Two hours from Seville, Cordoba makes for a great day trip. Upon arrival, I met up with a local guide, for a tour of Cordoba’s popular attraction, La Mezquita.
While making our way along the riverside, up to the mosque-cathedral, my guide pointed out the Old Roman bridge just ahead of us. The bridge, made up of 16 arches, was originally constructed in the 1st century AD by the Romans. No auto traffic is allowed on this bridge, so it is strictly a pedestrian walkway. Since its initial installation, the bridge has undergone several renovations, with the most recent in 2009. My guide also mentioned that it was a lovely bridge before the more recent renovation, and that the restoration effort was done too well. The bridge is too perfect, and as such, a lot of the charm was lost.
Walking through the gates of La Mezquita, you find yourself in an expansive courtyard. In addition to the orange and palm trees around the enclosed space, there are mini trenches directing water to the network of trees. Be careful where you step; at best, you will have a wet shoe, or worse, you could hurt yourself falling onto the cobbled stone floor. During the time when La Mezquita was a mosque, the water would have been used for the purpose of pre-prayer purification.
Inside La Mezquita, you are protected from the sun, and the cooler temperature in the building is an immediate relief… That is, until the humidity starts to overpower the initial feeling of cool.
From the outside, La Mezquita has the appearance of a mosque, turned cathedral. However, the mosque was built over the remains of the Basilica of Saint Vincent. Believed to have been constructed in the 6th century, the basilica still bears some of the original inscriptions.
The first open area of La Mezquita was the original mosque built on this site in the 8th century. The space is dominated by red and white striped, decorative arches and wooden ceilings. The columns the arches stand on make up a collection of re-purposed columns of varying materials and styles.
The mosque was later expanded in the 9th century, and again in the 10th century. Additional double arches, skylights, and crossed arches mark the continued expansion.
The Mihrab, towards the back of the arched hall, is the focal point and prayer corner of the mosque. The area around the Mihrab is more elaborately decorated, indicating the importance of this section. Gold mosaics are used around the arch of the doorway, shaped into decorative patterns. Verses from the Quran are also inlaid in gold around the borders. As light reflects off the mosaics, the doorway glows. Around the glow, the representation of the “tree of life” sprawls along the wall in intricate patterns.
In the 13th century, the Cathedral of Cordoba took the place of the mosque. The addition of the main chapel was one of the bigger structural changes commissioned. Over the 200 years it took to complete, the styles used in construction varied. Two of the styles, Gothic and Renaissance, incorporated buttresses, trace vaults, and oval vaults.
Stories claim King Carlos I, gave his consent to build the main chapel in the cathedral, but was later dismayed by construction. In order for the main chapel to go in, the roof had to be removed from that section of the church. During a visit to the cathedral, Carlos I is said to have lamented destroying such a beautiful, perfectly functional church.