| Cordoba
- for the day |
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A view of Cordoba from the river.
The day in Cordoba was a result of one of the many tours
offered by the university language centre.
One of the guides for these tours was a lively, witty, and passionate
history professor; the other was knowledgeable, self content, and sanctimonious
art history professor (look in Ubeda/Baeza for his reappearance in our
lives). The art historian led the Cordoba tour, thus colouring my memories
of Cordoba as well as hurrying me along my way.
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Here is the lovely Suzanne standing in the Patio
de los Naranjas of the Antigua Mezquita de Cordoba (which is now the Santa
Iglesia Catedral). |
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The entrance to the mosque/cathedral is a good
place to relate a little of the history of this structure. Before 785 the
Muslim and Christian communities shared the land where the mosque stands
today. Abd ar-Rahman I bought the Christian half, and began construction
of the mosque. Over the next few hundred years it would grow to accommodate
the needs of the expanding community. And it stayed like this (even though
there were mild alterations in the 1200's) until the 16th century when a
mammoth cathedral was built inside of it. Note the granite marble arch with
the 16th century addition complete with statutes above it. |
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These granite and marble pillars and arches compose
what remains of the 8th century mosque. This is probably the most famous
symbol of the mosque and it is a gorgeous space that deserves time for contemplation
(not to be rushed through with a guide bent on herding you to the cathedral). |
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This is a lot of point-and-click photography,
as I did not want to be singled out as the one who had no interest in the
tour. In fact, even a glance in a direction not indicated by the guide would
have put me on the receiving end of: "No estas interesada? Te aburro?"
And the fact that he was speaking at a rapid rate demanded total attention
as well. Apologies! |
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Cordova
1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5 - 6
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