Cordoba

With no dogs to worry about we had a 2 day break planned for Cordoba. We set off early leaving the dogs for John and jenny to collect.



On the way we passed by Olvera, it's a lovely little town with a great view from the church at the top. The route was a little erratic, there are more roads thatn Tom Tom knows about, add that to the fact we entered the wrong street for the hotel and you can see the likelyhood of getting lost. We drove round and round tiny little one way streets, we could see where the hotel was but just couldn't get to it. Eventually we found the door, however the car park was back up a tiny street, so I ended up reversing up this street, hardly wide enough for the car, the manager had to walk along behind me to stop the traffic. Getting into the underground carpark was a challenge too!

The hotel was a lovely little boutique hotel, very intimate and also a little expensive but we decided it was worth it.

We were hungry by this time so we had a lunch in a little restaurant near the hotel, it was ok, nothing special but ok. We wandered through the streets towards the Mezquita.

The site on which the Mezquita stands has long been a sacred space – it was first host to a Roman temple, then a Visigoth cathedral church of St Vincent of Saragossa, then a mosque (the Mezquita). Finally, a Baroque cathedral was added inside the mosque by the Christian conquerors in the early 13th century.
The construction of the Mezquita lasted for over two centuries, starting in 784 AD under the supervision of the emir of Cordoba, Abd ar-Rahman I. Under Abd ar-Rahman II (822-52), the Mezquita held an original copy of the Koran and an arm bone of the prophet Mohammed, making it a major Muslim pilgrimage site.

The Mosque underwent numerous subsequent changes: Abd ar-Rahman III ordered a new minaret, while Al-Hakam II, in 961, enlarged the plan of the building and enriched the mihrab. The last of the reforms, including the completion of the outer naves and orange tree courtyard, were completed by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in 987.
When finished, the Mezquita was the most magnificent of the more than 1,000 mosques in Cordoba. But Cordoba was subject to frequent invasion and each conquering wave added their own mark to the architecture.
In 1236, Cordoba was recaptured from the Moors by King Ferdinand III of Castile and rejoined Christendom. The Christians initially left the architecture Mezquita largely undisturbed — they simply consecrated it, dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, and used it as a place of Christian worship.
King Alfonso X oversaw the construction of the Villaviciosa Chapel and the Royal Chapel within the structure of the mosque. The kings who followed added further Christian features: Enrique II rebuilt the chapel in the 14th century; a nave was constructed with the patronage of Carlos V, king of a united Spain.
The heavy, incongruous Baroque cathedral was sanctioned in the very heart of the mosque by Charles V in the 1520s. Artists and architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18th century, making the Mezquita an intriguing architectural oddity.
In 1931, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal was the first Muslim to pray in the Mezquita since it was closed to Islam. In 1984, the historic center of Cordoba, including the Mezquita, was made a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We found the most photographed street in Cordoba, I can see why, trying to get it with no tourists in the frame was fun.

May is Patio season in Cordoba, The Patio Festival is a unique opportunity to step into private homes, whose owners-after caring for hundreds of plants and flowers all year long-open their patios to the public in early May. People from the city and abroad enjoy their hospitality and marvel at the variety of the decorations and plants, just when the geraniums, roses, carnations and other flowers are in full bloom.

For travelers in search of authentic experiences, this tradition is ideal. Cordoba's streets and plazas are a delight to explore, but the city's private houses--many hundreds of years old--shelter beautiful little corners which are waiting to be discovered.
Cordoba's patios capture the essence of Andalusia in a tiny space, isolated from the rush and hurry of modern life. The aroma of lemon blossoms, the exuberant vegetation, and the cool trickle of a fountain make them tiny oasis. The festival is the city's most emblematic event of the year.

The first one we went to see had a queue to get in, it was stunning to see, obviously a huge amount of effort to get them this nice. Some patios are individual houses where the patio is like the hallway with each room going off / onto the patio so obviously they are in the centre of the house and open to the elements. Some are like the central stairwell for a block of apartments. Living in one of these places would be great - but very expensive, we saw one 2 bedroom flat for sale at 315,000 euros.

We had dinner in a nice Pizza restaurant then back to the hotel. A good nights sleep and an early start, we head firstly to the Synagogue, not very exciting, actually getting lost on the way was more exciting.

We walked down to The Alcazar (of the Christian Kings) features a castle its delightful gardens and a moorish bathhouse. This is a very popular monument.

A Muslim Alcazar once stood where the Episcopal Palace is today - this building was reformed in the Baroque period and was recently reconditioned in order to house the Diocesan Museum. Alongside this museum, the Exhibition Palace occupied what used to be the Church of San Jacinto and the Hospital of San Sebastian, an outstanding construction opposite the Mosque featuring a portico that stands out among the Gothic jewels in Cordoba. Inside, in the Romero de Torres hall, one can admire interesting 16th century frescoes.

Despite originating from the Christian era, these gardens are typically Moorish in design with ponds, fountains and aromatic plants. Adjacent to the gardens are the Royal Stables which extend to encompass the Gardens of the Campo Santo de los Márties.

The castle is almost a perfect square in plan of 4.100 square metres. It was rebuilt in 1327 by King Alfonso XI. His aim was to bring European Gothic architecture to the town. The castle walls connect the four (now three) corner towers by walkways or allures protected by battlements with prism shaped blocks.

My camera battery ran out at this point so no more pics - sorry!

The Alcazar was really good, much more interesting than the Mesquita. After we had finished we walked along the river front, cant believe how dirty the water is. Then up through the town, following our noses towards a plaza where we thought we might have Lunch. Lunch was not to be, the waiter took ages to serve so we left. We found a nice cafe and had a sandwich then wandered about a bit more. It's a lovely city for walking.

We headed back to the hotel, collected the car and made our way out of town.

On the way back we stopped at La Rambla where pottery is made, it got a good write up in the book so we thought it might be worth a visit. Unfortunately, like many small Spanish Towns it was closed for Siesta so we drove on. We stopped next at Aguilar, it was bigger so we parked the car and wandered round a bit, it was also closed so we had a drink, and set off. We managed to find a garage with a hoover so we cleaned out the car a bit then drove back.

We had planned to stop in Ronda but we were earlier than we intended so we just drove home, the dogs are still out so we'll go for dinner.