Church parade

Córdoba in 756 was the biggest city in Western Europe, with a population somewhere around 250,000.
This was the famed ‘city of the three cultures’, where Muslims, Jews and Christians coexisted peaceably and Abd ar-Rahman III’s court was frequented by scholars from all three communities.
Towards the end of the 10th century, Al-Mansur (Almanzor), a ruthless general whose northward raids terrified Christian Spain, took over. But after Al-Mansur’s son Abd al-Malik died in 1008 Berber troops looted the city and by 1031 the Umayyad was over. Córdoba became a minor part of the Seville taifa (small king­dom) in 1069, and after Castilla’s Fernando III muscled in it became just another pro­vincial city.
Mosque
The Mezquita or mosque is one of the world’s greatest examples of Islamic ar­chitecture.
Abd ar-Rahman I purchased half of the Visigothic church of San Vicente for the Muslim community’s Friday prayers, and then, in AD 784, bought the other half on which to erect a new mosque. Three later extensions nearly quintupled the size of Abd ar-Rahman I’s mosque.
These are the entrance doors:
The Puerta de San Sebastian has the oldest remains of Muslim decoration in Spain and the first Arabic inscription on the building (855 AD).
The Puerta del Sabat has a raised passage allowing the Caliph to pass unseen from his palace to the maqsurah (place of prayer.)
Under the Umayyad Caliphate Cordova overtook Damascus in importance.Read more