Captivating Cordoba

There is much more to Cordoba than the Mezquite, as dominant as that is. Yesterday and today we have been exploring other aspects of this delightful city. First developed as a prominent city by the Romans, it was then capital of the Moorish kingdom in this region from early in the eighth century until it was reconquered by the Christians in 1236. Cordoba is a magnet for history lovers. Naturally, we have explored as many of its treasures as we could find in the time available to us, including the Mezquita, the Alcazar (fortress) and the Medina Al-zahara. The Alcazar was built by the Christians in 1328. It contains a castle of 4,100 square metres with walls that connect the four corner towers (one of which we climbed) by walkways. Inside the castle are Moorish-style baths, a hall that housed the former chapel of the Inqusition (and it was quite chilling to sit in a hall where so many were sentenced to torture and death) and mosaic art from the second and third centuries CE. The highlight for Elizabeth was the garden - 55,000 square metres of pure delight - columns of cypress pines, fruit trees, ornamentals, ponds and fountains. Another brilliant experience was our short bus trip to the Medina Al-zahara, once a mighty Muslim city-palace, established in the tenth century. We spent hours wandering through the ruins (an archaelogical site since 1910) which include residential quarters, guards' quarters, the city square, stables, gardens, the sultan's private quarters and entrance gates, and a mosque which is said to have the truest direction to Mecca anywhere in the Islamic world. We ended our visit there with lunch - we had no idea what we were ordering, but enjoyed our couscous salad, sliced pork, fried egg and chips. Today (Sunday) was an easy day - a leisurely stroll through the ancient Jewish quarter; a visit to a tenth century house that has been kept in its original condition; back to the hotel and a swim in the beautiful pool (28 degrees today). Tomorrow - back to Madrid, then an overnight train to Lisbon, Portugal.