Cordoba

Ten centuries ago Córdoba was the capital of Muslim Spain. With a population of 900,000, it was Europe's largest city and a worldwide cultural and intellectual center. Later, greedy hordes sacked the city, tearing down ancient buildings and carting off many art treasures. Despite these assaults, Córdoba still retains traces of its former glory -- in fact, of the three great medieval cities of Andalusia, Córdoba best preserves its Moorish legacy.

Today this provincial capital is known chiefly for its mosque, the world-famous Mezquita, but it abounds with other artistic and architectural riches, especially its lovely homes. The old Arab and Jewish quarters are famous for their narrow streets lined with whitewashed houses boasting flower-filled patios and balconies. Córdoba has recently joined the ranks of UNESCO's World Heritage sites.

From the 8th to the 11th centuries, the Umayyad caliphs brought an opulent lifestyle and great learning and culture to Córdoba while most of the rest of Europe languished in the Dark Ages. In those days, Córdoba -- not Madrid -- was the capital of Iberia. In its heyday, a pilgrimage to the Great Mezquita in Córdoba by a Muslim was said to have equaled a journey to Mecca.

Prior to the arrival of the Arabs, Córdoba had prospered in Roman times. Seneca the Elder (4 B.C. to A.D. 65), one of the greatest philosophers of the ancient world, lived here.

After the fall of the Romans, the city declined when it was taken over by the Visigoths, who in turn gave way to the more cultured Arabs. The invaders brought in scientists, scholars, and philosophers, while at the same time generating great prosperity based on trade.

Córdoba became known for its pleasure palaces, including harems and luxurious baths. But it also boasted a library with 400,000 hand-copied books. The city was host to the first university established in Europe and Cordovan silverwork and tooled leathers became famous around the world. Infighting among the Muslims led to the collapse of Córdoba in 1031, when it disintegrated as a center of the caliphate. Seville replaced Córdoba at that time as the capital of Iberia.

Even in this period of decline, Córdoba saw the birth of Moisés Maimónides (1135-1204), the fabled Jewish philosopher and Talmudist, who was born in the Judería (Jewish ghetto). In time he was driven from the city by the Almohads and sought refuge in the Ayyubid court in Egypt. There he became the physician to Saladin, and penned a number of works that still have a profound impact on world thought.

The Reconquista, the recapturing of Muslim Andalusia by the Christians, occurred in 1236 long before Ferdinand and Isabella took back Granada in 1492. Under various Catholic monarchs, Córdoba went into a decline that lasted for centuries.

Today Córdoba's glory is long gone, but you can wander its streets and see what used to be. There's a lot more here than the Mezquita: You can stroll the narrow, cobblestone streets and flower-filled patios of the Judería for hours, wander through Queen Isabella's garden in the Alcázar, visit Renaissance churches and palaces, explore some of Andalusia's finest museums, and even visit the nearby excavations of Madinat Al-Zahra, a country palace and royal city built by a 10th-century caliph.

Córdoba is also a modern city with broad, tree-lined boulevards and an up-to-date business community with computers and cellphones. You can live in modern chain hotels of a high international standard, but if you prefer the old-fashioned Andalusian lifestyle, in certain restaurants and palaces you can also truly live in the past.

Highlights of this city:

Puente Romano
Among Córdoba's many sights is the Puente Romano (Roman bridge), dating from the time of Augustus and crossing the Guadalquivir River about 1 block south of the Mezquita. It's hardly Roman anymore because not one of its 16 supporting arches is original. The sculptor Bernabé Gómez del Río erected a statue of St. Raphael in the middle of the bridge in 1651.

Mosque of the Caliphs
In the 8th century, this Mezquita (Great Mosque) became the crowning glory of Muslim architecture in the West. With its fantastic labyrinth of red-and-white candy-striped Moorish horseshoe arches, it remains one of the grandest attractions in Europe. Not even the Catholic cathedral placed in its center can destroy the impact of this "forest" of architectural pillars. We suggest that you visit the phantasmagoric rows of columns and arches first, saving the florid cathedral for last.

The caliph of Córdoba, Abd el-Rahman I, built this place of worship in 785. To do so, he razed an earlier Visigothic basilica, which itself had replaced a Roman temple. Initially, the Great Mosque covered 23,400 sq. m (251,000 sq. ft.). The Mezquita was built in various stages, following an overall plan of a crenellated square perimeter enclosing El Patio de los Naranjos (Court of Orange Trees), which is one of the principal entrances to the mosque. This courtyard was redesigned following the Reconquista. Still visible are the irrigation channels dug by the Muslims. Puerta del Perdón (Gate of Forgiveness), on the north wall, is the former entrance into the mosque.

Before the Catholic takeover, the mosque had a total of 900 pillars. Remarkably, 856 pillars are still standing. Their red and white peppermint stripes are formed in large part by white stone and redbrick voussoirs. The pillars are also built of onyx, granite, marble, and jasper, filling a total of 19 aisles. A second row of arches set above the first almost doubles the height of the ceiling. Some of the most interesting pillars came from the ancient Visigothic basilica. You can pick these out by the impressive carvings on their capitals. Since some of the pillars brought in were taller than others, they had to be sunk into the floor of the mosque. The oldest known pillar came from Egypt and dates from the reign of Amenophis IV.

In the very heart of the Mezquita lies the Mihrab, where the faithful gathered for ritual prayers. Bordered by Koranic sculptures and with carved stucco adorning its upper walls, the Mihrab was the holy sanctuary where the Koran was kept. It was also said to have another precious treasure: a bone from the arm of the prophet Muhammad. The bejeweled Koran was copied by the caliph's own hand and anointed with his blood. This sanctum is covered by a scallop-shaped dome, which is richly decorated with beautiful colored mosaics and gilded tiles.

In this area you can see the Maksura, the enclosure reserved for the caliph and his entourage. This most sacred part of the architectural ensemble is roofed by a trio of ribbed domes resting on interweaving multifoil arches. One might call such florid and flamboyant architecture "Islamic baroque"; it features golden mosaics, arabesque, carvings, cupolas, palm-leaf motifs framed by Sufic script, and marble panels. The Byzantine mosaics, which have hundreds of pieces of tiny gold, glass, and ceramic tiles, were a gift of the 10th-century emperor of Constantinople. The frieze in gold and blue that runs all the way around the Mihrab lists the 99 names of Allah.

In later years the addition of Christian chapels destroyed the architectural harmony of the Mezquita. At the far end of the mosque stands the Capilla Villaviciosa which was completed in 1371. The chapel features a stalactite ceiling and stunning plaster lacework. Also added was the Chapel Royal decorated in the 1200s with mudéjar stucco.

Although the people of Córdoba rallied against the idea, Emperor Carlos V ordered that part of the mosque be torn down to make way for the Catedral, which disfigured the mosque. Later he regretted his decision, saying to his architects, "What you are building here can be found anywhere, but what you have destroyed exists nowhere." Construction began in 1523 in the Gothic style, although later additions were in the Plateresque and baroque styles, and even the Renaissance shows up in decorative figures in the medallions in the apsidal vaulting in 1560.
The greatest achievement is the baroque choir stalls by Pedro Duque Cornejo, the Andalusian sculptor, created around 1750. He depicted on either side of the stalls the Ascension and scenes from the lives of Jesus and the Virgin Mary in lifelike detail. Almost equally stunning are two pulpits in marble, mahogany, and jasper. One of the pulpits rests on a pink marble ox.

Located in the Sacristy, next to the Mihrab, is the Treasury, displaying beautiful examples of Cordovan silver and gold artistry.

Jewish Quarter
North and west of the Mezquita is one of the most intriguing medieval ghettos remaining in Europe. Two of the world's greatest thinkers, the Jewish philosopher Maimónides and the Arab philosopher and mathematician Averroès, once called the Judería home.

No longer Jewish or even Arab, the neighborhood has been restored and makes for one of the most fascinating strolls in Andalusia. (Don't forget to bring along a good pair of walking shoes.) The only physical evidence left of its former Jewish population is the synagogue. You can spend at least 2 hours here wandering about -- and be prepared to get lost. Many upper-middle-class Cordobeses now occupy these old whitewashed houses and have restored them. You can enter the area through the Puerta de Almódovar, at the western frontier.

The Judería reached the zenith of its prosperity under the Moorish occupation (believe it or not), especially during the caliphate (929-1031). A great Talmudic school was founded here in an era of tolerance. The Judería is also filled with delightful little squares that you'll stumble into after wandering down a dark alleyway into the bright sunshine of Andalusia.

If there is one street you should seek out, it's Calleja de las Flores, "little street of flowers." Actually, it's little more than an alleyway lying off Calle Victor Bosco and Calle Blanco Belmonte. Somehow the wrought-iron grilles, potted flowers, and window boxes filled with geraniums appear more adorable here than elsewhere. Certainly the patios of the various houses deserve some prize, and it's perfectly acceptable to walk along gazing into the courtyards. The citizens of Córdoba take pride in showing off their patios as part of the city's tradition.