I just went to Córdoba! Ashlee and I had considered it before, too, when we went to Sevilla, but we mistakenly looked at the guided group costs, leading us to believe that the Mezquita alone would cost 37 euros, so we chucked that idea, only to regret it somewhat later when Ben and his mom found out that it really costs 8 euros! So then it was a toss up between using a train pass to go there or to break up my trip to Avignon into two days, but I ended up deciding on seeing something new. My but was it worth the trip!
Once my train arrived and I got some information and a map, I beelined it over to the Judería, the ruinous, old part of the city enclosed in some of the old city walls. The mezquita-turned-cathedral was my first stop, mainly because it is the one famous thing I knew of before even coming and it was a must-see. I had seen pictures of it, of course, but all I was expecting was the unique but plain red and white arches. Sure enough, those were the first things I saw as I stepped through the entrance, but that wasn’t even the half of it! Indeed, the place had originally been a Visigoth church, complete with familiar Christian images (which reminded me that they were of the Christian faith in the first centuries Anno Domini), images which are now artifacts recovered and set on display within the structure. It was after them that the Arabs invaded and took control, converting the edifice into a mosque and giving it its reputation as the largest Islamic structure in the West and the 3rd largest in the world! However, the conquest of the Catholics eventually led to yet another overhaul of the building, creating a cathedral smack dab in the center of the mosque. The result of so many years of additions and renovations is a beautifully unique hodgepodge filled with ironic juxtapositions. Now, I’ve seen a fair amount of Arabic architecture and designs from southern Spain, but I don’t cease to be amazed by the intricacies found in every inch of tiling and marble plaster that have lasted for so many centuries. The cathedral’s more western contribution is equally elaborate, but a world of its own; it contrasts its figures of Christ and saints combined with Roman lettering with the winding, intertwining designs and Arabic lettering, void of what would have been sacrilegious depictions of living beings.
The inner courtyard
Visigoth artifacts
Arabic ceiling
Arabic arch
Spanish Catholic ceiling
American me with some of the mix
Yes, all of the above pictures were from ONE building!
Leaving the ancient beauty of the Mezquita, I wandered across the ancient Roman bridge traversing the Guadalquivir, coming back just in time to have missed my chance to enter the alcázar and its adjoining gardens. It turns out I wasn’t the only one who missed the hours, and I soon made friends with an Argentine girl who was also on her own in the city. Together, we walked around the alcázar por si acaso we could at least get some glimpses into the gardens. On our way, we found a poor baby golondrina (swallow) that couldn’t fly! It was so cute and took a liking to my new friend. What a shame that we had to leave it, probably to an uncertain death.
In the last bit of time I had left before catching my train back into Madrid, I went by a few other smaller sites. One was the old Jewish synagogue, and it was small but intriguing to me because its structure and design was heavily influenced by the Arabs, but the words and scriptures inscribed in the wall plastering were Hebrew! I also went to the Casa Andalusí, which has been around since the 600s AD. Neither cost very much, and I almost didn’t end up paying for the synagogue because it was free for European Union residents and 30 cents for others and the worker told me that “no se lo nota,”—that is, he couldn’t tell that I’m a foreigner. I took that as a compliment and paid, earning myself a souvenir ticket to go with my little collection. :D
The rest of my time was spent walking a little and thinking while lounging a lot. I got to thinking, too, about why people try so hard to create great empires when they have been so prone to eventual destruction. For example, civilization after civilization had built and resided in that same spot, now only preserved as a souvenir of sorts of the past. Then again, each civilization came to contribute something of its traditions and knowledge to help create our culture today. Everything had a purpose. What’s more, the most important thing is that people live to be happy and help create happiness in others’ lives. My first thoughts had been defeatist at best, making so many lives seem a waste. But then, why do we bother to give a few cents to a beggar, an orange to a homeless woman and her child, or care about an injured bird? Because we are compassionate human beings and all we want in life is happiness—for ourselves, for others, and for our children. Really, in the end, we are just like that mezquita so well known in Córdoba: an odd mix of past influences, but with a place in the world to bring, if nothing else, a bit of beauty into the life of another.
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