Date: 29th September 2019
Travelled: 180 kms from Ronda to Córdoba both in the Region of Andalucía
Visited: Córdoba
Stayed: Córdoba municipal aire, with services, N37.87407, W04.78792
Budget: 113 days @ €74 per day
We service the Hymer, say goodbye to our neighbours and roll out of Ronda heading north-east into a series of low hills. The further we drive the more olive plantations we see. It’s soon obvious we are travelling through olive country.
Being Sunday there is little traffic and we make good time.
A few road photos on our way to Córdoba.
Cordova, Andalucía, Spain
Map of Córdoba, the icon on our parking spot
We stop for a late breakfast and coffee under some shade arriving in Córdoba about 3 hours later. The car-park has some shade but there is little relief from the mid-thirties afternoon heat. We manage a rest before heading out to explore Córdoba in the late afternoon.
Córdoba is now a provincial city, but it was once the capital of Roman Spain and for 3 centuries the heart of the western Islamic empire. Córdoba’s main attraction is La Mezquita.
We find La Mezquita easily enough and check out the cost of entry and times for tomorrow. Once an Islamic Mosque and later a Christian Cathedral, La Mezquita has some interesting doorways.
Pam is still being careful of what she eats, so we have dinner in the Hymer. We spend a rather warm and uncomfortable night despite it being almost the end of September.
It’s still warm in the morning when we walk uptown to do some exploring.
The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba started as a mosque in 788. It was built by Abd al-Rahman I. It was extended in 848 by Abd al-Rahman II who added another 8 naves. A new minaret was added in 951 by Abd al-Rahman III. A second much larger extension was completed in 991 by Almanzor, hajib of the caliph Hisham II. In other words the Moorish dynasty threw a lot of money and resources at the mosque for 250 years.
The Caliphate of Cordoba collapses in 1031 and the rot sets in. With the Spanish conquest of Córdoba the mosque is consecrated as a Catholic Church in 1236. During the 15th century the Bishops get to work building a Cathedral within the structure of the mosque. Other than the conversion of the minaret into a bell tower (16th century). Must have been one hell of a job for the roofing plumber, but as it rarely rains in Córdoba maybe it wasn’t such a big deal.
The choir 
Cannot remember ?
With another hot afternoon and evening predicted for Córdoba we return to the Hymer for a very late lunch before packing up to depart. We service the Hymer, pay the exorbitant parking fee and make for the freeway. Better to be driving in the afternoon heat that sitting in it. So that was Córdoba and its fabulous Mezquita…
Michael and Pam
