A Religious journey in Cordoba

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Tuesday morning I woke in Seville and was moving pretty quick. Time to pack and move on. What a treat it had been to spend 4 nights in one place! Showered and packed, I headed out for my last Seville breakfast. I swear this is the best place in the World (at least the parts of the World that I’ve been to) for a fresh glass of orange juice. With my standard AM jump starter in front of me (OJ, Espresso, ham and tomato sandwich), I read and enjoyed the sweet morning. Today I was hoping on my first train in Spain and headed to Cordoba. I wasn’t planning much time in this small city, but was quite excited to get there. Back at the hotel, I gathered my things, thanked and said goodbye to the nicest of staff and caught a taxi to the station. The next train was leaving shortly and ticket in hand, I made my way to the platform. I boarded the train without issue but quickly realized that I was assigned a seat that was facing the opposite direction of travel. For more normal people this was not a problem. For a person prone to intense motion sickness, this was a death sentence. I quickly asked one of the staff what to do. She didn’t speak English. With a few broken words in Spanish and many hand motions, she caught on and told me to wait and see if a different seat was available. It was a nail bitter, but luckily, there were two left as we began to pull out of the station. I quickly sat down and was thankful that this meant keeping my breakfast were it belonged.

The ride was short, about an hour, and uneventful. The countryside was beautiful. More rolling hills and small towns. Pulling into Cordoba was not what I expected. Everything was clean and it felt like a large town but it did not have the historic feel that I though it immediately would. It was more like stepping into a world of 1960s buildings with nothing else around. It was almost strange. I boarded the bus that would take me to the hostel which was in the historic part of town. Now back on my own, I was back to hostel life…although, at this stage in my life, I was no longer willing to share a room, I did still hope for the enjoyable common space and meeting other travelers. After a bit on the bus we rolled up to a tall white wall and what I realized was the old part of the city. This is what I had come to see. All the buildings painted white. The stone structures. Nothing too tall. The narrow little streets with the doorways leading into gems from the past. What a site. The bus barely fit down the street and the sidewalks on either side were barely wide enough for one person to fit. I was excited!

When I arrived at my hostel (called Santa Ana Hostel – I highly recommend it!), I was greeted by the jovial owner! I was happy to hear him speak quite good English and I checked into my room on the 3^rd floor. As it turned out, this hostel was more like a guest house. I had a wonderful private bathroom complete with little shampoos and soap. What a treat! I quickly made my way back out and into the town. I had a lot of ground to cover and a little less than 24 hours to do it in. I immediately headed to the biggest attraction. Much like in Seville, with all the buildings being about the same height, it’s funny on the building you’re searching for just jumps out at you. The trip to Cordoba is to see the Mezquita. The church that became a mosque and then once again became a church was on the top of my list of things to see in Spain. It did not disappoint. Walking up to its exterior walls, the mix of architecture is evident and glorious. Having just been to Granada and Seville and seen the buildings that were influenced by the Mezquita, I was excited to get inside its walls and experience the original that inspired many.

Originally built (at least part of it) in 785 AD, it is a sight to take in. You enter through a gate and into the courtyard filled with orange trees. The walls surrounding you transport you to another time, another place. The city itself fells far away as the noises are muffled and all of your focus is on the mosque in front of you. There is a large bell tower off to one side and the other you can just see the top of the gothic dome of the church inside the mosque. All round the perimeter walls of the courtyard are the original wood beams used to build the mosque and church. Each one now on display since its years of acting as structure and support are now over. I’m struck by the shear genius of the architects from years past. How did they do build these places???

Once inside the mosque, the quietness and darkness are awesome. I’m standing in a place that was constructed in the 8^th century. Immediately you see the archways. The endless archways. You lose track of how large the building is because it’s just archway after archway and you can’t decipher where the other side of the building is. I find out later that in total, there are 856 columns holding up these archways and many of them are recycled from Roman ruins. It’s mind boggling to think of the history contained in this building…the columns were from Roman ruins and could have been much older than the 8^th Century..what?!?!?! Let me press play on my audio tour! Not always my favorite thing to do, this case, the audio tour was essential. There was so much to learn and see and I wanted to soak it all in. From place to place inside the mosque I moved. The trasistions from one section to another marked by slightly differently shaped columns. As the population of the city grew, the mosque grew and so they would add another section. As you’re looking at this, you also have to stop to admire the Catholic alters added many years later to the perimeter of the building. The mix of these two very different cultures/worlds was like an elegant dance. Although drastically different, the grace of both wove together perfectly. Almost perfectly complimenting one another. Where one tradition was more simple and calm, the other was more decadent and detailed and then vice versa. As I made my way through, I stopped to watch the light come in from perfectly placed windows high up in the ceiling. Many of them stained glass and shining mosaics of color down onto the floor.

As I walked, I kept wondering where the church was. I had read that it was built on top of the mosque, yet as I continued to wander about inside the building, I had yet to come across it. Then out of the corner of my eye, I caught a stark white. It almost seemed lit from within. It was not of course, but as I made my way over to it, I realized that it was the gothic church. Right there in the middle of the mosque. Dropped into place as if it had been planned from the beginning you left one world and entered another. Laid out in a traditional manor with its massively high ceilings and walls that contained large windows letting in a flood of light. Many of details in the church were done in gold and black just popping off the white background. I had to sit down for a few minutes to soak it all in. When I finally did get up to leave and continue to explore the mosque, it was incredible how the church just disappeared again. When it was all said and done, I which I could have had a roof top view of how this was laid out. Just to better grasp how they built this all together as one structure. I spent several hours in the mosque. I think I saw every inch of it I could. Sometimes just sitting down to revel in it. From the mosaics on the walls, to the intricate ceilings to the columns and arches and then the numerous alters, this was truly a special place and experience. I spent a little more time outside in the courtyard prior to my departure. What a lovely and magical place this was.

It was now time for a little street wandering and maybe a snack. I made my way down a little street and found a courtyard with white walls covered in blue painted pots with plants. Several tables were set out and I decided it was time for a siesta! With a cold beer and some croquettes, I was a happy girl. I spend a little time reading and enjoying the afternoon sun. It was hot and felt good. After my break, I made my way through the streets and in and out of some of the local shops. Many of the shops were artists selling their creations. It was time to pick up a few things which included a piece of pottery for my mom, one of a kind, hand painted and then a leather purse for my sister. I talked with the shop owners, met some locals, practiced my Spanish (I really am horrible at speaking other languages) and made my way back towards the hostel. Along the way, decided to check out the Roman Bridge that has been much restored. The walk across was fun. You left the old world and walked across the river into the modern world and then beyond that, the rolling hills of the farming world. The most interesting thing was the prayer alter in the middle of the bridge. Complete with flowers and lit candles, I searched for a plaque or something describing why it was there, but I couldn’t find anything. At the far end of the bridge there was a small 14^th century castle which now houses a museum. I made my way back to the old town and along the way sidestepped west to check out the old wooden Islamic water wheel. What an interesting site it was! Heavily covered in overgrowth from grass, bushes and trees, it was still quite a site to see. The final site looked almost like a Roman arch building. Again, I wasn’t quite sure why it was there, or what the significance was but nonetheless, it was pretty.

After dropping off my purchases and cleaning up a bit, I headed back out for dinner. I decided on a pub down the street and was feeling quite adventurous. Even the only written in Spanish menu didn’t intimidate me. I scanned for words I knew and ordered. I made friends with the bartender and waiter and relished in the fact that a dumb waiter brought up the freshly prepared food from the basement. Sitting at the bar and its location being behind the bar, I enjoyed watching all of the different items being delivered for the waiters to take out to the tables. When my food arrived, I was happy! The first dish was great! Dish number two looked good yet a little strange. I had ordered chicken (pollo) and apples and then there were a few other words in the description, but I had figured I was safe. I scooped up a forkful of stuff off the plate and began to chew. I had ordered chicken, but just not the meat part…it was the liver and heart part. I quickly swallowed and referenced the menu again. Talk about two words I wanted to quickly learn so as to not repeat this experience. I’m an adventurous eater, but I’ve tasted these items already in life and they were not for me. I ended up eating the apples on the plate, which were quite good, and left the rest. I definitely did not have enough of a grasp of the Spanish vocabulary to explain to the waiter why I was not going to eat anymore but he politely took the plate away regardless. Thank god I had a beer to finish up the meal! I ended up turning in early since I was going to start the day early in the morning. I had one more thing to get in and then I was on to the train over to Madrid.

Early in the morning I made my way over to Alaczar de los Reyes Cristianos. This was a palace built in the 14^th Century on the ruins of a Roman and Arab structure is was a castle for Alfonso XI. Fun historical fact….this is where Christopher Columbus first met Fernando and Isabel! Walking up on the outside of the building it looks like a large stone wall with slits for windows. I made my way over to the entrance right behind a large Scandinavian tour group and was handed a ticket. Um, did I just get in for free? Yep, I did! Sweet! As you enter, you first go out into the gardens which are far more expansive than expected. With pathways winding around fountains and sculptures and steps up and down to the different levels, there was plenty to catch the eye. I had to now more away from my tag along tour group to give myself a little distance, space and peace. I spent almost an hour walking around the gardens. Again I saw some of my favorite new fountains and then along these larger than life statues.

As it turned out, the gardens were much larger than the palace itself. Or at least the remains of the palace and what we had access too. What I did like about the palace was the narrow walkway along the perimeter at the top of exterior wall. It some of the interior rooms there were a couple of mosaics (of course I loved these) but then also some huge woven tapestries. I still can’t get over the detail in these. I had now seen several on the trip yet they never became less impressive. I made my way up the one tower to the highest point of the castle which a sweeping view of the old city and the Mezquita. Almost the bird’s eye view I was hoping for! It was quite nice to hang out here, early in the day before the sun beat down too hot and take in the city as it once was (or similar to what it was) 1,000 years ago. It’s quite mind boggling yet this is what I have come to love about traveling. Even in a modern day city, you can be taken back hundreds of years and envision the past and you continue to march towards the future.

With all of the sites taken in, I made my way back to the hostel, packed up, said my good-byes and walked to the bus stop. On my way to the train station and then on to Madrid. I was getting down to the end of this journey. Four days to go. This time, when I walked up to the window to buy my ticket I specified which kind of seat I needed. I of course could not say this in Spanish but had to act it out…sort of. The gentleman quickly picked up on my request and was more than happy to accommodate me. Note that when going to my next foreign country and if I plan to travel by train, I must learn how to say, “I need a seat facing forward.”



Cordoba was considered to be a cultural powerhouse in the 10^th century. It should definitely be on everyone’s list of places to go while in Spain!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Spain is on our list
We've done a fair amount of traveling but have not made it to Spain yet. We are hopeful. We enjoyed reading your blog and impressions. Glad you are soaking it in.

[Courtney Jo]

Thank you! It's a great country and there is an ease to it. I hope you guys get to see it soon!