Mezquita, 2013

The Mezquita in Cordoba is one of the world's great buildings, historically. There have been churches or gathering places on this spot for aeons. After the Conquest, the Moors bought the Christian cathedral, then rebuilt on the site, using much of the Visigothic material. Construction of the great mosque took place between the 8th and 10th centuries, and it is thus one of Europe's oldest still-functioning buildings. By the 11th century, Cordoba rivaled Constantinople in many ways. It was an open city, with Jews, Christians, and Moors living side-by-side, their greatest scholars working together to translate and understand the works of antiquity. The library was said to have held 450,000 books. The era of tolerance, etc. ended with the Reconquista. For the next several centuries, Cordoba became a center of the Inquisition. To their (meager) credit, the Christians did not raze the Mezquita, but instead simply "Christianized" it, erecting a large Baroque cathedral in the middle of the huge building. Charles V, who had authorized the cathedral, told the builders that they had "destroyed something unique in the world" in order to give him something ordinary. Sic transit, Gloria. Anyhow, there are rather more pix of the Mezquita from our January, 2010, visit, touching upon the Visigothic, Moorish, and Christian parts of the building.

It is a huge building; here, seen from across the river, only
the cathedral really stands out

One long side of the Mezquita

From the former ablution courtyard, the
bell-tower; within it you can clearly see the
red brick minaret

Now inside the Mezquita, looking through a glass floor, you
can see mosaics from the previous Roman temple

Vicki was right; it just wasn't like the first time, when, despite
reading and studying about the building and looking at
photographs, it still overwhelms you, the expanse, the depth,
the color

There are 850 of these columns supporting a beautifully-
carved timbered roof that must have required nearly a forest
to build; many of the capitals are from the Visigothic church

The Moorish sanctum sanctorum

Dome above

I don't think there's a single place in the
Mezquita where you can see clearly from one
end to another

Typical view

Us in the Mezquita

A parting view

A side street in old Cordoba

A confirmation mass was in the works, apparently, and
children were arriving all around, posing proudly in their
dresses and suits 

Thus