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Roland Routier
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Roland Routier

An open-ended adventure by Roland Routier Read more
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  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Wheel of fortune

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    This old waterwheel, Noria de la Albolafia originating in the XIIth C, contrasts with the other three waterwheels powering mills downstream of the Roman bridge: for it was designed to lift water to irrigate the gardens of the Alcázar.
    Unfortunately Her Royal Highness Queen Isabel - not much of a gardener herself - didn't like the squeaky noise it made, according to local gossip, and ordered it to be stopped. Which it has been for the last few hundred years.
    There is a placard expressing the fervent intention to renovate it and the others as soon as money is forthcoming. Unfortunately, a great deal of that money will need to be spent cleaning the mud and detritus from the river and tourists that currently conceals the base of the structure.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Magical

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The elderly Arab lady who ran the restored Casa Mudehar, emboldened by my ability to understand her French, (for she was originally from Morocco I hazard,) persuaded me to buy a ticket for her new venture, the "Al Iksir" or museum of Alchemy, the arts of material transmutation concealing the secrets of spiritual transformation.
    What I found was a modern transformation of an ancient house backing onto the city walls of the Juderia and I was much taken by the designs.
    - the entrance with a glass covered pool fed by water falling through boxes
    - the hanging garden
    - the tree of life
    - earth, fire and water sculpture
    - view of the city from the rooftop terrace
    and finally and not least, the source of all the magic, Empsted Dispensing Chymists, Grand Parade, St. Leonards-on-Sea.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Judería

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The judería (old Jewish quarter - not a ghetto,) is a reticule of narrow streets and small squares, whitewashed buildings and wrought-iron gates allowing glimpses of plant-filled patios. Many streets are now crammed with gaudy souvenir shops , but others remain quiet and unblemished, except for their hidden corners which have provided relief to visitors wandering around after a liquid lunch at the authentic tourist restaurants and bodegas.
    Spain had one of Europe’s biggest Jewish com­munities, recorded from as early as the 2nd century AD. Persecuted by the Visigoths, they allied themselves with the Muslims following the Arab conquests until the Catholic monarchs did them in.
    The small, probably private or family synagogue, constructed in 1315, is undergoing restoration so I couldn't visit. It hasn't been used as a place of worship since the expulsion of Jews in 1492 so I guess there is a lot of restoration to do.
    The Puerta de Almodavar can be seen here from inside the city walls, but Seneca is hidden.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Front Door

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Travellers would cross the river Guadalquivir by the Roman bridge and enter the city by this gate, Puerta del Puente, a relic of Roman Imperialism.

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Done up

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Casa Andalusi is a house in the Juseria restored to suggest a typical abode during the Caliphate.
    - At the entrance sits a font for the ritual cleansing of hands before entering a home
    - a pleasant little courtyard
    - and off it a reading salon
    - every house must have its lacework even if, as here, there is no real need
    - the scribe has to be careful of firey prose which could get him into trouble with the rulers, hence a fire-extinguisher close to hand
    - examples of arabic script and the beautiful calligraphy to which it lends itself
    One of Cordoba's big sources of income came from the production of rag paper and the process is demonstrated in a model. I will divulge the secret process: shred, pound, soak, pound, dry, cut. No need for imagery.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Facade

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The houses are mostly double storied which preserves the human scale.
    Wish our flats were as attractive as the block in the last photo!

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Road trip

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    A couple of alleys and courtyards for you. There are quite a few of them which is very nice to walk around but pretty monotonous to photograph!

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    True Blue

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Just to prove I did visit Cordova here are the mandatory blue pot photos.

    A young backpacker has been retained to water them: she seems to be bored rigid.

    CALLEJON DE LAS FLORES
    This small but well-known street is the most photographed street in Cordoba.Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Casa Arabe

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The city restored this Arab house that had been four or five dwellings before a rich merchant bought it in the XVth C .
    As usual, it is the two courtyards which appeal the most. Around them the rooms are only 2.7m wide and have been converted into offices and an art gallery.
    Notice the modern interpretation of horse stalls as the feeding room for tourists.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    3 stooges

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    In Roman times, Cordoba gave birth to Lucius Annaeus Seneca (a famous drama queen,) and his nephew Lucan, (a poet.)
    Then in the XIIthC came two celebrated scholars, Abdul and Moses.
    Moses ben Maimon, called Rambam by his mates (sic) and better known to us as Maimonides (1135–1204), who condensed Talmudic law into a mere 14 volumes: the "Mishneh Torah".
    And Abdul Wahid Muhammad Ibn 'Ahmed Ibn Rushd, shortened to Averroes to fit on the spine of his famous book "What I think of Aristotle."
    Both got the nod from the Roman Church because they did not write in a way the general populace could understand as incompatible with Christianity and therefore seditious.
    Even though they both had to leave the country to work and died at opposite sides of North Africa, Egypt and Morocco. Better than poor Luke though.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Stall for time

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The fine mahogany stalls in the choir were carved by Pedro Duque Cornejo in the 18th C and depict scenes from the Bible.
    The ceiling is pure baroque .
    The two mahogany pulpits by Verdiquier are interesting because they feature a near life size bull and a lion in veined marble and an eagle in black marble.Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Cathedral bits

    April 4, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    You can see how the arabic arch frames the cathedral treasure room.
    The stained glass can only be seen from inside the main nave of the cathedral.

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Cathedral

    April 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    The Mosque was consecrated as a Christian Cathedral in the same year that Cordoba was re-conquered (1236). Alfonso X built the Villaviciosa Chapel with stunning multi lobed arches. The Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) was also built as a pantheon for Christian Kings.
    In the 14th century Enrique II rebuilt the royal chapel in Mudejar style. In 1523 with the support of King Carlos V the church built a huge nave inside the mosque. The cathedral was elaborated on over the years by many of the country´s leading architects and artists. Architect Hernán Ruiz continued working transforming the Cathedral into Gothic style.
    The main retable, (altar screen), in jasper and red marble is a neo-classical work of art by Álonso Matias The Baroque tabernacle is by Sebastian Vidal.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Crash of civilisations

    April 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    Following the Christian conquest of Córdo­ba in 1236, the Mezquita was used as a ca­thedral but remained largely unaltered for nearly three centuries. But in the 16th cen­tury King Carlos I gave the cathedral author­ities permission to rip out the centre of the Mezquita in order to construct the Capilla Mayor (the main altar area) and coro (choir).
    Legend has it that when the king saw the result he was horrified, exclaiming that they had destroyed something that was unique in the world.
    The cathedral took nearly 250 years to complete (1523–1766) and exhibits a range of architectural fashions, from plateresque and late Renaissance to extravagant Spanish baroque.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Killick woz ere

    April 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    One's breast swells with pride to find one's ancestors mark on a World Heritage building.
    Interestingly he must have worked alongside artisans from all backgrounds, for example a Jewish stonemason was evidently involved.Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Surface to requirements

    April 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    The Mezquita’s Interior
    The Mezquita’s architectural uniqueness and importance lies in the fact that it was a revolutionary structure. Earlier Islamic buildings such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Great Mosque in Damascus placed an emphasis on verticality, but the Mezquita was intended as a democratically horizontal and simple space, where the spirit could be free to roam and communicate easily with God – a kind of glorious refinement of the original simple Islamic prayer space (usually the open yard of a desert home). Men prayed side by side on the argama­sa, a floor made of compact, reddish slaked lime and sand.
    The final Mezquita had 19 doors along its north side, filling it with light and yielding a sense of openness. Nowadays, only one door sheds light into the dim interior. The solid mass of the cathe­dral in the centre and the 50 or so chapels around the fringes, further enclose and im­pose on the airy space whilst adding a vertical dimension to the enclosure.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    A question of facing

    April 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    The Mihrab & Maksura
    The Mihrab traditionally has two functions in Islamic worship, first it indicates the direction of Mecca (therefore prayer) and it amplifies the words of the Imam, the prayer leader. Initially Al-Andalus was part of the Caliphate of Damascus, so it is not surprising to find the Cordoba Mosque Mihrab facing south in the same way as the Damascus mosque and not south east in the direction of Mecca. Furthermore, it is an octagonal room rather than the conventional niche.
    The bay immediately in front of the mihrab and the bays to each side form the maksura, the area where the caliphs and courtiers would have prayed.
    Al-Hakim II’s ex­tension in the 960s was the portal of the mihrab – a crescent arch with a rectangular surround known as an alfiz. For the portal’s decora­tion, Al-Hakim asked the emperor of Byz­antium, Nicephoras II Phocas, to send him a mosaicist capable of imitating the superb mosaics of the Great Mosque of Damas­cus, one of the great 8th-century Syrian Omayyad buildings. The Christian emperor sent the Muslim caliph not only a mosai­cist but also a gift of 1600kg of gold mosaic cubes. Shaped into flower motifs and in­scriptions from the Quran, this gold is what gives the mihrab portal its magical glitter.
    Inside the mihrab, a single block of white marble sculpted into the shape of a scallop shell, a symbol of the Quran, forms the dome that amplified the voice of the imam for all to hear.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    Arch triumph

    April 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    Jan Morris described it as "so near the desert in its tentlike forest of supporting pillars." The architect introduced another, horseshoe-shaped arch above the lower pillars. A second and purely aesthetic innovation was to alternate brick and stone in the arches, creating the red and white striped pattern which gives a unity and distinctive character to the whole design. There are more than 850 coloured granite jasper and marble pillars.Read more

  • Roland RoutierRoland RoutierTraveler

    A Columny

    April 3, 2018 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    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