinconcillo hams hang from the ceiling and bottles of Sherry line the dark wooden counters around the Corner is Calle Dona Maria Coronel a Street named for the Convent s founder a Sevillian noblewoman said to have disfigured herself by splashing boiling Olive Oil on her face to escape the advances of King Pedro the cruel shuttered windows covered with Iron bars hide what s behind High stucco Walls but a Ime Brown door has been propped open to the sidewalk in the Garden courtyard under a shaded portico theres a wooden Lazy Susan built into a Ceramic tile Wall next to it is a typed list of More than a dozen types of Home made cakes cookies and sweets for Sale labelled simply Las Dulces i ring the Buzzer ave Maria says a voice from behind the Wall sin Pecado Spanish for without sin is the traditional reply but i freeze and answer with a cheery Buenos Dias instead los sultanas por say sliding a few euros into the Lazy Susan and giving it a spin a Cash Register drawer opens and closes a few seconds later around comes a plastic bag filled with a dozen featherweight macaroons called sultans lovers spa Iniste next Italy when it comes to food and wine then the Southern Region of Andalusia is the next Tuscany the Best Sherry comes from the Vine Yards of nearby Jerez the Best Ham from the Village of Jab go where hogs feed on acorns from scrub Oaks and Cork Trees but ask anyone who lives in this gentle City of pocket sized squares and cob bled streets and  Tell you the Best sweets come from sevilles Convent kitchens seventeen of them around the province keep alive a tradition begun centuries ago when nuns made sweets As gifts for their act photos sister Jesus Maria is one of nine nuns living inside the cloistered Mon Asterio de Santa Maria Del Socorro in Seville Spain As easter preparations move into High gear the nuns Are Busy turning out traditional treats which they sell to support themselves patrons mainly wealthy families whose daughters entered the religious life after christians recaptured the iberian Peninsula from the arabs in the 13th Century a Cathedral was built on the site of a former mosque and Seville was transformed into a Convent City with As Many As 30 in the late 1600s along with dozens of churches chapels and religious shrines today with vocations Down and their benefactors gone the nuns support them selves by turning out Artisan past Ries sold to the Public through the Lazy susans called torsos the nuns live and work in secluded sections of their con vents sheltered from the distractions of the world outside devoted to a life of prayer and work they maintain silence much of the time and go out Only when they need to heard but not often seen they know their customers by their voices and guard some of their ancient petes and stripes recipes As closely As their secret lives seven of the convents lie with in the compact historic Center some taking up two or three blocks in Art filled medieval palaces donated centuries ago by Kings or their founders families a store called Al Torno across from the Cathedral Sells a Sam pling of Convent sweets but those interested in going to the source will be rewarded with Sweet surprises and a walk through some neighbourhoods tourists rarely see working with ingredients such As eggs almonds Honey and sugar introduced to Spain by the arabs each group of nuns has developed its own specialities from recipes handed Down through the generations the names Are Are Brazos de Vitanos Gypsy Orejas de fraile friars ears and Suspiro de Monja nuns sighs but the products Are simple and natural and handmade with no preservatives among the most popular Are yeas Little Volcano shaped candies made from a 500year old recipe by the Augustine at the convento de san Leandro housed there since the 1300s in a former Palace donated by King Pedro they use Only the Yolks of the eggs and donate the leftover Convent sweets Are bought and sold through a wooden Lazy Susan called a Torno like this one displayed at the convento de san Leandro in Seville Whites to Santa Ines for its sulta Nas the Hieron mite Sisters at the convento de Santa Paula in the colourful working class Quarter of la Macarena make 14 Variet ies of marmalade quince paste and a Caramel flan called Tocino de delo heavenly Bacon in a monastery Complex that includes fruit Orchards a 15thcentury Church gardens and a museum before it was a popular song and dance step la Macarena was Home to a much loved religious image the Esperanza Macarena Virgin of Hope while exploring the neighbourhood visitors can Stop also at the car Melite convento de Santa Ana for its Anise Flavoured twists called Pestino then lunch at one of the tapas bars on san Lorenzo Square or shop along the Calle Anion de Dios at Kitschy boutiques with names like Glam and flamenco Cool As easter preparations move into High gear the Bakers of Seville Are Busy turning out traditional treats such As made with bread soaked in White wine dipped in egg then Fried and coated with sugar or Honey and the Gypsy Arm a rolled sponge cake with rum Cream throughout the years some of the orders have modernized shortening their habits and veils and increasing their Contact with the Public the people of Sevilla love this to come Here and to speak with the nuns and feel something about the contemplative life says sister Virtudes 76 Mother Superior at san Leandro sevilles oldest religious cloister with 36 nuns Ages 2080 perhaps because i speak Only enough Spanish to keep repeat ing please i would really like to see your Kitchen apparently sometimes confusing the word pig for Kitchen two other convents agreed to let me inside at Santa Ines Maria Luisa Fraga the head of an association that helps the convents Market go for a list of convents in and around Seville and their specialities visit the web at 008curiosidadeshtm their products and sister Mer cedes de Santa Clara 71 the Mother Superior show me through the Chapel in the choir an area of the Church screened off for the nuns the preserved body of their founder lies in a casket which they open to the Public once a year in the cloister at Santa Ines upstairs rooms each marked with a Crucifix surround a court Yard Garden with Walls covered in decorative Ceramic tiles an outdoor Arcade leads to a Small Kitchen where a group of younger nuns Are making Almond cookies and the House specially Lite round pastry balls called Bol Letos made with flour sugar Olive Oil and sesame i learn that the voice behind the Torno belongs to sister Rebe Ca 43 Ora e Labora she says we Are working for god the Best or at least the largest variety of sweets 60 types come from the Monasterio de Santa Maria Del Socorro a con vent housed in a 16thcentury building that stretches for sever Al blocks near the Plaza san Marcos and a Row of neighbor Hood cafes fruit Flower and fish shops nine Sisters members of the Concepci nistas franciscans who came to Seville in the 1500s support themselves by baking bookbinding and running a five room inn the brass studded Torno is at a Side Entrance below a Ceramic tile image of the Virgin Mary theres no sign Only a Mustard yellow Frame around the door Way with the address no 30 painted above it i reach inside an Iron Gate and ring the Buzzer sister Inmaculada 34 greets Ine and leads me Down a Walkway shaded by delicate archways there Are wooden benches and potted ferns and a swim Ming Pool for the Days when temperatures can top 100 we meet sister Jesus Maria 68 a cheerful woman wearing a White habit Brown veil and a Broad smile after 27 years Here she knows her customers no need for a sign out front she says the people know about it and they Are coming earlier i had asked sister Remedios Mother Superior at Santa Paula what if s like to spend years behind these Walls for the Bakers of Seville she said life is filled with Sweet surprises every Day is the same she told me but All the moments Are different