Trip to Cordoba, Spain

Friday afternoon I took a day trip to Cordoba, Spain with my roommate Nacho, his coworker Javier and my friend Jennifer. There was a "Patio Festival" in the city and that was the main reason for our visit. It is very common in Cordoba for the buildings to have a communal patio that meets in the middle of the building with an open roof and filled with flowers, plants, and usually has a fountain of some sort. These leafy patios have provided summer shade and a place to talk and entertain for centuries. The festival had 3 routes around the city where there were official patios to view. Some were very hard to find but all were marked with 2 small trees at the entrance on the street. 

We left Seville at 8.00 am and had a short 45 minute ride to Cordoba. We had some breakfast once we got there and walked around the city for a bit. The Roman colony of Corduba was founded in 152 BC and became the capital of the 'Baetica province' that covered most of Andalusia. in 711 Cordoba fell to Muslim invaders and soon became the Islamic capital of the Iberian Peninsula. It was a multicultural city with Jews, Arabs and Christians all living in the same city. It was later captured by Christians in 1236. Because of the 3 distinct cultures and religions, there are many artifacts and places to visit.

Roman Bridge

After walking around a bit we went to check out the "Mezquita". The Cathedral and formal Great Mosque of Cordoba is considered one of the greatest creations of Islamic architecture, with its golden mosaics and rows of red and white striped double arches that seem to continue on forever. Most of the Mezquita is the same as before except for 2 major changes. After the Christians regained Cordoba they decided to keep the mosque as it was except they plopped a large cathedral in the middle of it. They also closed 19 doors which would have filled the Mezquita with much light. This is one of the problems you will notice if you have the chance to visit; it is difficult to take photos because of the low low light. We lucked out and got in 5 minutes before 11 and before 11 you don't have to pay the 8 euro ticket price. 

Cathedral in the center of the Mezquita

The famous red and white striped double arches

After visiting the Mezquita we started the routes to see the patios. We literally walked for 10 hours through the city that day looking at the patios. I had such a great time but by 9 pm all I wanted to do was rest. Below is some of the photos I took from the patios. If anyone ever has the chance to visit Cordoba, I would recommend coming in May during the festival. 

City streets of Cordoba

Horse getting a bath and loving every second of it

Jennifer and I

Red pots are set in same pattern as arches in the Mesquita

booya

Figuring out where to go next

singing to himself as he lit a bunch of candles

trying to find the route again

We got back into Seville around 10 pm at night. I slept like a baby on the train ride back. It was a long day but definitely worth the trip.