Excursion to Cordoba

We had our first excursion of the summer with a trip to Cordoba to visit a cathedral/mosque and a synagogue. By bus, it is approximately 100 km from Sevilla.

Here are Carson and Thomas running to avoid missing the bus.

After the cathedral and synagogue, we had a couple of hours free to explore on our own. It wasn't nearly enough. When we told our host what we had seen, she was very upset with us that we hadn't stayed longer to see more and to eat some of the food that Corduba is known for. But, its a short train ride away and we or the students can go back on any Saturday or Sunday.

Fortunately, no one was late for the bus going back and we were soon headed back to Savilla.

In Cordoba, everywhere you look there is something incredibly beautiful, interesting, historic, or all of the above. If you have a digital camera, you shoot until the batteries are dead.

From where the bus dropped us, we walked across a bridge originally constructed by the Romans (with some recent upgrades) and along the side of the Cathedral before entering the Plaza of Oranges at the main entrance.

Spain and Cordoba are interesting because of the changing control by the Romans church, Moorish Muslims, and Spanish Catholics. The first incarnation of the cathedral was constucted beginning in approximately 600 A.D. by the Romans. After the conquest of Cordoba and Spain by the Moors, the Roman church was demolished with the Roman columns saved and reused in a Muslim mosque with construction beginning in 784 A.D. It was expanded twice to become the second largest mosque in the world. Cordoba was recaptured by King Ferdinand III in 1236. Rather than destroying the mosque, the Spanish Catholics reconfigured it into a cathedral in the 14th century.

There must be a hundred Moorish styled arches standing on the repurposed Roman columns

Then, mixed with the Moorish influence, are all the trappings of a classic European Catholic church.

Under the Moors, the Jews were allowed to live and practice their faith without much persecution. After Cordoba was recaptured by King Ferdinand, things were not so good. The synagogue that we visited was built to be inconspicuous from the street but was very ornate on the inside.

After seeing the cathedral and synagogue, we had a couple of hours free to wander on our own. It wasn't nearly enough. When we told our host "mom" what we had seen and done, she was very upset with us that we hadn't stayed longer to see more and to try the food that Cordoba is famous for. But, it is only a short train ride away so we or the students can go back on some Saturday or Sunday.

Fortunately, everyone made it back to the bus on time and we were soon on our way back to Sevilla.

Our guide for the trip was Sara. Her husband, Juan Manuel, and children, David and Sophie, came as well and had a great time, too. Muchas gracias, Sara. It was great.

There are still many more great pictures from the trip than will fit here. If you would like to see the complete set, click the link below.

Cordoba Slide Show