Cordoba - Home to the Mezquita

Today we saw one of the most fascinating places we have ever seen, the Mezquita. It is a well-preserved mosque that dates from A.D. 784 and was once the centre of Islam. You enter a dark area of more than 800 columns, built from marble, granite and alabaster recycled from ancient Roman ruins and churches, topped with red and white stone arches. The Mihrab is the mosque equivalent of a church’s high alter and was built in the mid-10th century of multicoloured glass and enamel mosaics. In 1236 a Spanish King conquered the city and 300 years later Cordoba’s bishop proposed building this grand church in the Mezquita’s centre. 70% of the mosque remains. At the back of the altar there is a blend of Christian and Islamic architecture that is found nowhere else in the world. We spent about 2 hours here and were awestruck.

We meandered through the narrow streets and found this area of the old town to be way too touristy, filled with tacky souvenir shops. We did manage to find a popular tapas restaurant to have a break and ponder what we had just seen in the Mezquita.

Too tired to find our way to a restaurant for dinner, we decided to go to a nearby supermarket to buy food for a light dinner in our room. I knew the store would be closing within 15 minutes so on our way there I gave John the directions then ran ahead to get there on time. Someone didn’t listen and ended up in a patio bar having a beer, supposedly waiting for me, but in the wrong place! I returned to the hotel on my own when I couldn’t find him. I was going to send out a search party if he didn’t return by midnight but he showed up within the hour.Read more