Cordoba; Spain

It was less than 2 hours drive from Granada to Cordoba and with only one night booked in a hotel there we got up early, grabbed a coffee and tostada then hit the road. 

We literally dumped the car and bags and then set off to see the sights as soon as we arrived. We called into the tourist office for a map and being in a bit of a hurry I asked they guy if we only had time to see the Mezquita or the Alcazar which would he pick and he just gave me a look and said we have to see both with almost a tut- at the time I thought he was just being a bit parochial but oh yes he was right and I am now embarrassed to have asked such a question. 

First stop was Cordoba's famous Mosque Cathedral, otherwise known as the Mezquita and I have to say we were overwhelmed. It is huge and so beautiful; basically a mosque with a cathedral inside and the islamic and christian symbols just seem to work so beautifully together - maybe there's something the world should take note from this stunning piece of architecture. The original site was a church that was destroyed to build the Mosque, when Cordoba was the capital of the Moorish Kingdom of Al-Andulus and at that time this was one of the biggest mosques in the islamic world. Then when the Christians reconquered the area in the 13th century, the cathedral was built inside but the rest of the building was left - this was the age when Christians, Jews and Muslims lived side by side. 

Mezquita and Roman Bridge

Being silly - No wonder the tourist officer had no time for us!?! 

One of the many doors to the Mezquita

There are 856 columns inside Mezquita that remain from 1293 originally

This area shows both aspects side by side

Stunning double arches of the Mezquita -amazing engineering for that time

Cathedral area in the centre of Mezquita

Jewish quarter of Cordoba 

Roman ruins in Cordoba

Lovely tapas lunch before the next part of the tour

Next stop was the Alcazar of the Christian Kings, a castle which includes beautiful gardens which are moorish in design with ponds and fountains. We really enjoyed the gardens but the buildings were quite interesting too.

Alcaza de Cordoba gardens

Statues in the gardens of the Alcazar

We returned to the hotel exhausted and met Lee & Andrew for a cocktail on the roof terrace. We quickly all agreed this was the perfect place to relax and ordered burgers and wine with this view.....

View over Cordoba from the roof bar at our hotel - wow!

We had such a fun night without having to walk anywhere and were totally looked after by this fabulous bar man who invited Andrew behind the bar to select his own drinks.

Andrew is best friends with barmen all over the world