We loved Cordoba. This delightful city, sited on the Guadalquivir River, is full of wonderful historic buildings and intriguing narrow streets. Although the city’s population is in excess of 300 thousand many of the most interesting sights are in a relatively small area within easy walking distance of each other.
Cordoba combines a civilized, sophisticated and learned ambience with that of the everyday life of a modern day city. Parking is relatively easy, on the opposite side of the Quadalquivir, it is a short walk across the Puente Romano to the old city. Still today through its buildings, particularly the Mezquita, one can experience a mixture of the Islamic, Christian and Judaic heritage of the city. It feels as if they belong together, each complimenting the others – perhaps some kind of lesson can be learned from this. If you have just the day to spend, concentrate on:
1. the Jewish Quarter (la Juderia) where you will find the tourist office, some excellent restaurants and hidden private gardens – open at certain times of year to the public.
2. the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos with its wonderful gardens, views from the walls and mosaics.
3. the amazing Mezquita which dates from the eighth century when it began life as a mosque. Its later expansion and transformation into a Christian cathedral, following the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, give it a quite unique if, at first, somewhat confusing floor plan.
It is worth spending a little time getting your head around these alterations and developments. Perhaps better, internally, to look at its constituent parts rather than as a whole and concentrate on wonderful features like the Torre del Alimar which replaced the original minaret, the Mihrab, the Capilla de Villaviciosa, the cathedral itself and, perhaps most strikingly of all, its striped pillars and arches.
Outside it is far more of a oneness with its rather severe and forbidding walls protecting the treasures within. It is a truly unique building but, to us, because of its ‘mishmash’ of architectural and cultural styles it was difficult to perceive it as a place of worship.
This historically and culturally important city has had a profound effect upon Europe’s development and, in our opinion, is a must if one is visiting Andalucia.