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Our first glimpse of the Mezquita, from the outskirts of Cordoba, gave a long-distance impression about the massive scope of this huge building. |
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Cordoba and the Mezquita |
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Prior to our Saga Holiday, we had no idea about the Mezquita. We didn't know whether it was a museum, a castle, a church, a palace--or what.
It turns out that the Mesquita is one of the world's most astounding achievements of religious archectiture. It is a cathedral inside a a mosque! The mosque, dating back to the 8th century, originally had been built as one of the largest mosques in all of Islam. After the area around Cordoba was secured from the Moors, construction began on a Cathedral inside the mosque. Apparently figuring the size of a cathedral is quite an exercise--involving mathematics, politics, and civic pride. (It seems to be a task very much like counting tallest buildings, or busiest airports.) If memory serves correctly we were told, at least by someone's reckoning, that the Cathedral at Cordoba can be counted among the largest in all Christiandom. Whether you buy that or not, when you see it, the claim seems believable. And when you realize it is constructed inside an existing building, the very notion is mind-boggling!
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Our first glimpse of the Mezquita, from the outskirts of Cordoba, gave a long-distance impression about the massive scope of this huge building. |
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The Minaret now serves as a bell tower. There is a courtyard outside the the building. I thought both the bell tower and the courtyard were aesthetically pleasing, but I don't hold the same opinion about the inside of the huge edifice.
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