Cordoba

Every day hundreds of people miss Cordoba's biggest delight. They drive for miles to see the Mezquita, have a look around and get back in their car or their coach all of them missing out on the real pleasure of just staying in the city.

You almost can't fail to find Pretty accommodation in Cordoba. Most of it is in the the narrow whitewashed alleyways of the old Jewish quarter within a few yards of the historic Mezquita. But it is the beautiful flower drenched patios that make most hostales and fondas so exquisite. Every May there is a competition for the city's prettiest patios. Nearly all buildings have one and all year round everyone seems to be competing.

Today's Cordoba is a fusion of cultures and the evidence of these cultures is still tangible. The city's oldest bridge has Roman foundations, its cathedral was built as a mosque and Spain's oldest synagogue outside Toledo still stands in the Juderia.

Cordoba's ancient crafts of shoemaking and silversmithing continue in the old part of the city while the modern part of town, experiencing a recent boom under its communist mayor, has a relaxed atmosphere less frenzied than that at Granada or Seville.

GETTING YOUR BEARINGS

Cordoba's train and bus stations are in the modem part of town to the north, which is a shame, because the best way to approach Cordoba is from the south, across the Puente Romano, with the view of the Mezquita in front of you. The Juderia, the delightful maze of streets forming the old Jewish quarter, flanks the giant mosque. The Alcazar of the Reyes Catolicos, the column of San Rafael and the triumphal arch built for Philip 11 all cluster together nearby. To the east is the charming Plaza del Potro. Beyond lies the decaying 17th century Plaza de la Corredera, which was once used for bullfights. Further north, around the Plaza de las Tendillas, is the clean modern town which has grown up on the centre of the old Roman settlement, and here you'll find a restored, almost complete Roman temple.

Cordoba Attractions

(Admission charge. Open 10.30 13.30 and 15.30 18.00.) A labyrinthine forest of endless Roman columns and double red and white Moorish arches, the Mezquita was the most beautiful mosque ever built by the Moors in Spain. It was so revered that it became a place of pilgrimage almost equal in importance to the mosques at Mecca and Jerusalem.

For 750 years it has officially been Christian and for the last 500 it has housed the addition of a cathedral right in its heart. But despite Charles V's accusation that "you have built here what you might have built anywhere else but have destroyed what was unique in the world", most of the original Mezquita still stands and in parts you can ignore the incongruous Christian addition. 'Me building remains the most sumptuous monument built by the Cordoban caliphate and one of Spain's great architectural treasures.

Yet, in spite of the impression of uniformity created by the endless rows of columns and canopies, many of the 850 pillars are different. A few are Visigothic but most are Roman, some having been brought from as far away as Carthage and Constantinople. Marble, jasper, onyx, granite and even wood have been used; some are smooth, some ribbed, some spiralled. The capitals are also of mixed origin, supporting the tiered arches which in turn support a ceiling of larch.

The central axis from the Puerta de las Palmas directs you to the focal point of the original mosque, the sacred Mihrab, now tucked away in an almost forgotten corner. This is the niche which indicated the direction of Mecca. Its magnificent shell shaped dome amplified the imam's prayers. In front and to the side is the Maksourah, the caliphs' enclosure. Surrounded by multilobed columns and covered in a wealth of shining mosaics of gold, turquoise, red and blue, complete with friezes from the Koran, it is an awesome relic of a former Spanish civilization.

Cordoba Hotels

Posada Vallina Hotel - Corregidor Luis de la Cerda, 38 - Cordoba 14003 - Spain Phone: 957498750 Fax: 957498751
Occidental Cordoba Hotel - 3 Poeta Alonso Bonilla - Cordoba 14012 - Spain Phone: 957 767476 Fax: 957 400439
Tryp Cordoba Hotel - Jardines De La Victoria - Cordoba 14004 - Spain Phone: 957 298066 Fax: 957 298147
Hotel Macia Alfaros - 18 Alfaros - Cordoba 14001 - Spain Phone: 957 49 19 20 Fax: 957 49 22 10
Hotel Conquistador - 15 Magistral Gonzales Frances 15 - Cordoba 14003 - Spain Phone: 957 48 11 02 Fax: 957 47 46 77
Eurostars Las Adelfas Hotel - Avda. de la Arruzafa, s/n - Cordoba 14012 - Spain Phone: 957277420 Fax: 957272794
Hotel Las Adelfas - Avenida De La Arrufaza - Cordoba 14012 - Spain Phone: 957 277 420 Fax: 957 272 794
Parador De Cordoba Hotel - Avda. de la Arruzafa, s/n - Cordoba 14012 - Spain Phone: 957275900 Fax: 957280409
Hotel Maimonides - 4 Torrijos - Cordoba 14003 - Spain Phone: 957 47 15 00 Fax: 957 48 38 03
Tryp Los Gallos Hotel - Avda. de Medina Azahara, 7 - Cordoba 14005 - Spain Phone: 957235500 Fax: 957231636
Hotel Selu - 7 Eduardo Dato - Cordoba 14003 - Spain Phone: 957 47 65 00 Fax: 957 47 83 76