Michele and Drew's Excellent Spanish Adventure: May 13-June 1 Playing tour guide in San Sebastian, Madrid, and Andalucia (Part 3: Cordoba)

May 23-24 Cordoba

Mezquita/Cathedral

Like the distinct layers of colored rock that one sees rafting through the Grand Canyon, Cordoba’s famous Mesquita-Cathedral exemplifies Spain’s richly layered cultural heritage.

It was first a Roman temple, then a Visogoth church from about the 500’s, then the extraordinary mosque (mesquita) was built starting in the late 700’s, and later this was modified to become the Cathedral of Cordoba by CharlesV, who was apparently not too impressed with the result of his “remodel”.

distinctive arches

Cordoba was the “diamond” of Al Andalus, Islamic Spain from the late 700’s till it was taken back by the Christians during the

Reconquista in 1236. I’m finding the 700ish years of Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula to be just as difficult and convoluted to wrap my head around as the rest of European history. It’s not really surprising that the “story” of the Moors in Spain is not as black and white as many make it out to be. The Moors are not an ethnic group, but refer to the Muslim northern Africans who were mostly Berbers from Morocco. They invaded the Iberian Peninsula under the leadership of the Arab Caliphate back in Damscus (Syria). This of course raised the question, “when did the Arabs actually spread Islam and rule over northern Africa?” I needed to connect the dots (Wikipedia/internet to the rescue).

Muhammad died in 632 and there was a period of rapid Islamic expansion in the Middle East (and beyond), with plenty of turmoil in the fight for leadership I might add. From 649 and over the next 50 years, they took northern Africa with military force from the ruling Byzantines, destroying Carthage in the process. The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire was Greek speaking, but self identified as Romans. They were Christians. Their capitol was Constantinople until the Ottoman Turks conquered it.

The Arabs continued moving westward, eventually reaching and suppressing the indigenous Berber population in what we now think of as Morocco. It struck me when I read that in that final Arab military campaign, aside from the usual civilian slaughter, 300,000 people were taken as slaves. A military leader of that campaign was given 60,000 of those folks for himself. He sold half to raise money, and kept half to use for military purposes. Could these slaves have made up a large part of the forces that only a few years later, would successfully invaded Spain?

Meanwhile, the ruling Visogoth’s were going through their own tough times on the Iberian Peninsula, with lots of infighting and a coup, which put Roderick in power as king in 710. His main focus became fighting the persistent Arab invasions in the south. He was killed in battle about 2 years later (lots of intrigue around that. Might have been a setup). The Arabs, led by a Berber general (a former freed slave) moved up the peninsula. A Visogoth leader negotiated with the newly appointed Arab governor to allow Christians to stay if they paid a heavy tax.

Things seemed to be going pretty well for the new Arab “governor”; However, back in Damascus, Caliphate Sullayman started to get nervous about the governor’s power, so had him assassinated and put his head on a post in Damascus. Seems like Muslim infighting was more the rule than the exception. There were times when the Jews, Christians and Muslims all got along. This was a time of prosperity and scientific advances. It is pretty clear that for some period Cordoba was a magnate for great thinkers… scientist, philosophers, and doctors, and was very advanced compared to the rest of Europe at its peak. However, when the fundamentalist Muslims were in charge, life was miserable for the Jews and Christians who were eventually forced to convert or be banished. This of course hurt the economy, resulting in further destabilization. The Berbers were the bulk of the original fighting force. Over time their numbers grew, as did their power. Our recent trip to Morocco has given me a tangible feel for the Berber culture.

Palacio Viana

Palacio Viana Patio

In present day Cordova I saw a lot of what appeared to be riad style dwellings, reminiscent of what we saw in Morocco, with open central courtyards. What was interesting was that they used what appeared to be re-purposed old Roman pillars, and capitals in the construction.

The Mezquita-Cathedral lived up to my expectations with its stacked horseshoe shaped, red striped arches, and an oddly placed domed central alter with the usual churchy-glam one comes to expect in Spain. We ambled through the old walled town with its narrow cobbled Jewish quarter and adorable plazas.

Within walled Cordoba

The tour we did of the Palacio Viana was a wonderful surprise; it is real gem. It gave us a feel for how the rich might have lived during the Spanish Renaissance (the tour is in Spanish but the English handout is very thorough). It doesn’t have the opulence of a royal palace; its magic is that it gives you as sense of the people who actually lived there and how they lived. It dates from the 14^th century and evolved over time with additions. until it was sold

by the last family member in 1981 and became a museum. (No photos allowed inside, probably a good thing as it keeps the tour moving).

Another of Cordoba’s unexpected highlights for me was that we coincidentally arrived on the first day of the Feria, Cordoba’s big May festival. We followed the parade-like flow of Spaniards from the old walled town across the ancient bridge to the fair grounds. Locals gather, and promenaded like peacocks dressed in their finest or craziest Feria regalia. People in traditional riding or driving costume were mounted on horseback or drove carriages. Women dressed in polka dotted flamenco dresses and giant silk flowers atop their heads gathered in groups chatting and fanning themselves in the heat. We took a lot of photos, which nobody seemed to mind. We were sorry we couldn’t stay longer. We made our way, on the scenic 3 hr. bus trip from Cordoba to Granada, surrounded by fields of sunflowers and groves of olives trees extending to the horizon-line. The occasional small town dotted the rolling landscape, always first spotted by its steepled cathedral.