Córdoba
GO Walk across the Roman Bridge at night
JULIO
My adventure started on the train. Since we purchased our tickets last minute and could not sit together I found myself sharing a table of five with four Spanish gentlemen who did not speak a lick of English. My Spanish speaking was easy and solid but listening to the speed of the delivery was a little more challenging. One man was a well traveled, highly intelligent government worker who became a sort of tour guide dishing out location after location that he said we just HAD to visit. His accent and demeanor reminded me a little of my deceased father. The fellow next to him was a Morrocan/Spaniard who had a deep low voice and a casual elegance about him. The other guy was a tattooed, boisterous, young and fast talking young father from Jaen. This seemed to be my true initiation into Spain.
We all spoke for the entire three hour ride. The subject matter ranged from the differences between living in Europe and the US, life and its perils, the wonders of Spain, health care and the upcoming US election. There was a lot of ground covered and varying view points around the table. I was so happy to be able to communicate, joke and take in all I was being given. I wrote down the name of all the government official's sight recommendations and they became the blueprint for our Spanish travels. He was especially strong on recommending that we go to a fishing village called Llanes and have a dish called “Fabes con Sidra” (fava beans with cider). I said my goodbyes to the gentlemen whom I will further refer to as ‘the three amigos” and hurried out of the train to see the new city and region.
Cordoba was so different and such a shift from Barcelona! We went from hip and international to deep Spanish and historical. The city and old town are absolutely gorgeous with old, historical sites mixed with new and metropolitan. Big and gorgeous squares up against ancient tiny plazas filled with tapas bars and little cafes. People out in the street enjoying life and each other at all hours was commonplace. Walking through the old Jewish part of town or the Juderia is beyond memorable. Tiny quaint streets with shops, galleries and eateries all emanating from an old giant synagogue. Then all of sudden you come across a gigantic Mosque built by the Moors in the center of the city flanked by a Roman Bridge. This diverse collection of holy sites in one city are a lingering monument to the city's history of religious and racial tolerance from the times of El Andaluz. All of these cultures co-existed peacefully side by side for many years until the bloodier times of Spain ala the Catholic Kings which were, well: not tolerant at all.
The old city remains a treasure. La Mezquita is the crowning jewel of Cordoba and we spent several hours covering its massive insides and different add-ons. The Moorish temple is phenomenal on all fronts. Also interesting is the giant grandiose cathedral that lies smack dab in the center of the old mosque. It is over-the-top and has magnificent proportions. The Alcazar of the Catholic Kings houses beautiful gardens and monuments. Also, don’t miss the the ancient Arab Baths of the Caliphal Alcazar - the site of the baths of the Moorish Imams which now houses a museum (where they were ultimately assassinated); it's definitely worth a visit as is the more modern part of the city near the river. If you want to experience the bathhouse rituals of today in Cordoba, you can head over to Hammam al Andalus Baths.
We really enjoyed having breakfast in the plazas - eating chocolate con churros with strong Spanish coffee watching all the Spaniards move about in the late morning. We took a romantic late night walk over the Roman bridge where there is a lovely shrine and ate late night dinners in the tiny plazas scattered throughout. Cordoba was awesome and an unforgettable entry into Andalucia.
christina
Aside from the sheer beauty and layout of the old town, I was blown away by the Mezquita - it is stunning, mysterious and enchanting as a place of prayer and connection to spirit across religious traditions. What really had me thinking though was it's history of being built as a Visigoth church and then as a mosque and then again as a church. Here's how Wikipedia explains it:
According to a traditional account, a small Visigoth church, the Catholic Basilica of Saint Vincent of Lérins, originally stood on the site. In 784 Abd al-Rahman I ordered construction of the Great Mosque, which was considerably expanded by later Muslim rulers. Córdoba returned to Christian rule in 1236 during the Reconquista, and the building was converted to a Roman Catholic church, culminating in the insertion of a Renaissance cathedral nave in the 16th century.
The interior is unlike anything I've ever seen as it blends both of these religious qualities into each other as opposed to completely demolishing one or the other... so, in essence, there is a juxtaposition of both traditions - though you can also see the struggle for dominance in the place itself as expressed in the layout and expansion undertaken by various rulers. As you wind through the beautiful red painted arches of the mosque it is dimly lit and filled with light coming in through the beautiful geometric patterns of the Islamic style and then BOOM in the center of this monstrous floor plan is a huge baroque style cathedral (?!). Very strange, very unsettling and yet very interesting. There are no doors between the two they just each sit within each other - 2 vastly different styles - yet strangely complimentary. I was plunged deeply into my imagination and trying to understand the struggle for power and connection to God especially as it's expressed in houses of worship. Cordoba is enchanting and mysterious that's for sure.
