An Afternoon in Cordoba

After a few days in Seville i made a stop in Cordoba on the way back to Madrid and had one of the most pleasant afternoons in recent memory. Cordoba is such an interesting city, filled with very visibly striking reminders of both the strong Christian and Muslim influence that has been over the city for centuries.

One of the Christian Kings, i presume, guarding the entrance to the Castle of the Christian Kings.

The tower at the Mezquita (Spanish for mosque).

Beautiful forests of pillars inside the dark and cool Mezquita.

from my journal on 3/21:

"I am in the great Mezquita de Cordoba and it is inspiring. The tower outside is breathtakingly tall, the walls around the cathedral unmistakably Islamic in design.

The courtyard is lined with trees, paved with stone, and filled with people. Being in here is like being transported to another realm- it is dark and there is a sharp chill in the air that settles over everything and slows you down. The curved ceilings and archways combined with the bite of the cool bring to mind the idea of being inside an ancient cave, filled with secrets and treasures from long ago.

The collision of the ornateness of the Christian design and the clean geometry of the Islamic style is startingly bizarre and somewhat visually overstimulating at first sight, but the contrasting architecture points to the unique history and culture of yet another awe-inspiring city in my beloved Spain."

The Mezquita was captured and recaptured by Muslim and Christian armies several times, which explains the stark constrasts in architectural style inside.

An atrium i passed as i was walking along a random street.

Cordoba's synagogue. It is the only synagogue remaining in Andalusia after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 and one of only three left in all of Spain.

one of my favorite Spanish words.

countryside on the way back to Madrid.

i finally got a picture of one of the bulls! these giant billboards are all over Spain.

beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Spain.