Day
6
(December 18, 2012) Cordoba: Mosque and Alcazar
Before
This day is entirely spent in Cordoba and we
should visit all the highlights of this city.
The highlights we want to visit there are at the map at right. We can
see we’re not going to leave the city center for all these visits where
we’re also allocated.
The spots marked at map are:
0- Hotel Los Patios
1- Calahorra Tower
2- Roman Bridge
3- The Great Mosque
4- Alcazar of Christian Kings
5- Jewish quarter
6- Ancient walls
7- Synagogue
8- Square of Corredera
9- Roman Temple
After
Today we indeed wake up early as the alarm beeps at 7 AM
in order to being at Great Mosque door at 8:30 AM. The breakfast we
have included is what they call “Andalusian breakfast” and it’s just a
hot drink, as coffee or cacao, and a bread roll, toasted and opened,
with jam and butter.
We take advantage of being just 20 meters from the entrance to the
Great Mosque and walk across the courtyard of the orange trees to get
inside, which is looking quite dark from outside, and get astonished.
This is spectacular. There are no walls so the large
place appears in all its size full of white and red arches help by
jasper pillars making a fantastic and dense forest on which we’re
feeling attracted to join.
In the middle of the whole thing was built a cathedral and
in the walls delimiting the whole Mosque-Cathedral appear compositions
whether catholic or Muslim ancient art. We’re amazed and explore every
corner as don’t want to miss a single thing.
The visit concludes at open air, in the courtyard of the orange trees, full of beautiful pictures.
When we leave the mosque we have still one hour for Alcazar, so we walk
to it with the idea of exploring around it a little bit.
We see the ancient walls of the city and the statue of Averroes and the
we go to the other side to explore the narrow streets there.
I’m looking for the synagogue but I can’t find it. It must
be one of the doors we passed by, so we walk again for the street it is
supposed to be according to the map paying special attention but the
result is the same. With this walk we’re back to the Roman Bridge area,
where we pass by Triumph of Saint Raphael to come back to the Alcazar.
It’s 10:15 AM when we get into the Alcazar of the
Christian Monarchs and we indeed are allowed to entrance for free
although there are a ticket box and guards.
We find quickly the way to go up on the walls and explore this area and the towers.
Somehow, as usual, the best of these higher areas are always the views.
Once down, and after exploring the few rooms inside, we go
out to the courtyards where we can check doves here enjoy their private
pool when thinking nobody is watching.
What we like the most are the gardens, which we explore enjoying their beautiful corners.
It’s here where we find the exit, which is taking us to
the broad avenue on the riverside and we use for coming back to the
hotel as, although it’s only 1:20 AM, we’ve already finished our list
of visits on this city.
We rest for a while at room but in the desk we’ve got new tasks to do
when hearing we’re done with Cordoba. The new visits are further than
the ones we’re done and we walk to Palace of Viana area, looking at the
palace just from outside, but well enough as per seeing the Plaza de
los Capuchinos (Capuchins’ Square) and the Christ of the Lanterns.
It’s then when we decide to coming back and lunching at
the same time by joining to one of the uses of this province: stopping
at bars in our way and taking some small beers and eating the tapa
coming with them. The average price is 1.50€ by glass of beer with
tapa, so we get our hotel well eaten and a dizzy.
We’ve enjoyed these streets and the local customs and we go upstairs to our room for another of these: siesta.
When we’re out again after our nap is already dark and we
just want a quick dinner. Burger King at next door fits exactly on this
purpose and we can get our dinner by 10.74€ in total. We must have our
baggage ready as this is our last night out of home.
