Cordoba and Granada

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South from Madrid we headed to Cordoba. This small town is known for a giant mosque called La Mezquita. The temple standing in the center of the town surrounded by a labyrinth of smaller buildings is basically the main reason to go to Cordoba. The mosque was created by Abd ar-Rahman 1 when the Moors ruled most of Spain. Started in 756 AD the temple continued to expand over the next couple of generations. The interior is a forest of red and white pillars that support a double archway. The pillars run in such a pattern to allow up to forty thousand worshippers to face Mecca and still see the priest. After the Moors lost power the mosque was converted into a Catholic church. The entrance to the mosque has a beautiful classic Islamic court with a blooming orange grove and exquisite fountains.
We continued south to the town of Granada to the famous Moorish palace Alhambra. The palace sits on the Alhambra hill and consists of three buildings: the Palacios Reales (royal palace), the Generalife (palace gardens) and the Alcazaba which was a palace and prison. We arrived around 2:00 in the afternoon and walked to the entrance to the grounds. After waiting in line for a while we reached the ticket agent to find that only the garden was open as the palace was sold out. Not wishing to waste €10 each for only the gardens we agreed to return the next morning. With little else worth seeing in the town we spent the evening in search of a place to stay. The next morning we awoke and had breakfast then headed to the palace around noon. Upon arrival we noted several tour buses as we walked to the ticket booth. Before we got half way from the parking lot the line was evident. The closer we got the true length of the line became apparent. Easily estimated at over three hours wait, something we will not do, we turned around and headed back to the car ready to drive to the next town. We realize that this means missing a Gold (a top 100 in the world) rated site but we have agreed that we won't stand in long lines.

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Photos

Inside La Mezquita
Christian alter area

Inside La Mezquita
Christian area