May 8, 2016, Sunday — Cordoba
This morning we drove from Granada to Cordoba, stopping at a rest stop on the way that had a wild mirror in the ladies room where Sue Novick and Martha took splintered photos.
driving from Granada to Cordoba
lots of olive trees
Sue Novick in a wild mirror in a rest room
Martha Luehrmann in a wild mirror in a rest room
more olive trees
Former Royal Hospital San Sebastián, now Congress hall of Córdoba
Córdoba
Córdoba is a city in Andalucia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba, Located on the Guadalquivir River, it was founded in ancient Roman times as Corduba by Claudius Marcellus.
Today Córdoba is a moderately sized modern city, but the old town contains many impressive architectural reminders of when Córdoba was the thriving capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba that governed almost all of the Iberian Peninsula. It has been estimated that Córdoba, with up to 500,000 inhabitants in the tenth century, was the second largest city in the world after Constantinople.
Córdoba was the birthplace of four famous philosophers: the Roman stoic Seneca, the Muslim Averroes, and the Jewish Maimonides, and possibly Abraham Cohen de Herrera, Córdoba was also the birthplace of the Roman poet Lucan, medieval Spanish poet Juan de Mena, and Luis de Góngora, who lived most of his life and wrote his most important works but one in Córdoba. More recently, several flamenco artists including Paco Peña, Vicente Amigo, and Joaquín Cortés were born there as well.
The Mezquita (Spanish for Mosque), from the Arabic Masjid, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Córdoba that was at one time the second largest mosque in the world.
Córdoba is a city in Andalucia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba, Located on the Guadalquivir River, it was founded in ancient Roman times as Corduba by Claudius Marcellus.
Today Córdoba is a moderately sized modern city, but the old town contains many impressive architectural reminders of when Córdoba was the thriving capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba that governed almost all of the Iberian Peninsula. It has been estimated that Córdoba, with up to 500,000 inhabitants in the tenth century, was the second largest city in the world after Constantinople.
Córdoba was the birthplace of four famous philosophers: the Roman stoic Seneca, the Muslim Averroes, and the Jewish Maimonides, and possibly Abraham Cohen de Herrera, Córdoba was also the birthplace of the Roman poet Lucan, medieval Spanish poet Juan de Mena, and Luis de Góngora, who lived most of his life and wrote his most important works but one in Córdoba. More recently, several flamenco artists including Paco Peña, Vicente Amigo, and Joaquín Cortés were born there as well.
The Mezquita (Spanish for Mosque), from the Arabic Masjid, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Córdoba that was at one time the second largest mosque in the world.
Córdoba is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once capital of the Western world, Cordoba was founded by the ancient Romans at the highest navigable point of the Guadalquivir River, where it was easiest to ship olive oil, wheat, and wine back to Rome It was after its conquest by the Moors in AD 711, however, that the city grew to become the largest in the world.
Today, Cordoba is best known for its most famous landmark, the Mezquita (Great Mosque) — the third largest mosque in the world. When the Mezquita was built, during the 10th century, Cordoba was in its glory as the capital of the Moorish kingdom of El-Andalus, one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities in Europe and an important center for science, education and the arts.
In AD 929, the Cordoba region broke away from the Islamic center, Baghdad, and formed its own independent kingdom, falling into anarchy shortly afterward, The city was conquered in 1236 by King Ferdinand, a Christian who had the mosque consecrated and constructed a cathedral in the middle of it, while still preserving the remarkable beauty of the original structure.
Today, Cordoba is best known for its most famous landmark, the Mezquita (Great Mosque) — the third largest mosque in the world. When the Mezquita was built, during the 10th century, Cordoba was in its glory as the capital of the Moorish kingdom of El-Andalus, one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities in Europe and an important center for science, education and the arts.
In AD 929, the Cordoba region broke away from the Islamic center, Baghdad, and formed its own independent kingdom, falling into anarchy shortly afterward, The city was conquered in 1236 by King Ferdinand, a Christian who had the mosque consecrated and constructed a cathedral in the middle of it, while still preserving the remarkable beauty of the original structure.
The Tower of Calahorra to one side of the Roman Bridge
View of the Roman bridge and the city of Córdoba
Puerta de Almodóvar
Archaeological site of Cercadilla including the remains of one of Maximian's palaces
Roman temple of Córdoba
Iglesia de Santa Marina de Aguas Santas, built in the 13th century
Gardens of the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos
Convent of The Mercy
May 8, 2016, Sunday — Jewish Synagogue, Cordoba
Córdoba Synagogue is a historic edifice in the Jewish Quarter of Córdoba, Spain, built in 1315. The synagogues small size points to it having possibly been the private synagogue of a wealthy man. It is also possible that Córdobas complex of buildings was a yeshivah, kollel, or study hall. Another possibility is that this was the synagogue of a trade guild, which converted a residence or one of the work rooms into the synagogue. The synagogue was decorated according to the best Mudejar tradition.
After the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, the synagogue was seized by the authorities and converted into a hospital for people suffering from rabies
After the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, the synagogue was seized by the authorities and converted into a hospital for people suffering from rabies
We first went to the Jewish area, and in particular, to the Jewish Synagogue there, constructed in a very Moorish manner. After the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, the synagogue was seized by the authorities and converted into a hospital for people suffering from rabies and became Hospital Santo Quiteria. In 1588 the building was acquired by the shoemakers guild, who used it as a community center and small chapel, and changed the patron saint of the building to Santos Crispin-Crispian, the patron saint of shoemakers. In 1935, the Spanish authorities marked the eight-hundredth anniversary of Maimonides’s birth and at that celebration the first Jewish prayer service in 443 years was held at the synagogue.
women's section
women's section
windows
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our local guide
May 8, 2016, Sunday — The Great Mosque, Cordoba
We went to the Córdoba Cathedral, which is placed within the Mosque. The site was originally a small temple of Christian Visigoth origin, the Catholic Basilica of Saint Vincent of Lérins. When Muslims conquered Spain in 711, the church was first divided into Muslim and Christian halves. This sharing arrangement of the site lasted until 784, when the Christian half was purchased by the Emir 'Abd al-Rahman I, who then proceeded to demolish the original structure and build the grand mosque of Córdoba on its ground. 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 building is notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings, such as the Mérida amphitheatre. The double arches were a new introduction to architecture, permitting higher ceilings than would otherwise be possible with relatively low columns. The double arches consist of a lower horseshoe arch and an upper semi-circular arch. The famous alternating red and white voussoirs of the arches were inspired by those in the Dome of the Rock.
In Spain there are a total of fifteen hundred to sixteen hundred mosques. Three of them are in Cordoba.
In Spain there are a total of fifteen hundred to sixteen hundred mosques. Three of them are in Cordoba.
Great Mosque from the air
detail of the old beams shown above
Portal of Al Hakkam II
The building is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings, such as the Mérida amphitheatre. The double arches were a new introduction to architecture, permitting higher ceilings than would otherwise be possible with relatively low columns.
Great Mosque balconies
Portal of the Milk
ancient stained glass
Chapel of Villaviciosa
the Mihrab (or apse) of
the Great Mosque
the Mihrab (or apse) of
the Great Mosque
Chapel "Sagrario"
Chapel of the Conception
Chapel "Teresa"
Chapel "San Clemente"
Chapel "Teresa"
Chapel "Mayor"
Chapel "Mayor"
Leaving the Mezquita, we drove to Torremolinos on the southern coast of Spain, and to our hotel there, the Hotel Melia Costa del Sol.
driving on from Córdoba to Torremolinos
rainbow outside of our hotel room in Torremolinos
