Welcome to Córdoba – another center of the history of Spain. In this city we can completely enjoy a historical city with an impressive old town. In addition, there is a mosque-cathedral here. We haven’t seen anything like that yet – very exciting!

Old town of Córdoba

As already in Mérida, the mixture of cultures is omnipresent. However, it is not a mixture in today’s sense – many cultures at the same time in a metropolitan area. Rather, it is a succession of different cultures that have made use of today’s Córdoba as an important city.
The roots of Córdoba go back to the Carthaginians and even further. These were followed by the Romans. Later, in turn, came the Muslim influence. This is how the special main attraction came about – the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba. Today’s old town exudes a charming flair and invites you to stroll through many narrow streets. The houses are lined up close to each other and the majority of them form continuous rows of houses along the alleys. Many streets here are still paved and planted with beautiful orange trees.

Speaking of orange trees, there are really a lot of orange trees and while we are in Córdoba, the oranges are ripe. We wonder if the oranges would be edible. We pick two oranges, take them with us and on the further way we search the internet for an explanation. Unfortunately, the picking was not worthwhile at all, they are bitter oranges which can be used for perfumes and other cosmetic products, but do not offer a culinary experience. As fast as we picked them, we got rid of the oranges – what a pity!

Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba

The mosque-cathedral is the biggest sight of Córdoba. Originally it was built as a mosque. Later it was rebuilt with a Gothic nave and the minaret became the bell tower. Officially, it is now a church, but with many original elements of the mosque. For example, the huge prayer hall with its 856 columns. We have probably never seen such an impressive room.

Around the prayer hall are several smaller rooms and niches which are dedicated to various holy figures of different faiths.  We take our time to let the impressions work on us and to take pictures.

The courtyard of the cathedral mosque is also worth seeing. Many (bitter) orange trees have been planted inside the walls and make the courtyard really alive with the rich green of the leaves and the orange-colored oranges.

The bell tower overlooks not only the Cathedral Mosque, but much of the historic center of Cordoba. The many tiled roofs and the jumble of alleys is again impressive in a different way from this perspective.

The rest of our visit to Córdoba we stroll through the alleys and let the city take effect on us. On the Plaza de la Corredera, the historic city square surrounded by beautiful old buildings, we enjoy some tapas and a cold beer before we walk back to our Ben. On the way back we pass the Roman bridge of Córdoba. Compared to the longest preserved Roman bridge in Mérida, it is quite a bit shorter. However, the Roman bridge in Córdoba is a little more beautifully maintained and a little more magnificent. We can’t decide which one we like better. Both Roman bridges are very impressive in their own right and we wouldn’t want to have missed either one.