San Basilio

The "Festival of Patios" happened to be on while we were there and our host suggested we go to this neighbourhood where there are many private internal patios open to the public for these two weekends. We went at opening (11 am) as he suggested.....with a lot of other people! Stood in the shortest line, had a look and decided that we were fortunate to have our own patio where we are staying. On the other side of all these small doors off the narrow lanes are internal patios, the "backyards" and no lawn to cut!! We decided to have a quieter afternoon as it was quite hot; went for a lesiurely middle eastern inspired lunch (falafel, borad bean salad and mixed kebabs; quite good). Nancy went to a local artisans market where she bought a new glass case as hers was falling apart and Doug got caught up on paperwork and rested. Dinner in.

San Basilio is one of the neighbourhoods in the Centro district of Córdoba, Spain. It is bordered by the River Guadalquivir to the southeast. The district was specifically included in the Historic centre of Córdoba as part of the UNESCO World Heritage site. Among its historic monuments are the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos and the Royal Stables of Córdoba (not visited)

The generally two-storey, whitewashed houses have an Arabic look, arranged as they are around central courtyards or patios forming a neighbourhood known as "Los Patios Cordobeses". From the late 14th century, the area was occupied by Jewish converts who created a ghetto. An attempt to banish them failed, thanks to mediation by the Catholic monarchs in 1479. However, as a result of poor sanitation, they were later moved to nearby San Nicolas de la Villa.Read more