Cordoba - a Tale of Many Cultures
First, a bit of a history lesson. In the 10th century Cordoba was one of the most important capitals in Europe. Jews, Muslims and Christians all lived peacefully together, and important philosophers, scientists and artists emerged from this city. There were some 70 libraries that contained things such as translated manuscripts of Plato and Aristotle. The streets were paved. There was running water that was piped in from the outskirts of the city. At night, the city was lit with oil lamps. And the city's Mezquita mosque was one of the wonders of the world. It was huge, with hundreds and hundreds of double arches that went on for as far as the eye could see. For the many people who went there for Friday prayers it must have been awe-inspiring and must have had the feel of praying in an olive garden, the arches being the branches of trees. Compare this with the rest of Europe, which at that time was wallowing in the Dark Ages.
However it seems we humans have a habit of destroying much of what is good. By 1147 a stricter form of Islam moved into Spain and many of Cordoba's best and brightest were driven into exile. Then in the 1200s the Christians conquered the city, driving out or murdering anyone who wasn't of their religious elk. Even after the remaining Jews had converted to Christianity, many of them were killed because the Christians suspected that the Jewish people were secretly practicing their own religion.
The beautiful Mosque? Well, the Christians decided to keep it, but they plunked a huge cathedral right in the middle of it! And they closed off many of the arches that led out into the gardens, so it is now a dark forboding place. I felt sick when I saw it. While we spent a fair bit of time in the Mosque, I tried whenever possible to position myself in places where I couldn't see the cathedral, and we have no photos of the 'converted' part of the building.
As an aside, Joe was telling me that the Catholic church was approached recently and asked if they would give up this building so it could be used as an inter-denominational place of worship. The church would have none of it.
The day after we visited the mosque we went to a tiny synagogue, one of only three that still exist in Spain from the time before the Christian 'unification'. It was beautiful because of its simplicity. It seemed to have a calming effect on me - I was still fuming from what I had seen the day before.
Interior wall of the synagogue
Of course all this ranting about church and state works up an appetite in a person. This is one of my favourite dishes from Spain....gazpacho soup topped with chopped egg and some of their famous ham. Mmmmm.
Wandering the streets of Cordoba we stumbled upon a little artisan's leather shop. Beautiful stuff. This photo was snapped just outside the shop, where I left mucho euros!
6:37:14 AM 
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