Córdoba

Friday, our group visited Córdoba. It was an amazing place (as are all of the cities in Spain). The main attraction in Córdoba is the Mezquita, or Mosque, built between the years of 785-787 A.D.



This Mezquita stands as a physical remembrance of a time when Islam dominated the Iberian Peninsula. Many additions have been made to the Mezquita since that time, but the most interesting addition comes in the form of a Gothic cathedral built directly in the center of the Mezquita after the Spanish Reconquista around 1523.



There are more than 850 columns inside the mosque, each of which was individually painted. My pictures do not do this place justice, but here are a couple of pictures of the arches and pillars.





Another really interesting thing our teacher pointed out to us was this tomb. It's kind of hard to read the name on the tomb, but the most important thing about it is that this is the only woman buried inside the mosque. Below the tomb, it says that she was buried in the mosque upon the request of her brother who my teacher said probably played a part in the construction of the mosque. I thought this was a neat story!



Even though putting a cathedral inside the center of the mosque destroyed the architecture and beauty of the mosque, the cathedral is breathtaking. Here are some pictures...









Once again, I was amazed that something this incredible could have been built so long ago. I'm going to Barcelona this Friday so expect more pics soon! Hasta luego!