Cordoba

I continue to be blown away by the sights I see everyday on this trip, and today was no exception! Today we travelled back into Spain to Cordoba. Travelling through the countryside it was not unlike rural areas of NSW. In fact one of our group commented that we could have been in Wagga Wagga! Cordoba was once the capital of Moorish Spain and is famous for it's 8th century mosque (Mezquita) which in the 10th century was converted to a Christian cathedral. This building is fascinating and is a symbol of the many religious changes that have occurred in Cordoba. In the past, the site of the mosque was once a Roman temple and a cathedral dedicated to St Vincent of Saragossa.The mosque was modelled on the one in Damascus and once housed an original copy of the Koran and an arm bone of the prophet Mohammed. There are magnificent arches in the building, supported by columns made of granite, jasper, onyx and marble that look like a forest of trees. There is also a very impressive Baroque choir in the cathedral and a range of architectural additions, added to in each period from gothic to baroque to renaissance.

We also visited the Jewish synagogue in an area which does not look like it has changed much since the 10th century. It is the only synagogue in Andalusia to survive the expulsion and inquisition of the Jews in 1492 and one of only three ancient synagogues left in all of Spain. It has also been a Catholic chapel and today is a museum.

We then visited the Alcazar de los Reyes Christianos and strolled around the magnificent gardens. The fortress served as one of the primary residences of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. It was also here that Queen Isabella heard Christopher Columbus' pitch before his historic journey to the Americas.