Cordoba

Cordoba

I was really looking forward to this trip because I remember loving Cordoba the first time that I visited. We left early on a Saturday morning, and first drove to Medina Alzarat, a small city outside of Cordoba that was built by the Muslims. All that´s left of the city is basically archeological remains, and though it seems extensive, is only like 10 percent of what was there. It was still really beautiful, and I sometimes like incomplete remains better because you have to imagine how it once was in its prime.

The mezquita in the medina (which means city in Arabic) is particularly interesting because it was the first Mezquita built in Spain that actually is correctly oriented towards Mecca. I think it´s so interesting that the mihrab (i only know the spanish versions of these Arabic words, sorry) is calculated to orient towards Mecca. However, in the first cities, like the Mezquita in Cordoba which is much older, they didn´t have the proper calculations and is misoriented. Apparently, the funny thing is, they actually figured this out pretty early but decided not to change it anyway.

From the Medina, we drove to Cordoba to visit the Mezquita which is just incredible. first we went to lunch and sample salmorenja, which is basically gazpacho with eggs and ham which is a specialty of Cordoba. It was in my mind a mix between gazpacho and lecho, a Hungarian dish that I really like, so I was a big fan.

We then went into the Mezquita, which has been one of my favorite places this trip. The mezquita is complete symbol of cultural interaction, and how one culture feeds into another. There are roman ruins, Muslim mosque , and a catholic cathedral all integrated into one building. It´s very dark when you first enter, but right away you just see rows and rows of the iconic red and white horseshoe arches that just feed into one another forever. In the center is the mihrab, which is so ornate and complex, and lots of really detailed coranic scriptures and ornamentation. It´s a bit bizarre that adjacent to that is this ornate cathedral, literally right in the middle, but somehow it all works.

I really enjoy going on these trips with out Profe Lupe, because you learn so much more than just being a normal tourist. She showed us the signatures of some of the builders that are inscribed throughout the walls, and all about the different amplifications and how the mezquita had evolved. I later did my art history paper on the quibla wall, and the mihrab because I liked it so much. I wanted to bring my mom and bri there when they visited, but we didn´t have time, oh well.