Córdoba was a nice change of pace from Barcelona. Once the capital of the great Caliphate of Al-Andalus, it's a moderate-sized city today. There's much less for a visitor to understand, so I think this would make a good choice for a first visit to Spain.
This doesn't save us from all of our foolish decisions, however. Like how I decided my hotel wasn't all that far of a walk from the train station. Oh, it's a flat less-than-mile through an attractive park and downtown, but with heavy bags and humidity, my comfort gauge dropped considerably from the AVE bliss I started the day with. At least I was in an actual hotel room this time, with my own shower! Air Conditioning! In-room Wi-Fi! (It would turn out to be the only night of 22 to feature this trifecta [edit: until the airline strike].) No matter that the room was tiny: I appreciate that Single Occupancy is even an option.
This schlep coincided with the siesta, so I found myself plowing through a mass of uniformed schoolchildren and their parents. Fun that I got to see that aspect of the culture, though. By the time I checked in and took a mandatory shower, I was concerned that almuerzo would be over. Unfounded: lots of options in the Plaza de las Tendillas, my center-city address. I drank a gazpacho (served in glasses here) and ate a fried ham roll stuffed with ham. Different foods and no Catalan to be seen anywhere. Maybe there's something to this idea that they're different countries.
Tourism in Córdoba is dominated by the Mezquita (mosque), also known as the Cathedral, which was constructed in the center of the mosque. Subtle, guys. Too late to really do it justice, I decided to save it for the morning. What to do until then? The Royal Andalusian Equestrian Demonstration, perhaps? The brochure said 21:00, a few hours away. How about a walk in the old city, then? That's my sort of thing. Like a smaller Barri Gòtic, I had a lovely time wandering and attempting night photos. I ended my stroll at the stables where they said "ocho" and some other things I didn't catch. When they saw me counting out 8 euros, they directed me to a brochure much like my own but with the time at 20:00. Oh. Ocho PM. Dammit, I had outdated info (and I thought they used the 24-hour clock exclusively)! Uh, dinner? A happier time, with more tapas of course!
I get up earlyish and head to old town. The Mezquita is huge, a little absurd, and beautiful. Red-white arches throughout. There's a window in the floor to an archeological site: the mosque was itself built over an earlier Visigoth church. I guess turnabout is fair play? Successive caliphs added wings to the mosque, attempting to match the existing style with varying degrees of success. You do have to look for these differences, however: rectangle + rectangle = rectangle. Try extending a church by planting more churches next to it, and see how silly that looks. There's lots of (Christian) religious art inside, including a nice collection of illuminated texts.
My tour complete, it's time for a snack. I acquire the customary elevensies bocadillo and perch myself by the river Quadalquivir. Here (upstream of Sevilla) it's a peaceful stream, but the heights of the bridge and banks imply it can get much stronger. Or maybe it did in the past. The bridge is low but imposing, dating from Roman times, and provides a fine view back to the Mezquita and the city. A tower at the far side houses the Museum of Al-Andalus Life. It fascinates me that an area of Western Europe was under Muslim control for centuries, and much of this trip is focused on exploring that era. Of course I had to check this out. I had read that it provides a useful counterpoint to what the Church has to say at the Mezquita. Well. If you believe the recordings at the statues and displays, Al-Andalus was basically the greatest period of human history ever, until the Christians came and ruined everything. That may be overstating things a bit. But there were certainly important advances from this era, and I enjoyed seeing things like medical instruments (yikes!), astronomy, and irrigation. (Foreshadowing: I seem to have a thing for plumbing. Yes I can tell you're excited.) Big models of the Mezquita (pre-Cathedral of course) and Granada's Alhambra, plus river and city views from the top of the tower, and that adds up to a nice little museum. A synecdoche*
of Córdoba, really.
My time's up but for lunch. I choose poorly: an enormous bland fish filet in (tomato?) sauce. I can barely finish half. Oh well. Not every meal can be amazepants. (Most are!) This time I make the wise decision to hail a taxi to the bus station. It's a fun ride in a nimble little car through tiny streets. ¡Adiós, Córdoba!
* I'd like to thank my book club for this vocabulary lesson
↩
No comments:
Post a Comment