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<\/a>Mezquita Bell Tower<\/p><\/div>\n
Originally, our plan was to get to the Mezquita early for free entry and attend Mass there. That plan was changed as Nurse Carol felt it was better for me to rest a little more and we go for the normal 1000 opening time. Charlie does not like the wrath of nurse Carol, so he begrudgingly agrees to the revised plan. I confess, I am not a great patient. We sleep in a little, Carol makes a nice egg breakfast, and we head out around 0930. I do better navigating here with no miscues and we are second in line at 0950. Then Carol sees another line so I go to check it out. You have to buy tickets here and then enter where Carol is. There is a long line for the ticket booth and short lines to buy the tickets from a machine. I purchase them and the machine tries to keep my ticket. I have to use part of my eyeglasses to extract the paper and luckily it comes out mostly intact. I quickly get back to Carol with a minute to spare before they open the doors. Good timing.<\/p>\n
<\/a>CNC in the Mezquita<\/p><\/div>\n
We walk in and are immediately blown away. The size of the place is incredible with a beauty mesmerizes you with a pattern of arched columns. Let’s start with some history. The Mezquita is a former mosque, that now has a 16th century church rising up in the middle. It was once the center of western Islam. The original mosque was built in 786.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Double Arch Support<\/p><\/div>\n
There are over 850 red and blue columns topped by double arches, a round Romanesque arch over a Visogothic horseshoe arch. The arches are made from red brick and white stone in an alternating pattern.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Church of San Vicente Mosaics and Foundation<\/p><\/div>\n
The mosque sits on the site of an early Christian Church, the Basilica of San Vicente. A glass panel in the floor lets you see the original foundation and mosaics of this church. We check out the Mihrab, the equivalent of a high altar and a focus point of the mosque. The imam would stand here, give sermons and read scriptures. More than 20,000 people could pray at once in here. The acoustics from the Mihrab would amplify the imams voice so all could hear.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Decorative Mihrab<\/p><\/div>\n
This part of the mosque was expanded from the original in 962 when Cordobas wealth was in its prime. Interestingly, this Mihrab does not face east toward Mecca, but south as mosques do in Syria in order to face Mecca. This is because the ruling Umayyad branch of Islam had Syria as their ancestral home.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Chapel from 1236<\/p><\/div>\n
Fast forward to 1236 when Saint-King Ferdinand III conquered C\u00f3rdoba and turned the mosque into a church. Sixteen columns were removed and gothic arches added to make the Villaviciosa Chapel. We continue to wander and explore, checking out the Treasury. The usual collection of grand religious artifacts, we notice a crucifix made from one ivory tusk from 1665 by an unknown sculptor. It is very realistic and someone deserves credit.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Stone Mason Mark<\/p><\/div>\n
As we exit the treasury there is a display with the signatures and stonemason marks that you can find on the columns throughout the Mezquita. We now head to the middle of the mosque into the cathedral. In 1523, Cordobas Bishop proposed building a grand church in the middle of the Mezquita. The town council opposed it but King Charles V ordered it done and so it was. While the Mezquita ceiling is 30 feet high the cathedral soars 130 feet upward.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Mesmerizing<\/p><\/div>\n
It is amazing that 70 percent of the mosque is still intact and that the Catholic Church respected the beauty of the building and built into it rather than tear it down. It makes for an incredible architectural and philosophical wonderland. Different depths, heights, light and perception makes this a magical place. We exit into the Patio de las Naranjes ( courtyard of the oranges) and into a beautiful day. Another wonderful treasure that we got to experience in Spain.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Dessert with Free Sherry<\/p><\/div>\n
We go have a seven tapa lunch in Bodegas Mezquita which is very good. It includes wine and at the end of the meal we are surprised with a glass of Pedro Ximenez sherry (sweet) mixed with a dry sherry. It is very good and they say a typical drink in C\u00f3rdoba.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Carol of Cordoba<\/p><\/div>\n
From the restaurant we enjoy a little more of the fine weather by walking across the old roman bridge with views back to the Mezquita. I am still not 100 per cent so we decide to go back to the apartment to get more rest. I am feeling some improvement so hopefully it will continue in that direction.<\/p>\n