The place to start, as every travel article will tell you, is at the great mosque-turned-cathedral. It deserves its superlatives. On par with the Great Mosque of Damascus when it was built, it is arguably far more beautiful with its striped, double-horseshoe arches stretching to seeming infinity. And you're unlikely to get to Damascus any time soon, so best enjoy this one. The Christians turned it into a church after the re-conquest. Naturally. They ripped out the centre and injected their own architecture. Unfortunately. But they couldn't bear to tear down the whole thing, so the forest of columns surrounds the Christian bit like a giant ante-chamber. Thankfully. Remember that scene in Alien where a monster erupts from one of the character's stomachs? The horror and mismatch is pretty much the same here. Even the Emperor Charles V, who signed off the building project, is said to have been horrified by what he'd done once he'd seen it.
Cordoba's cathedral is much like Grenada's Alhambra: the star site, with tickets selling out in advance and thick crowds sapping magic from the whole experience. Fortunately, the fact that it's still a functioning church means they can't be as draconian with admissions policies here. Get up early and be there for the 8:30 am free admission, then stay for mass at 9:30 to get the best from the place. You'll be sailing out on a cloud of inspiration as the tourists trudge in for the first official visits of the day. You will still find several hundred people gathered at each door by 8:15, but these initial numbers are swallowed by the vast scale of the building, leaving you to enjoy some quiet moments of contemplation. Head immediately for the mihrab (the prayer niche indicating the direction to Mecca) at the back, slightly to the right, as this is where the crowds pile up to admire the most intricate of the Islamic decoration (uncovered after years of camouflage). Then wander to admire the interplay of Islamic arches with Christian chapels. Mass is a full bells-and-whistles, one-step-away-from-the-Vatican affair: there were 11 celebrants on the high altar and a full choir my morning despite a lack of high holy days. Anyone raised Catholic will slip into the vibe even if they don't know Spanish. Even heathens will enjoy the "show" for which this building is just one great stage set. Sitting inside the inserted Christian section you realise it's actually quite a lovely building on its own; it just suffers from its impossible circumstances.
Now walk across the Roman bridge ... an impressive site in its own right ... to the Calahorra Tower at Living Museum of Al-Andalus. At €4.50 for admission, including an informative audio guide and access to the roof where you'll get one of the best views imaginable of the whole city, this place is a bargain. And that's before you start exploring the displays, which mix artefacts with dioramas and animatronics to tell the story of Cordoba's golden age and the mix of Muslims, Jews and Christians that enjoyed it. There's a scale model of the mosque here that shows what it was like before the insertion of the Christian church, cleverly juxtaposed with a window so you can look over the river to the real thing. Even more magical is the room that presents a model city peopled by figures all made by local potters. It's enchanting.its far end, where you'll find the
I suspect the Cordoba synagogue, one of the oldest in Europe and a tiny jewel in the Mudejar architectural tradition, would also have been a favourite had it been open. It is, however, closed for a multi-year renovation. This is the most picturesque part of town to wander, so you won't be disappointed to head in that direction anyway. Just down the little lane from the synagogue is the Zoco de Artesanos, a warren of craft galleries spread across several courtyards with proper artisanal work including jewellery, leather goods and pottery. In the same lane there's a man who makes medieval stringed instruments with exquisite inlaid woodwork. There's a great deal of tat on sale throughout Cordoba, so this little stretch is a real find.
Another highlight is the Palacio de Viana, which I wrote about in this previous entry.
About the only thing that disappointed us in Cordoba ... other than the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds ... Alcazar. Southern Spain practices a cheerful caveat emptor: it's hard to find tourist site's official websites, when you do there's very little information on them about what you're actually going to see, and once inside the signage and staffing is often terrible. Thus it most certainly is with this castle, a brooding hulk on the edge of the historic district and once home to the dreaded Spanish Inquisition. Only one room is furnished (with representative pieces to give a sense of where Columbus presented his plans to Ferdinand and Isabella) and there's nothing special about the interior architecture. There's a narrow scramble up stairs to some ramparts with an average view (the one from the Calhorra Tower is much better) and a sign limiting numbers to 20 at a time. Everyone ignores that, however, making both ascent and descent uncomfortable and the whole experience a frightening fire hazard. The main reason to go inside is a fine set of Roman mosaics in the main hall which tell the story of the powerful, leisured class that ran things here in antiquity. What you're actually paying to see is gardens: a series of formal and informal rooms, shady courtyards and sun-drenched parterres, with plenty of water features and statuary. They pale in comparison to Grenada's Generalife, but they're a pleasant place for a walk.was the
While most of Cordoba's sites are within easy walking distance of the cathedral, you'll need a car for one of its most intriguing attractions. Medina Azahara is a sprawling ruined city spreading up a hillside about a 15-minute drive out of town. Built by the first Umayyad Caliph of Cordoba as his palace and administrative centre in the late 10th century, it was an opulent, legendary court for just 70 years before civil war triggered its abandonment and looting for building materials. Modern excavations didn't begin until 1911 and 90% of the place is still to be unearthed. Cordoba clearly has its eyes on Unesco World Heritage status, however, and has poured money into an impressive modern museum at the foot of the hill. It's essential, in fact, to spend time here if you want to make sense of the ruins. Without the excellent models and animated tours of the palace in its heyday, it's quite a stretch to see much impressive about the abundance of waist-height walls that remain on the hillside.
This is yet another place let down by Spanish attractions' failure to master digital communications. You probably won't find the official website in standard searches; instead you'll be led to believe the only way to get in is to take the one English-speaking bus tour a day which may already be sold out. Ignore this, especially if you have a car. (You can take public buses out here, too.) The museum, car park and archeological park are all vast enough to accommodate plenty of visitors. Entry to the museum is free for European union members; you need to pick up a ticket there that allows you in to the excavations above.Do not miss this step, as you can NOT get a ticket at the Medina itself. You need to leave your car next to the museum and take a bus up the hill to the site. Once there you'll find stunning views, a few reconstructed archways to give you a sense of past grandeur and plenty of old foundations to emphasise how big the place once was. Looking down on the ruins of the mosque currently being excavated, you realise it would have given its sister building in Cordoba a run for its money. Approach the site with caution, however. You'll be scrambling over wildly uneven pavements, climbing a lot of steps and site management does not bother to tell you what is or is not open. I got all the way to the bottom to discover that the star site of the place, Abd ar-Rahman's reception hall, was closed. And then, of course, had to climb back up to the bus drop-off point to catch a ride back down to the museum. If you're ambivalent about ruins, a quick nose around the museum will probably satisfy you.
WHERE WE STAYED
The winding, narrow nature of Cordoba's streets makes a car a nuisance, and the medieval city itself is the main attraction. Thus it seemed logical to make this our holiday accommodation splurge so we could be in the heart of the old town. We stayed at the NH Collection Amistad, a 108-room hotel spread across two 17th century mansions facing each other across a square in what was once the Jewish quarter. It's hard to imagine a better location; minutes on foot from the cathedral, Alcazar or the square that's the heart of the modern town and a stone's throw from copious restaurant choices. For €250 a night, and another €22 per night for parking, we were somewhat disappointed.
However: my husband thought the bed was uncomfortably hard (I was too exhausted from sightseeing to notice) and the staff's command of English was generally far below where it should have been at a 4-star catering to international tourists (the front desk people didn't really understand when I tried to explain that my wallet had been stolen and didn't really react, much less express comfort or try to help). Most significantly, the place had a taint of corporate hotel about it I didn't like. The ground floor of our building was clearly being used as a muster point for a walking tour company and the covered courtyard dining area ... made much of in their promotional materials ... felt more like a conference centre circa 1990 than a dignified, elegant space. For 20% less, we wouldn't have noticed, but this is in the price range where we start getting very picky. I kept walking by La Llave de la Juderia, the nearby hotel I'd try to book but couldn't get into, and peering into their courtyards with envy. Photos suggest that this offers more of the boutique hotel vibe we prefer, but it also sells out much further in advance. Note for next time...
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