One of my major objectives in agreeing to winter in Spain had been to take
Christine to the great cities of Andalusia. When we arrived, Córdoba at
first sight reminded us of Seville, with its narrow streets, and whitewashed
houses:
We visited a museum of the "Typical" Andalusian house. One of the traditional
industries had been paper making, and there was an exhibition of the
equipment and process:
More familiar to me were the ceramic tiles around the lower part of all
walls:
While prospecting for dinner, we walked along the illuminated ramparts.
Next morning, while waiting for the Mezquita to open, we visited one of the
three surviving medieval synagogues in Spain. The other two are in
Toledo(qv).
Finally at last we could get into the Mezquita. The Rough Guide did
say that you could get in free if you went in during Mass; but gave the
impression that you would have no lights on, and that you would have to come
out when Mass ended. This is not the case. It was as splendid as I remembered
from 1966.
And the styles mix more easily than one could imagine, having seen Seville so
recently, where the Cathedral is so aggressively Gothic.
Next up was the Alcázar, whose gardens contain some very cooling fountains
and basins.
It also has a good collection of Mosaics from the Roman period, most of them
dug up just around the corner from our hotel.
I had to rescue this dog who had gone for a swim in the basin near the
ramparts. Getting in was, as usual, easier than getting out.
We visited a typical Sephardic house. This is the patio, with in the right
foreground the well, and the right background a lift. Otherwise no doubt very
authentic.
No, it's not a keyring, it is a candle holder.
Cordoban houses often have a central patio, or two, into which you can see
from the street.
As in most cities, the garden is all container-grown, and aiming at cool
shade rather than bright colours.
The Guadalquivir was in spate because of all the recent rain. This building
(old mill?) is normally accessible from the river bank.
But the river is not as high as the Romans had designed for
Spring has sprung earlier in Córdoba than in Italy