As Christians around the world observe Semana Santa or Holy Week, it brings back memories when I was in Alicante a few years back. Alicante is a port and seaside city located in Spain‘s Mediterranean Costa Blanca. The city holds an elaborate Holy Week procession, which is a tradition that dates back to the medieval times. Lifelike wooden and plaster sculptures are carried through the streets by penitents dressed in robes with caps and hoods, accompanied by elegant female mourners dressed in black with lace veils. Hundreds of people line the narrow streets in the historical centre of Alicante, with the scent of fresh flowers and incense hanging in the air and sombre music played by marching bands. The atmosphere was solemn and mesmerizing at the same time.