Hello family and friends..... well so far so good. Left Vancouver April 8th, spent 2 nights (accidentally) in Nice, 1 in Barcelona (ho hum this time), 3 in Sevilla and now we've arrived in Cordoba. We've been travelling by train within Spain and I think both of us feel that the trains have been extremely comfortable, clean and FAST >>>>>. Hotels have been fantastic although I'm a little disappointed that the Hotel Novotel at Nice Aeroport. It has not been forthcoming regarding my MAC plug which I DEFINITELY KNOW I left in Room 901..... the hotel has disavowed finding it. Also, they took 5 days to respond and have not responded to our request as to why Henry was charged an additional 3 Euro. Too bad we are booked in there on our return May 30th... perhaps we'll rethink our reservation.
Ah now, Cordoba. We hailed a taxi at the train terminal in Cordoba and Henry showed the driver our printed Email confirmation with the Hotel address. Due to some confusion on his part and perhaps our not being extremely clear as to his understanding we took a little tour to the wrong hotel. The driver charged us anyway and our trip to the hotel was 3x the cost of the return trip by taxi. Lesson learned. Be sure instructions are clear so there is no misunderstanding. Our hotel is lovely and new (part of the NH chain) and well situated in the old part of Cordoba.
Cordovans are proud of their patios and so they should be. Private, well tended oasis in a city (the core) of narrow streets and echoing noises. They were beautiful! After long days walking just wanted to walk right in, have a cold, cold icy gin and tonic and put up my feet!
Cordoba's big draw is the mosque-turned-cathedral called the Mezquita and gotta say, it's something. The massive former mosque - now a 16th-century church rising up from the middle was once the center of Western Islam and the heart of a cultural capital that rivaled Baghdad and Constantinople. The mosque is remarkably well preserved.
How is that the mosque became a christian church you ask? Well let me give you Joanne's version of Henry's long version.... Firstly there was a young prince named An Al-Rahman.... nice guy who had a large following and claimed Moorish Spain as his own. Al-Rahman's family dominated Sevilla and Granada with the capital being Cordoba. While the rest of the Europe was mired in poverty, ignorance and superstition, Cordoba flourished. This was called the Golden Age. At that time there was a remarkable tolerance and cooperation in the area among the three religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity.... While it would be wonderful if we could get back to that we mustn't be fooled...no church spire could be taller than a minaret......calls to prayer rang out but not church bells. Where did all this insecurity come from amongst the religions? All was well in lala land.... Arabic, Hebrew or Latin... knowledge was shared. It all ended though with a wave of even stricter Islam under new leaders. Cordoba's best were driven to exile.... glory days were over. In 1236 Christians conquered the city and took over the mosque and redecorated.
Our pictures can't possibly do this Cathedral (former Mosque) justice so for those of you who haven't visited, Eugene and Sharon I am sure will agree, you are simply going to have to make the trip yourselves. The simplicity of Islam (lower portion) and extravagance of Christrianity are such a contrast. The building is huge and leaves you awestruck.
Ah now, Cordoba. We hailed a taxi at the train terminal in Cordoba and Henry showed the driver our printed Email confirmation with the Hotel address. Due to some confusion on his part and perhaps our not being extremely clear as to his understanding we took a little tour to the wrong hotel. The driver charged us anyway and our trip to the hotel was 3x the cost of the return trip by taxi. Lesson learned. Be sure instructions are clear so there is no misunderstanding. Our hotel is lovely and new (part of the NH chain) and well situated in the old part of Cordoba.
Cordovans are proud of their patios and so they should be. Private, well tended oasis in a city (the core) of narrow streets and echoing noises. They were beautiful! After long days walking just wanted to walk right in, have a cold, cold icy gin and tonic and put up my feet!
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Cordoba's big draw is the mosque-turned-cathedral called the Mezquita and gotta say, it's something. The massive former mosque - now a 16th-century church rising up from the middle was once the center of Western Islam and the heart of a cultural capital that rivaled Baghdad and Constantinople. The mosque is remarkably well preserved.
How is that the mosque became a christian church you ask? Well let me give you Joanne's version of Henry's long version.... Firstly there was a young prince named An Al-Rahman.... nice guy who had a large following and claimed Moorish Spain as his own. Al-Rahman's family dominated Sevilla and Granada with the capital being Cordoba. While the rest of the Europe was mired in poverty, ignorance and superstition, Cordoba flourished. This was called the Golden Age. At that time there was a remarkable tolerance and cooperation in the area among the three religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity.... While it would be wonderful if we could get back to that we mustn't be fooled...no church spire could be taller than a minaret......calls to prayer rang out but not church bells. Where did all this insecurity come from amongst the religions? All was well in lala land.... Arabic, Hebrew or Latin... knowledge was shared. It all ended though with a wave of even stricter Islam under new leaders. Cordoba's best were driven to exile.... glory days were over. In 1236 Christians conquered the city and took over the mosque and redecorated.
Our pictures can't possibly do this Cathedral (former Mosque) justice so for those of you who haven't visited, Eugene and Sharon I am sure will agree, you are simply going to have to make the trip yourselves. The simplicity of Islam (lower portion) and extravagance of Christrianity are such a contrast. The building is huge and leaves you awestruck.
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Us... enjoying our cafe con leche (coffee with milk) every morning |
Well no blog goes leaving you hungry...... We enjoyed a lovely tapas type meal at a restaurant (can't recall the name) obviously owned by someone involved in bull fighting... gorgeous matador outfits and memorabilia all over the place... We started with meatdeballs (they are so soft and smooth which I think must be a combination of veal and pork with bread soaked in milk). The tomato sauce is so smooth and does not have a sharp acidic taste in the tomatoes. We also had a Seafood Cerviche.... yum... so cool and refreshing. Loaded with Octopus and Mussels . VEGETARIANS SHOULD AVERT THEIR EYES NOW (Kennedy.....) We had Oxtails (aka Bulls Tails) and they were superb!
Time lapse it took us about 15 mins. to polish these off.... d e l i c i o u s...
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I think the expressions says it all... |
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Feeling his oats Henry tackled the Bull - it was an impasse.. |
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