Córdoba

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I woke up early to catch the bus for Córdoba with the rest of the school. Córdoba is a large city about two and a half hours from Granada. There is a lot to do and see in Córdoba, but unfortunately I was only there for the day, so I didn’t get to see much. I’ve been learning a lot about Córdoba in my Islamic culture in Spain class. In the middle ages, Córdoba was one of the largest cities in the world. Córdoba is also well known for it leather. I didn’t have time to check out many of the leather stores (my wallet thanks me for this), but I hear they are quite the exporters. But what Córdoba is most well known for is “El Gran Mezquita de Córdoba.”
El Gran Mezquita de Córdoba is an Arabic mosque with a cathedral in the center. After the Spanish Reconquista it was turned it into a church. This place was huge! It had columns upon columns, and was very cold and dark. The architecture was incredible. When I walked in, there were marble pillars as far as the eye could see. There were very dim lights, but you could still see all of the colors of the pillars. The pillars were supposed to mimic a forest of palm trees. The cathedral part was pretty too; it was one of the brightest cathedrals I have ever been in, but it didn’t really shine a light on the first part of the mosque. Outside of the mosque was a plaza full of orange trees, and cobble stone. We went on a Sunday so we had to wait till midday to enter. It is still a functioning cathedral, so we had to wait for the services to end. When we got there, huge municipal bands were playing. It was mostly brass and percussion. It added a nice touch to the scenery. The bands were getting ready for Semana Santa. Granada has been setting up and preparing for Semana Santa for a few weeks now. I’m pretty excited for it!
We spent a majority of the day walking around the streets of Córdoba. I love the streets in Spain. They are narrow, winding, and usually have flowerpots hanging from the windows. We also passed by many statues and fountains. Before I get to the statues, I’m going to take you back to the pigeons of Spain. They are outrageously fat, and slow (I saw one slip on the marble streets this morning, this made me giggle). So, if you ever see a statue of a person, normally a man, always look at his head. Never fail there will be a fat pigeon on his head. Ninety percent of the time this is the case. I’ll be passing by a beautiful statue, and as I take it all in, never fail there is a pigeon chilling on his head.
I whish I had been able to spend more time in Córdoba, it’s too big and there is too much to see there to only spend one day, but the Mezquita was incredible. It really is an architectural work of art, just like the Alhambra, the attention to detail is incredible. Definitely a must see if you’re in the area!

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Photos

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inside a plaza

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In the summer these are all in blume

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One lonely palm tree

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Iglesia de San Bartólome

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...

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Find the pigeons.

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view of the mezquita

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my front door?

Comments

[Eric]

Hey Katie, I enjoyed your Spain post. It reminded me of my time there. My blog is looking for some good travel photos. If you have the time, email us some at [e-mail] or check us out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Eric