Today, I got to experience a different city of Spain, Córdoba; just as breathtaking as Sevilla, and needless to say that I loved it, and spending the day there was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
To start our trip, we all met up at the student residence, where we took a bus that took us to Córdoba, since it is about two hours away. The day was not very promising in terms of weather because it was meant to rain the whole afternoon, however, before the rain started we had the opportunity to have a nice tour of Cordoba’s historic center, also known as the Jewish Quarter. The city has such an interesting history, because for a while Spain was under the Moorish rule, who are Muslims, and it wasn’t until the end of the Reconquista that the catholics and the Christians were able to take over Spain again, which was around the 1500s. This means that from 711 to the 1500s, Spain was under Moorish rule, and in city’s like Seville, Cordoba, Granada, etc, there are still historical places that you can visit that show what happened in history. Therefore, as you are walking through the historic center of Cordoba, the mixture of the Moorish influence shows, especially in the architecture, but at the same time it is also visible the influence of the Catholics/Christians. Due to this, as you walk through the center, it feels as if you are being taken back in time.
We first started our visit with a guided tour through the small streets of the Jewish Quarter, where we even got to see what a typical house used to look like back then, with a small open center/courtyard in the middle that connected the whole house. Afterwards, we continued to walk and see the little details that showed the Moorish had once ruled that part of Spain, which we learned that even some of the names of people and things in Spanish come from that time in history and the Arabic language.
We also visited the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, which is also known as the Mezquita, and it is breathtaking how beautiful and well preserved it still is to this day. The outside garden is immense and beautiful, but the inside left me speechless. It is like teleporting back to another era of time. It is all shown through the arches, and the pillars that were carved to perfection and are still standing holding the place together. However, as you walk deeper into the Mezquita, you see that altars were eventually built in the back and in the middle of the church, showing when the Catholics/Christians took over during the Reconquista and tried to bring back their influence into the country.
After the church, we had free time to wander through the small streets, also known as the Jewish Quarter, and eat food. In smaller groups, we all wandered through this area, and by this point the rain had started, so we couldn’t fully go around without getting drenched, but since we had the tour at the beginning, we were not missing out on a lot. However, we were still able to appreciate its beauty while finding a place to eat and going into some local shops, because in this area, all the buildings are white and have a lot of flower pots hanging, and it is just beautiful. Each corner we turned had either a small shop, where you can buy handmade products from the locals, or small restaurants, and each would draw you in with their smell. After going to 2-3 shops and buying some souvenirs, I had an amazing lunch with the group I was with. I tried some new food, called “Flamenquines de Pollo” and which came with potatoes, it was really good, and it felt good to try something new in a new city.
To end our trip, we met again at the entrance of the Mezquita, where everyone reunited and we walked through the city of Cordoba one last time, before going back to Seville. On our way back, all I could think about is how Spain continues to mesmerize me with its beauty and history and each time I see a new place, I continue to fall more in love with the country and its culture.
Spending the week in Seville was amazing, and truly a learning experience, but spending the day in Cordoba was truly one of the highlights of the trip.
