Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Córdoba
Abundant courtyards , flowers dripping from balconies, and narrow winding streets make Cordoba a captivating and unhurried city. Perched on the south bank of the Río Guadalquivir, it was once the largest city in Western Europe and for three centuries the hub of the Moorish Empire and rivaled only by Bagdad and Cairo. Córdoba has well preserved monuments of Roman, Jewish, Islamic and Christian origin in baffling proximity. Only in Toledo are the remnants of Spain’s colorful heritage as visibly intermixed. The heart of Córdoba is the old Jewish quarter. A walk around this area gives the sensation that little has changed since the 10th century when this was one of the greatest cities in the Western world. Wrought ironwork decorates cobbled streets too narrow for cars and here silversmiths create fine jewelry in their workshops. At the heart of the Jewish quarter is the Mezquita.
La Mezquita
La Mezquita
Built in 784 on the site of a Visigoth basilica, this architectural masterpiece is considered the most important Islamic monument in the Western world. Over the course of 2 centuries is was enlarged to cover an area the size of several city blocks with more than 850 columns, making it the largest mosque in the Islamic world at the time of completion. Vistors enter through the Patio de los Naranjos, an arcaded courtyard featuring carefully spaced orange trees, palm trees, and fountains, where the faithful performed their ablutions before prayer. The Torre de Alminar encloses the remains of the minaret from which the muezzin called the faithful to prayer.
Built in 784 on the site of a Visigoth basilica, this architectural masterpiece is considered the most important Islamic monument in the Western world. Over the course of 2 centuries is was enlarged to cover an area the size of several city blocks with more than 850 columns, making it the largest mosque in the Islamic world at the time of completion. Vistors enter through the Patio de los Naranjos, an arcaded courtyard featuring carefully spaced orange trees, palm trees, and fountains, where the faithful performed their ablutions before prayer. The Torre de Alminar encloses the remains of the minaret from which the muezzin called the faithful to prayer.
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