Feeling the heat in Cordoba

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It was a sad day leaving Cadiz, but I had my bags all packed and ready for the long road home! I was transporting rum, sherry and wine home with me, which made for very heavy bags. It was after 6pm when I arrived at Cordoba, and VERY HOT. The muggy heat nearly bowled me over when I got off the bus. I got a taxi to the hostel and met my roomates immediately - two Americans called Mike and Chu. It was way to hot to go outside (43deg) so we all stayed in under the air-conditioning until after 9pm. And even then it was still ridiculously hot! Chu and I went out for a walk around La Juderia, the old Jewish quarter in Cordoba. The famous Mesquita is very close to where we're staying and looks very impressive from the outside. We ended up eating at a fancy tapas place, sharing cod in tempura batter with a garlic/chilli sauce. Yum! Back at the hostel we worked out how to turn our fans on so we could sleep!

In the morning we were woken up by pigeons, but at a very convenient time to go and visit the Mesquita before the crowds. It was also free in between 08:30 and 10:30! Cordoba's crowning glory, the Mesquita was simply amazing. Over 1,200 years old, back in it's heyday it was one of the Muslim world's top three most religious and important sites. We walked through a gate in the thick protective walls into the Patio de las Naranjas - a large area where worshippers would have washed before entering the mosque. As we walked into the Mesquita itself we were immediately stunned by the view of a red and white forest of arching supporting pillars, the simplicity of which contrasted beautifully with the ornately decorated plasterwork around the sides and the doors. Of course, the great mosque didn't long survive the reconquista, when the Moors were driven from Spain. The minaret became a belltower and the mosque became a Catholic church. The most significant alteration was the building of a large Renaissance cathedral nave right in the centre of the building. It's a beautiful structure in it's own right but looks completely out of place. Mass started up while we were visiting. Towards the rear of the Mesquita stands the Mihrab - the jewel of the mosque that indicates the direction to Mecca.

I could have wandered around forever, but instead met up with Chu to cross the Puente Romano, a genuine Roman bridge although extensively re-furbished, and then I took myself off to explore La Juderia. For many years, Jews, Muslims and Christians were able to peacefully co-exist in this small town under Arab rule. Both Jews and Christians were given religious freedom and self-governing communities. This enabled Cordoba to become the seat of an independant Caliphate and a centre for prosperity, commerce and learning. All that changed though with the fall of the Caliphate in 1031, the reconquista, and the eventual expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Now it has become a tourist trap; pretty but with too many souvineer shops. The restaurants looked nice though and I spotted a nice place for lunch - La Taberna de Deanes - with a deliciously cheap selection of tapas and set in a beautiful Andalucian patio. After lunch of fried chicken and russian salad, I rushed back to the hostel as it was just too hot to be out (38 deg). I finally discovered the importance of the siesta! Later that evening I met up with my roomates and another guy we met in the lounge, and we all went out for dinner together. The receptionist recommended a tapas bar called DeLorean, which turned out to be a fantastic place to eat. There was free tapas with every tubo (tall glass of beer) and a pint and a tapas was only e3.50, bargain! We ate, drank and conversed well into the night.

The next day I had another full day in Cordoba but I already felt like I had done everything! I got up early to see the synagogue - only one of three in Spain. It was very small and square, with the same Moorish reliefs, except that the plasterwork writing was in Hebrew rather than Arabic. Another walk around La Juderia followed before going to see some Roman ruins and the visually impressive Plaza de la Corredera - a grand 17th century square which in the past was the location for horse races, bullfights and Inquisition burnings. I finished seeing everything by 11:30 and retired to the hostel to escape the hot sunshine. For dinner I went back to La Taberna de Deanes for some more local tapas dishes. I tried two Cordoban specialities - pisto (basically ratatouille) and salmoreja (cold bacon, garlic and tomato) soup which came over tortilla de patatas (potato omelette). I also had more deep fried chicken with pepper sauce.Yum yum yum! Afterwards I went for a walk to see Cordoba by night. It was so peaceful and beautiful, but I really wanted someone there with me to share it with. Granada tomorrow!

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