Mezquita
With walking the Camino – 500 miles across Spain – heavily on my mind, I thought I would take a look back at a few places we have already seen in Southern Spain, specifically in the Andalucía and Costa del Sol area back in 2009.
Cordoba was really only an unexpected side trip for us. Tim and I had taken a bus to Granada the day before and our guide had raved about seeing the annual flower festival in Cordoba. It is held once a year and lasts only 10 days in early May. Our timing was perfect, so early the next morning we drove the two hours from where we were staying in Estepona (not far from Malaga) to check it out.
Geraniums hanging on the walls during annual flower festival
The people of Cordoba take great pride in their private patios, and each year open them up to the public to show off their gardening skills. The patios are vote on, and the best ones receive special recognition. There are about 40 homes open, and they are scattered over a dozen or more block area. By attempting to follow a map, we were able to find and check out several patios.
The majority of the flowers were geraniums planted in pots that hung from the courtyard walls. After seeing numerous displays, one of our traveling companions summed it up by saying, “same, same, only different”.
While searching out the patios, we encircled the Cordoba Mosque which boasts a history of both Muslim and Christian usage.
Cathedral of Cordoba aka Mosque of Cordoba, or “Mezquita”
This site originally housed a Christian church during the 5th century. When the Moors conquered the Iberian Peninsula, it was used as a Muslim mosque. In the 700’s the original church was torn down, and the first section of the Great Mosque was built in its place using some of the church’s materials.
After 500 years as a mosque, Cordoba was taken over by Ferdinand and the site was reconsecrated as a Christian church.
A Note From Abroad 