A Columny

In order to cover 14,400 sq metres of floor space, the builders borrowed the double arches from Roman aquaducts to create a lightweight and airy structure.
A flat roof, decorated with gold and multicoloured motifs, was support­ed by striped arches suggestive of a forest of date palms. The arches rested on, even­tually, 1293 columns (of which 856 remain today) forming 39 naves standing perpendicular to the qibla wall.

MezquitaTIMELINE
600 Foundation of a Christian church, the Basilica of San Vicente, on the site of the present Mezquita.
785 Salvaging Visigothic and Roman ruins, Emir Abd ar-Rahman I replaces the church with a mezquita (mosque).
833–56 Mosque enlarged by Abd ar-Rahman II.
951–2 A new minaret is built by Abd ar-Rahman III.
962–71 Mosque enlarged, and superb new mihrab 1􀀀 added, by Al-Hakim II.
978–9 Mosque enlarged for the last time by Al-Mansur, who also enlarged the courtyard (now the Patio de los Naranjos 2), bringing the whole complex to its current dimensions.
1236 Mosque converted into a Christian church after Córdoba is recaptured by Fernando III of Castilla.1271 Instead of destroying the mosque, the Christians modify it, creating the Capilla de Villaviciosa 3 and Capilla Real 4.
1523 Work on a Gothic/Renaissance-style cathedral inside the Mezquita begins, with permission of Carlos I.
1593–1664 The 10th-century minaret is reinforced and rebuilt as a Renaissance-baroque belltower 5.
2004 Spanish Muslims petition to be able to worship in the Mezquita again. The Vatican doesn’t consent.Read more