Cordoba, Spain

My arrival into Cordoba was in the very early morning hours. I first sat from some time at the bus station, as I had looked ahead of time to plan my day and found that everything in the city would be closed for some time after my arrival. After arranging my baggage, putting it in a locker for the day, and resting on a bench in the station, I set out to explore the city as daylight broke. It was lovely to see the sun coming up while looking across this bridge and seeing the natural light overtake the lights along the river.

When the hour came for the Mesquita to open, I stood in a long line that had formed my the many other people hoping to enter. Because it was the start of the day, a significant portion of the line was allowed inside to the empty building, so although the line was long, the wait was reasonable. I had read that there is always a line to see this remarkable building. 

This is one beautiful portion of the ceiling in the Mezquita mosque cathedral. The interior has a number of different textures, materials, patterns, and overall interesting architecture. However, the mere expansive size of the building is remarkable to view, in addition to the building being the only one in the word that is a mosque and cathedral in a shared space. This occurred when one of the largest mosques in the world was converted into a Christian church, but with the intention to preserve the building that was already there. To me, it felt like such a confused identify and clearly the awkward shift of one culture upon another. 

The city was filled with winding roads, so narrow that most would not even accommodate a car, and certainly not more than a single car for those streets that were slightly wider. I was left with the impression that many restaurants and places to board for the night surrounded the attraction brought on by the Mesquita, but that most of the other spaces were homes of locals. As I anticipated little to do in the city, I spent only part of one day there in order to see the Mesquita and then continue on my journey to the next city. 

I did also stop to visit their market, but the one that is promoted on the internet was limited to open air dining options rather than being the food market that I had hoped for. 

One beautiful memory that I have was noticing dates along the side walk that had dropped from trees above. They are one of my favorite fruits and it seemed such a waste to see them trampled on a public sidewalk!