A Day in Córdoba

We stopped for the day in Córdoba on our train trip home from Sevilla. Córdoba is famous for its Mezquita, shown here in the background. La Mezquita was a mosque built between 785 and 987. Formerly on the same site existed the Roman Temple of Janus and the Visigoth Christian church of San Vicente. When the Moors (no, not the Moops-for you Seinfeld fans) conquered Córdoba they purchased and destroyed the Visigoth church and erected the original mosque in 784-786 and it was expanded over the next 200 years by 4 different rulers. When the Christians re-took Córdoba in 1236, they left the Mezquita in place, and erected a cathedral right in the center of it. 150 of the 1,000 columns (constructed from Roman and Visigothic ruins) were removed to make room for the ornate cathedral.

The mihrab, or prayer niche where the imam would lead prayer in the mosque.














The juxtaposition of the mosque and cathedral was truly bizarre. To walk from the Moorish architecture of the Mezquita and step into a cathedral, turn around and step back, was a very unusual feeling. I found myself being very thankful that the mosque was not torn down by the Christians, but at the same time being disturbed by man's need to "conquer" and erect mosque over cathedral, cathedral inside mosque. A pattern we see repeating itself much too often in our world.

We enjoyed the rest of our day in Córdoba. We had a delicious lunch and enjoyed a local specialty, salmorejo, a creamier version of gazpacho that was delicious.

When we arrived back in Madrid that night, I went straight to a flamenco concert that my friend Sergio arranged for me to attend. His ensemble opened the show and consisted of cantaor (singer), bailaora (dancer), 2 guitarristas, 2 palmeras (clapping) and batteria (percussion). They were amazing - great performers all and they rocked. Their dancer, Rocío Molina, is one of the most respected up and coming young dancers (only 23) and she was amazing. So expressive - very modern.

The main act of the concert was a cantaora from Barcelona, Mayte Martín, with guitarrista Juan Ramón Caro. She has one of the most beautiful voices I have heard in any music. The music was quite a contrast - also very modern but very slow, expressive, and full of breath-oriented phrasing. It was a great night. We went out after to celebrate and enjoyed food and wine until 3:00 - very fun.