Córdoba - Spain

We left Nazare early in the morning for Córdoba; a city that had haunted my imagination for a long time.  It is quite difficult to explain this, but as we left Portugal, and headed back to Spain, we clearly noticed that we were leaving one country and moving into another.  Each of the towns we crossed gradually began to look less and less Portuguese and take on a more Spanish feel.  We arrived in Córdoba by sundown and began to search for our hotel located right in the heart of the Mezquita.  One word of advice: the Mezquita is an absolute maze of narrow, quite often pedestrian-access only, one way and taxis-only streets.  After repeated attempts at trying to find our way we drove into a public car park and reached our final destination by taxi; something we should have done right at the very beginning.  Still, we made it and once settled in our hotel, we went about and began to discover the most amazing part of that fabulous city.  We spent the next two days in that same district as there was so much to discover and learn.

The Entrance of the Los Patios Hotel in the Mezquita



The Hotel Dining Room - View form the First Floor

Córdoba is a city in Andalusia in southern Spain.  The first traces of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal man, dating to 42,000 to 35,000 BC.  Córdoba was conquered by the Romans in 206 BC.  Being located at the highest navigable point of the Guadalquivir River, it became a port city of great importance for shipping Spanish olive oil, wine and wheat back to Ancient Rome.

 One of the Entries of the Mezquita Near the Guadalquivir River

It was later conquered by invading Islamic armies in the eighth century and by the 10th century; Córdoba became a great cultural, political, financial, economic and education centre under its Islamic rulers.    Today it is a modern city with a population of about 350,000 people.  The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Water and Gardens are Found Everywhere Around the Mezquita



Courtyard at the Mezquita

Cordoba's hour of greatest glory was when work began on the Great Mosque, or "Mezquita" (currently the cathedral), alongside the Roman Bridge.  After several centuries of additions and enlargements, it became one of the world's greatest Islamic buildings and the symbol of the worldly and sophisticated Islamic culture.

Inside the Mezquita

View From Inside the Mezquita

The Mezquita was our first port of call the next morning.  Once inside, it felt like we had stepped into another new world filled with light, peace, tranquillity and elegance. The refined Islamic architecture, the welcoming shade of its countless trees and the refreshing sounds of water running just about everywhere made this visit an exceptional pleasure for the senses.

The Peace and Tranquility of the Mezquita

A Place for Reflexion and Peace

During the Islamic occupation of the country Córdoba was famous for its leather and metal work, glazed tiles and textiles.  The variety of agricultural goods introduced by the Moors was astonishing: fruit and vegetables of all kinds, herbs and spices as well as cash crops such as cotton, flax and silk.

The Many Colourful Souvenir Shops Lining the Streets of the Mezquita

A Street in La Mezquita

Calligraphy was a highly valued art.  Medicine, mathematics, astronomy, botany were far in advance of anything that the rest of Europe had to offer.  Algebra was an Arab creation and Arab numerals which we use every day replaced the Roman system.  It was this very mathematical know-how that permitted the building of the great Gothic cathedrals of the middle Ages.

We spent the rest of our stay in that city, going from one street to another, spending time in the many Art and souvenir shops, enjoying the local cuisine with distinct Spanish and Arab influences.  Many small museums, bookshops and restaurants completed the visit.

Our Restaurant on One of the Days We Spent There

The Perfect Place for an Afternoon Tea

 

Decorated Walkway

 

Inside a House Courtyard

The power of Córdoba collapsed spectacularly through internal strife in the early 11th century.  It remained a Moorish city until 1236 when it was captured by King Ferdinand of Castille after a siege of several months.  The city continued to decline and became a cultural backwater.  Change has been slow, but Córdoba today is a bustling agricultural centre drawing its wealth from agriculture with immense olive groves and countless vineyards of the fertile Guadalquivir valley.  Since the 60s, the city has greatly benefited from a booming tourism economy.

Córdoba left a powerful impression on me.  It wasn’t just the ever present sense of History all around you or the peaceful and elegant architecture of the buildings and the magnificent people who created them.  To me, it was more what a crucial turning point the exchange with the Moors had been and the repercussions that this exchange has had for Europe and for the centuries to come.