Friday, June 5th:
Today we travelled to Cordoba with a
stop along the way for Sherry tasting at the Alvear Winery. At the winery, we were taken into the cellars
where the sherry making process was described.
The fermentation process takes 2-1/2 years with a mixing process that
occurs in three stages. In the last
stage, a portion of the last formation is mixed into the top cask. At the end, there was a sherry tasting where
we tasted three sherries ranging from the driest to the most sweet, which is
made from dried grapes (raisins) and had a very distinctive raisin taste. In fact, the smell was of a freshly opened box of Sunkist Raisins! Great dessert sherry.
We then drove to Cordoba and had about
an hour before the Mesquita tour would begin.
I took a brief walking tour of the Juderia section of the city. The Juderia was the Jewish ghetto during
medieval times and the home of two of the world’s greatest thinkers – the
Jewish philosopher Maimonides and the Arab philosopher and mathematician
Averroes. As usual, the streets and alleyways are very narrow and winding.
It also contained numerous plaza’s and homes with courtyards containing flowering plants. An interesting aspect of the Juderia section is the old Synagogue, which was built in 1315, but it was unfortunately closed. This is one of Spain’s three remaining pre-Inquisition synagogues. Currently there is not an active synagogue in Cordoba, because of the lack of congregants.
Next we had a guided tour of the Cathedral of Cordoba, which is referred to as the Mosque Cathedral or the Mosquita. Originally on this site existed the early 6th century basilica of San Vicente (Visigoth), which was used after the Islamic invasion of Cordoba and then destroyed in 785 for the construction of the first portion of the Mosquita. This Mosque, called the Aljama Mosque, was considered the most important sanctuary of Western Islam. At this time and until the Christian retaking of the area in 1236 by King Ferdinand III, Cordoba was the capital of Al-Andalus. The Mosque was not only a religious center but also a site of social, cultural, and political activity. It was a unique in that in the expansion work Byzantine artists sent by the Christian emperor Niceforo Focas did must of the artwork and he also provided the beautiful mosaics used in the construction of the Mihrab (sacred area from where the imam leads prayer). The total structure is a labyrinth of red-and-white candy-striped Moorish double horseshoe arches that creates a “forest” of architectural pillars. The pillars, except for those in the final expansion that covered 8 aisles, all came from Roman ruins in the area and are marked by different capitals. The earlier arches are candy-striped due to the alternating stone and brick used to construct the arches to provide materials of different coefficients of expansion and ability to withstand earthquakes. Later arches were of one material, but the arches were placed on thick slabs of lead to achieve the same result. When completed with all the expansions, the mosque had a total of 900 pillars. Of these, 856 pillars are still standing in the 19 aisles. Because some of the reused pillars were taller than others, these were sunk into the floor.
It also contained numerous plaza’s and homes with courtyards containing flowering plants. An interesting aspect of the Juderia section is the old Synagogue, which was built in 1315, but it was unfortunately closed. This is one of Spain’s three remaining pre-Inquisition synagogues. Currently there is not an active synagogue in Cordoba, because of the lack of congregants.
Next we had a guided tour of the Cathedral of Cordoba, which is referred to as the Mosque Cathedral or the Mosquita. Originally on this site existed the early 6th century basilica of San Vicente (Visigoth), which was used after the Islamic invasion of Cordoba and then destroyed in 785 for the construction of the first portion of the Mosquita. This Mosque, called the Aljama Mosque, was considered the most important sanctuary of Western Islam. At this time and until the Christian retaking of the area in 1236 by King Ferdinand III, Cordoba was the capital of Al-Andalus. The Mosque was not only a religious center but also a site of social, cultural, and political activity. It was a unique in that in the expansion work Byzantine artists sent by the Christian emperor Niceforo Focas did must of the artwork and he also provided the beautiful mosaics used in the construction of the Mihrab (sacred area from where the imam leads prayer). The total structure is a labyrinth of red-and-white candy-striped Moorish double horseshoe arches that creates a “forest” of architectural pillars. The pillars, except for those in the final expansion that covered 8 aisles, all came from Roman ruins in the area and are marked by different capitals. The earlier arches are candy-striped due to the alternating stone and brick used to construct the arches to provide materials of different coefficients of expansion and ability to withstand earthquakes. Later arches were of one material, but the arches were placed on thick slabs of lead to achieve the same result. When completed with all the expansions, the mosque had a total of 900 pillars. Of these, 856 pillars are still standing in the 19 aisles. Because some of the reused pillars were taller than others, these were sunk into the floor.
The Mihrab, where the faithful gathered for ritual prayers, is bordered by
Koranic sculptures and carved stucco. This part is covered by a scallop-shaped
dome, richly decorated with beautiful colored mosaics and gilded tiles. The
Maksura, enclosure for the caliph and his entourage, is gorgeous with a ceiling
of triple ribbed domes resting on interweaving multifoil arches. There are
golden mosaics, arabesque, carvings, cupolas, palm-leaf motifs, and marble
panels. The Byzantine mosaics, which were a gift from emperor Niceforo Focas,
contain hundreds of pieces of tiny gold, glass, and ceramic tiles. The 99 names
of Allah are in the gold and blue frieze around the Mihrab.
Once the Christians, under Ferdinand
III, re-took Cordoba in 1236, plans were made to convert the mosque into a
Christian cathedral. Following much controversy, in 1523 work began to
construct a gothic, renaissance, and baroque main chapel, transept, and choir
within the midst of the mosque. The main chapel altarpiece is baroque and the
ceiling contains domed sections for each architectural style. The choir stalls (mahogany
from Cuba) are outstanding in baroque design and were created around 1750. They
depict the Ascension and scenes from the lives of Jesus and the Virgin Mary in
lifelike detail. The Gothic aspect of
the cathedral towers about 90 feet above the mosque and is very apparent in an
exterior view of the Mosquita. In addition, the minaret was enclosed to produce
the current bell tower that is prominent in the overall mosque-cathedral
complex structure.
A stroll into the Treasury permits you
to see the extensive display of Cordovan silver and gold artistry held by the
Church. There is also a crucifix where the body is carved from one ivory tusk,
with attached ivory arms. The exquisite
10 ft gold and silver Corpus Christi
monstrance had been removed from its enclosure and was in the cathedral ready
for Sunday’s Corpus Christi procession. Upon
exiting the mosque, we entered the orange tree courtyard that replaced the
original palm tree courtyard. The belfry at the north side of the courtyard is
crowned by a sculpture of San Rafael, the guardian archangel of the city. The
main entrance to the cathedral complex is the Door of Forgiveness in the base
of the belfry.
From here our tour took us to the Calle
Flores, which contains a lot of geraniums in pots on the walls of this alleyway. We then proceeded to the Juderia and walked
the narrow streets of this section, which I had explored earlier in the
day. Our tour concluded back at the
Mosquita. We decided to catch dinner at
a small restaurant where we had mixed paella on a courtyard that overlooked the
Roman Bridge. Returning to the Mosquita,
we attended the 8 pm mass and performance of the IPC choir in the
cathedral. The acoustics of this
gothic/renaissance/baroque structure are outstanding. After the performance, we relaxed at a
restaurant/bar and then walked across the Roman Bridge to our bus for the
return trip to Seville. From the bridge,
there were gorgeous twilight views of the Mosquita, which is very prominent on
the skyline. We arrived back at the
hotel at 12:15 pm for a very short night of sleep. Tomorrow we depart at 7:30 am for a day in
Granada.
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