Joanie and Tony's Travel Adventures: Cordoba and Granada

We left Sevilla at 8am for a short drive to Cordoba where we toured The Great Mezquita (The Great Mosque) – Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady. If you are confused, that is understandable. Groundbreaking for the original mosque (most of which is still standing) was in 784, and it was completed in 987 – just over 200 years. The building was originally a medieval mosque with a rectangular hall that had aisles that were perpendicular to the normal direction in which Muslims were accustomed to praying. The Muslims who led the construction of the mosque were said to be very conciliatory towards the Christians of Cordoba. They used and valued the skills, crafts and artwork of many Christians in the construction of the mosque.

When King Ferdinand III of Castille conquered Cordoba in 1236, the mosque was consecrated as a Catholic Cathedral. Future kings added other Catholic additions including a Cathedral nave (main body of the church which provides a central approach to the high altar), and multiple chapels (including chapels honoring my confirmation saint, St. Theresa and Tony’s patron saint, St. Anthony). Nothing I could write here cold do this place justice. Essentially, this is an enormous Catholic Cathedral built within a ginormous Muslim Mosque. Just fantastic to experience. Truly.

After our tour, we encountered some protesters. Apparently, for the past 14 years, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady. This Muslim campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, by both Spanish Catholic authorities, and the Vatican. Nevertheless, the protests continue.

Then we had lunch at a local restaurant. I am still not sure what our first course was. It was some sort of cold soup. I suspect it was some sort of vegetable puree in which we put small bits of chopped cucumbers, chopped scallions and croutons. The soup was red, but it was not tomato. It was tasty, but I am still not sure what it was. Next we got some fried things served with mayonnaise. Some in the group think it was fried potatoes. Again, I am not convinced. I think it might have been fried eggplant. I declined the pie, but Tony says it tasted “fruity.” Who knows?

Then we left Cordoba for Granada.

When we arrived in Granada, it was blessedly cooler. Of course, we got into the hotel, and it was filled with obnoxious children who were obviously high on sugar and caffeine blowing whistles and being as annoying as possible while their parents got drunk. Nice.

This morning we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast for heading out to visit to the Alhambra. The Alhambra’s Islamic Palaces were built for the last Muslim emirs (princes) in Spain. I have tried to include some photos of the palace and the gardens, but nothing here shows the true splendor of this place.