Spain: Cordoba

Wednesday, Februrary 14. 2007
We arrived in Cordoba a little after 4pm and checked in at this small hotel just a couple of blocks from the city center. I forgot the hotel name but as always, we, again, found challenging ourselves on carrying our big luggages along the small staircases than waiting for the tiny elevators to bring us up on the 2nd floor. Thankfully it was only the 2nd floor!

The girls and I walked to the city center and browsed through some stores before dinner. There were sales everywhere and for someone who is a sucker for sales, I found myself buying a pair of cute, red suede baby jane flats for 10 euros! I returned back to the hotel happy with my purchase. Dinner was okay. We didn't ventured out and ate at the hotel instead. And later on, we all decided to meet up at the lobby to hit up some bars. It was Valentine's day night and we ended up in an Irish pub! The beer was good and one of the guys on our tour treated himself for a car bomb and a shot. I settled for one beer and chatted up with InHee, the girl from S. Korea, in our tour, and Miranda, from Australia. After a couple of hours, we walked back to our hotel for an early start the next day to see Cordoba during the day.

It was early in the morning and we were scheduled for a walking tour around Cordoba. I love walking tours the most. I always feel that a city is best seen by walking through the streets, often, small and not ruined by the city's pedestrians. We began at the old city wall and into La Juderia, the old Jewish quarter which has one of the few remaining synagogues in Spain. The area is a lovely labyrinth of narrow, winding streets, pretty squares and courtyards. We stopped at statue of a well-known Jewish healer (I think, I'm not sure anymore.) I do remember that if we touched his feet, it will bring us luck and good health. So we all crowded around him for a touch on his feet. Not very hygienic but, of course, Elzbieta and I each had our handy hand sanitzer, Purell.

We're obsessed with hand hygiene being healthcare workers - nurses. Elzbieta is a Burn ICU nurse, while I am a Critical Care Surgical Step-down nurse.

The Mezquita Catedral is a must-see in Cordoba. This imposing structure was a mosque and was consecrated into a cathedral. But it was not torn down or destroyed! Instead, inside the existing mosque, a cathedral was built. You enter the mosque via the Patio de los Naranjos. The Patio de los Naranjos is a classic Islamic ablutions courtyard which preserves both its orange trees and fountains. A blend of Moorish and Christian architecture, the interior of the Mezquita Catedral is awe inspiring! The mosque dates back from the 10th century. The forest of columns with its 850 columns, double arches and Byzantine mosaics are breathtaking! The pillars are beautiful with the alternating white and red stripes arches.

This is also one of the largest mosques outside of Mecca. In the 13th century, the mosque was consecrated into a Christian cathedral, an extraordinary mixture of typical Moorish architecture combined with Renaissance, Gothic, and Baroque styles. Thus, being named as Mezquita Catedral.

The Alcazar of the Christian Monarchs contains gardens that are typically Moorish in design with ponds, fountains and aromatic plants despite originating from the Christian era. It is a beautiful place to wander around and take some of the city view from the towers and enjoy the peacefulness of the surrounding garden and soothing sounds of water from the fountain.

As we walk around, we kid around on which among us will brave the eating of the oranges we see in abundance on the sidewalks.

Cordoba like the other cities in the Andalusian region has orange trees along their sidewalks. Elzbieta volunteered to give it a try. Well, I got an orange for her since she couldn't reach it after two attempts. She said the oranges tasted bitter. We already knew that! We were told by our guide at the beginning of the tour when we arrived in Cordoba that the oranges found in the region of Andalusia came from a family of oranges with a bitter taste. We had lunch at the main plaza before meeting up with the group for a short coach bus ride to Seville, one of my favorite cities in Spain!