Córdoba

Córdoba is an ancient city, and was the largest and most important city in Spain during the Muslim conquest.

It now has a much smaller feel, being overshadowed (since the days of the Spanish Empire) by Sevilla, which benefitted from controlling trade with the Americas. After Sevilla, Córdoba was a small town.

I arrived early in the afternoon on a very hot day (my thermometer registered 105F in the shade at about 5PM), without accomodation. A short bus ride from the train station into a part of town known to be populated with "hostals", as inns/pensions are known procured a room on the top floor of a building, without AC, but with a fan. Let's say the room didn't get used much until late that evening.
Entry to the hostal


Street views


Like Sevilla, Córdoba has a mosque that was converted to a church, called the Mezquita. It's really a bit funky inside, because of what the Christians did in the conversion process. Some argued (apparently even in the historic times when some of the changes were made) that they were ruining something very cool. Unfortunately, the pictures don't really do it justice.


Your humble scribe





Córdoba also has an Alcázar, but it's not nearly the same thing that the one in Sevilla is. It's a much plainer Gothic structure, not nearly as large, but also populated with some Roman mosaics, and some nice gardens.





The one evening I spent in Córdoba I shot some street scenes, and visited in on a free concert in a city square near the Mezquita (sadly, fairly bland Spanish pop music sung by vaguely pretty women over recorded music).

The next afternoon I boarded another high-speed AVE train, and was whisked to Madrid.