| Destinations
> Spain > CÓRDOBA |
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Córdoba was the preeminent city in Moorish Spain:
educated, wealthy, populous, refined. The city was the intellectual
capital of the Caliphate of Al-Andalus. It was here that Maimonides
and Averroes dispensed their great philosophical works, where algebra
was developed, and where European philosophy was rescued and restored
to prominence by eager Moorish students and translators. [Full
Profile]
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Museums / Culture
The Mezquita mosque is Córdoba's centerpiece. It was the largest
mosque in the world when constructed, and offers a glimpse of the culture
that once gleamed from the banks of the Guadalquivir. |
| Worth
Knowing About the Mezquita... |
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on the site of a Roman temple, which was later shared by Christians
and Muslims, the Mezquita became the pride of the city, so
much so that throughout the centuries, Christian cordobeses
have fought to preserve the integrity of the structure as
built, even when the emperor Carlos V tried to install a chapel.
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On Foot
A memorable stroll unlike any other, the Judería, or Jewish
Quarter, of the Old City, is an intimate web of narrow streets winding
amid whitewashed buildings, and conceals the house of Maimonides, the
Zoco (the old Moorish market square), where artisans still work in their
storefront shops... |
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Hotels
Stay right in the city center, across from the Mezquita; choose from
elegant old buildings, modern renovations and private hostels. |
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Restaurants
A walking tour of the old city, nestled alongside the modern shopping
district, bring you to a variety of unique, if not typically Spanish
eateries.
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Transportation
Regional trains and buses take travelers to many cities throughout
Andalucía, including Granada, Córdoba, Málaga. |
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A
Brief History: from  |
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Roman philosopher Seneca was born here, as was Lucan. A fearful
battle took place just outside the city: Julius Caesar defeated
the army of Pompey in a battle that left 22,000 soldiers dead. |
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In 711 the city was occupied by the Moors... Its agricultural
and mineral wealth, and the convenience of the Guadalquivir
River for transport, made Córdoba a valuable asset...
It became the capital of the Moorish land of Al Andalus (hence,
"Andalucía") in 719. By the C10 the city
had reached a level of prosperity unheard of in Christian
Europe. There was a university, a great library with 400,000
books, scores of public baths, 300 mosques, 26,000 buildings,
8,000 shops, and a population of a million (four times today's).
Art, literature, and philosophy flourished. |
»
Full
essay
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©
Passports, Inc., 1993-2003
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| Xampanyería:
A Memoir of Spain |
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Nothing
easier than getting lost in the ruins of another time.
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cobbles, the asphalt, the air were rich with sea salt. The
mountains on the northwestern edge of Barcelona invited morning
fogs to hang over the whole city, sinking only reluctantly
back to the shoreline. These fogs lifted the sediment of history,
daily, into the air, a ritual cleaning. A salty timeless savor
would, daily, override the sooty-city residue of industry.
For those intimate, empty hours, life itself opened up, became
vulnerable, reliant upon our will. We tended to attempt to
dwell among the salts. |
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matter what my intended destination (many days I would have
an insurmountable urge to pass by the Museo Picasso; other
days, it was more important to find myself at the port’s
edge, watching the world in flux), all streets, every exiting
of an art gallery, every callejón or escondrijo,
every late café luncheon, would lead me back to the
xampanyería. We would sometimes joke that all of the
Barri Gótic was a series of compartments of the spirit,
all fascinating but exhausting, all begging the loud, unclean
serenity of the crowded cava bar. |
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four p.m., possibly, definitely within the hour, one could
locate Michael or Saint Jerome or Renault, Farola or the Dutchman.
Nevertheless, it was always the outside, the persistence of
the old places, that would drive us there. It was always an
integral part of a more organismal experience, never solely,
or statically, ‘a separate peace’. [Full
Text] |
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©
2000 Joseph Robertson
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| Submit your own travel writings |
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travel.sentido@casavaria.com |
| Oxígeno
y ciprés: junio en España |
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ENTRANDO...
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| Camino
por el pasillo abierto que lleva hasta la puerta. Me recuerdo.
Recuerdo sin fallos el lugar y el sentido del lugar. Ver el
mismo cactus, el encanto de las plantas que llueven sobre
los muros, ver la casa, el umbral, la cara y bondad insondable
de Gloria, que siempre me cuidaba tan bien, significa una
colaboración improbable con el fluír temporal.
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| Cenamos
y hablamos de literatura, de leyenda y de la verdad. Hablamos
de ese espacio infinito que corre por entre los nudos y planicies
de la biografía a medias. |
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Me
encuentro entre planes, entre mundos, entre variados trayectos
de un progreso incierto que se llama vida. El aire tenue
y privado está repleto de fantasmas e ideales, preferencias,
gustos, y todo lo demás que pueda trascender los
cambios cotidianos de la vida... [Texto
completo]
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©
2001 Joseph Robertson
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