Cordoba is a city in the southern part of Spain. It has great historical significance, being a major city under Roman rule and later a key Islamic center in Europe during the middle ages before coming under Christian rule. We learned so much about this unique city where Christians, Jews and Muslims have lived together for centuries. My favourite part was the mingling of beautiful architecture and patterns with the extensive use of lush plantings. We decided to fly into Madrid and then hired a car to drive about four hours south. We were grateful that it wasn’t super hot as we had anticipated for our visit. Unusually, it was quite the opposite with scattered rain showers and cool breezes. The norm is not to eat dinner until late at night so we tried to slide into the local lifestyle. This girl likes to get to bed and can’t quite hang with the Spaniards and their late night fun … even when it’s super delicious.
The Stats:
31, 556 Steps
2 Rental Car Rides
2 Planes
Our hotel had archeological sites exposed throughout
Partially reconstructed Roman ruins
Plaza de la Corredera and the first location of bull running in Cordoba
Locally produced wheat straw goods
Straw window coverings are sprayed with water to keep interiors cool in the brutal summer heat
The buildings were intentionally built to have narrow, winding streets for two reasons. The first was to act as a defence against invaders who would easily get lost or turned around. The second reason was to create the most shade possible.
The statue of Moses Maimonides – classic tourist trap to “rub his foot” and it brings you good luck and knowledge you’ll return to Cordoba in the future
Patio De Los Naranjos (Orange garden courtyard) of Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba
The oranges are apparently too bitter to eat, but exported to be made into marmalade
The ever dutiful photographer
There was a cool “built in” irrigation system for the orange trees from a nearby fountain
Inside the Mezquita Cathedral (a mosque turned Catholic church)
Parker for scale
Up in the bell tower
Here you can see where they decided to plunk a gothic chapel in the middle of the mosque
The Roaming Roths 