Spain - Cordoba

Cordoba was one of the locations I was most anxious to re-visit on this vacation. I really only remember one site, the Mezquita, from my previous trip, but it was one of my favorites. In researching Cordoba before our trip, I found that the Mezquita was pretty must the only “must see” sight in Cordoba, so it was the perfect half-day stop as we traveled from Granada to Madrid.

We boarded the train in Granada, and much to our delight, we sped along quite quickly. We found out later that half the route was on the (relatively) new high-speed line constructed between Bobadilla and Madrid. In just a few hours, we arrived in Cordoba. We walked across the street to the bus station, stored our luggage in the lockers, and started the 25 minute walk through the city to the Mezquita. For most of the walk we were in the beautiful Jardiens de la Victoria, a large park located between two of the city’s major boulevards. We took our time, walking in the much-welcome shade and enjoying the fountains and sculptures scattered throughout the park. The park ended at the edge of the old Jewish Quarter, a neighborhood our guide book recommended taking a stroll through during our visit. We decided to save the stroll for later, and instead walked along an old city wall that bordered the neighborhood. A series of pools ran the entire length of the wall, and while they are beautiful water features today, they once served as moat for the city walls.

Our walk ended us at the Mezquita. The site on which the Mezquita is located has been a pagan temple, a Christian Visigoth church, a mosque and a Catholic cathedral. The majority of the construction occurred during between 784 and 987, during the building of the mosque. Following the Reconquista, a large cathedral was inserted into the middle of the 400ft by 600ft mosque. It was the presence of the cathedral in the middle of the original mosque building that saved the beautiful Moorish building during the Spanish Inquisition.

We started our tour of the Mezquita in the Patio de los Naranjos – a large open area filled with orange trees – before entering the interior of the mosque (it’s still a mosque, even if the Vatican and the Spanish refuse to admit it). The interior of the building was what I remembered most about this site, and my memory served me well! We walked through the door and into a forest of columns topped with beautiful red and while double arches. The double arches created the illusion of a low, intimate space, while also blocking the view of the ceiling. This made it appear as though the building had no roof unless you looked directly above your head. Even full of people the space was peaceful and quiet.

Within the forest of columns were several interesting sites, added after the initial construction of the mosque. We started at the Mibrahb, a beautifully decorated niche and focal point of the 20,000 or so worshipers who would have used this mosque for their daily prayers. Next, we went looking for the Villaviciosa Chapel. Added by the Christians in 1236, this particular addition melts so seamlessly into the original architecture that we didn’t even realize where it was until we looked up and noticed that the ceiling was different – we were standing right in the middle of the chapel! Finally, we made our way to the cathedral constructed in the center of the mosque by the Catholic Church in the mid 1500s. While the cathedral on its own is very nice – the multicolored marble altar and white and gold ceiling are beautiful – it is incredibly out of sync with the rest of the building. The mosque feels peaceful and intimate, like a real worship space, while the cathedral feels gaudy and over-the-top. Given the “holier than thou” stance of the Catholic Church at the time, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. This cathedral presented a tangible example of Spain’s attempts to push back and show their power against the rising Protestant sentiment spreading through Europe at the time.

We finished our visit to the Mezquita with one more lap through the forest, and then decided it was time for food. We ended up at yet another tapas bar and enjoyed some tasty gazpacho along with potato salad, fried meat and some marinated peppers. All very, very good! Fed and rested, we headed back out into the sweltering mid-day sun. We looked at our map and decided to take a short walk to the city’s requisite triumphal arch before continuing on over an old bridge originally constructed by the Romans in the 1st century AD and restored many times since. Once on the other side of the bridge, we were afforded a panoramic view of both the Mezquita and the Guadalquivir River.

Next, we wondered through a neighborhood near the river famous for its decorated patios. Residences in this part of town typically consist of two-story apartment buildings constructed around central courtyards (known here as patios). Each year, a contest is held to determine the best patio in the city. Winning is a BIG deal! We walked through the neighborhood, looking for the tile awards cemented to the winners’ houses each year. Our efforts were rewarded, and we caught a glimpse of some very lovely patios.

With over an hour left before our train departed and not much else to see, we decided to take the Rick Steves scavenger hunt through the Jewish Quarter on our way back to the train station. We were on the lookout for all sorts of interesting features: iron grilles over windows, stone bumpers on building corners, and remnants of Muslim minarets to name a few. The Jewish Quarter was quite the charming little neighborhood, and we enjoyed trying to spot the items on our list. We even managed to find them all by the time we made it back to the train station to catch our train to Madrid.