Mezquita

Today is the first day of rain. It's not suppose to rain after today and hopefully will stop this afternoon per the forecast. My intent this morning was to get up for the opening of the Mezquita by 8:30 am. There's nothing like walking through a religious or historic site when there's no one around (case in point, our sunrise visit to Machu Picchu). However, I haven't been able to shake off this cough / cold and only got up a little after than I originally wanted to.  Nonetheless I did get up early enough to stop into a café for a chocolate croissant and tea and make it to the Mezquita a little after 9 am. The church allows free entry to about 9:20 am. During this time, I got a quick overview of this Mosque turned Cathedral and enjoyed the Courtyard of Oranges just outside of the main entrance.

As I walked around and took initial pictures of the many arches, a security guard had walked away from a chapel in order to turn off some lights as they were asking folks to exit, yet there was a priest inside the chapel and the gate was locked. The priest needed to leave and knocked on the door, and although the key was in the door, I didn't think I should open it. I found the security guard and I yelped the first thing that came to my mind: "El Padre, El Padre necesita a salir!" The guard returned quickly and he and the priest had a conversation about why he left his post and they both turned and thanked me while chuckling. My first good deed for the day - in a church no less. 

I left the Mezquita and walked down to the Guadalquivir River and Roman bridge. There's a gate on one end and at the other, in the Torre de la Calahorra, a Museum about Muslim Andalusian life. The bridge was nice and a French tourist asked me to take a photo of him and here, he returned the favor. I'm trying to point at the bell tower of the Mezquita:

I returned to the Mezquita a little after 10 am for the proper entry time. The forest of columns in red and white and the arches abound, surrounding a Catholic Cathedral and with religious paintings all over. An example of columns and the red and white arches:

At the opposite of the entrance is the Mihrab which faces Mecca, an archway into a room where tens of thousands could kneel and pray. Here's a picture of the entrance and then a close-up of an arch next to it:

I spent several hours soaking it all in - the main cathedral, the ornate wooden choir, and the many chapels that lined the sides. Here's a photo of the altar and ceiling in the Cathedral:

I stopped into the chapel where the priest was locked in called the Parish of the Tabernacle of the Holy Cathedral Church. You can't take photos inside and is only for prayer. I prayed the rosary with the bracelet I was wearing - a gift from my god son's mother. My Sunday school kiddies would be so proud!

I walked around some more and then made my way to the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. This is the Castle of the Christian Kings with a tower, Arab baths and pools, and a well-manicured garden. Built in the 8th century, Ferdinand and Isabella lived here and was the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition and supposedly where they planned the discovery of America. There indeed was an "Ocean Room" with a bust of Christopher Columbus. I took lots of photos of flowers and the fountains. Here's a collage of a view from the top of the tower (you can see again the bell tower of the Mezquita and old Córdoba city), one of the pools, and a statue of the royalty:

After walking up and down the tower and around the gardens, I made my way back to the third oldest Synagogue (I had tried yesterday) in Spain, the other two being in Toledo. The line to get in took about ten minutes, but the crowd seemed larger and the line longer, as we were waiting on a very narrow street / alley. The Synagogue has just one room and there is only one way in and one way out. Here's a photo:

Afterwards, I decided it was time for lunch as it was around 1 pm. I made my way to the Plaza de La Tendrilles which is one of the larger squares in Córdoba. Here, a few gypsies tried to approach me, but one was on crutches and when I looked up from my map and noticed them, I immediately walked away. The woman seemed to get frustrated that the man on the crutches didn't walk faster. Honestly, I am surprised how few beggars I've seen thus far - I had been warned especially in Toledo and at the Mezquita - only one woman tried to give me a sprig of rosemary. Perhaps, similar to when I went to Brazil, since May is a low tourist month there are less panhandlers, or perhaps I have a larger bias from when I was in Italy. 

I finally found Plaza de San Miguel so I could eat at the Taberna San Miguel El Pisto which is known for great traditional tapas according to my guidebook. The restaurant was kitschy and I ordered the namesake, which was a fried egg over ratatouille. Since I only ordered a half portion, I also ordered melon and ham with a glass of Rioja. 

After lunch, I walked north to the Plaza Colón which was a big park and then headed east. I was trying to find a second Fernandine chapel, the Church of Santa Marina. However, when I arrived, I learned it reopened at 7 pm. The website for Córdoba tourism unfortunately didn't have all the times of the Fernandine chapels, but my guidebook said San Bartolomé which I saw yesterday and this one were the best. Fortunately, I was in the same neighborhood as Viana Palace, a former residence of a Marquise. The home has 12 patios / courtyards. Considering Córdoba is known for their courtyards, I thought this would be a good place to visit and was a suggestion from my Medina Azahara tour guide. For some reason, the museum was free today - Cyn for the win! The patios, flowers, and fountains were really lovely. You can really see the blend of Islamic and western styles with the various tiles, pools, and arches. Here's a collage of photos:

I then walked over to the Plaza de la Corredera which is a main square and entirely enclosed and walked by the Roman Temple on my way back to the hotel. Here's a photo:

On my walk, I made eye contact with a very distressed seeming middle-aged couple. As I passed them, I heard their GPS say "turn around and walk straight" in English. I turned around and asked if they needed help in Spanish and they just yelped "English"! There were Brits and were totally lost looking for their hotel. As I no longer needed my map and was heading to Granada, I gave it to them and pointed them in the right direction as their hotel is right in front of the Mezquita. The woman called me "an angel." When traveling, especially alone, you always have to "pay it forward"! My second good deed for the day. Also, I think they were depending on the GPS and in an old city like this, an old-fashioned map is the way to go!

I made it back to my hotel to rest on the lobby couches before my train which was at 7 pm. My feet and legs were about to fall off - I've had shin splits for days from all the walking. 

I arrive in Granada close to 10 pm and wasn't sure if I'd be up for finding food when I arrive, so I decided to grab some food at the Mercado Victoria. This market about one block from my hotel has been super convenient! I ordered a Salmorejo (the Salmon gazpacho that Córdoba is famous for) and a pincho of pizza. I headed back to my hotel, picked up my checked luggage, said goodbye to Adolpho, and walked to the train station. Amanda would have enjoyed my rolling wheels on the European sidewalk. At least it isn't the Roman cobblestones of the old city!

The train was about 2.5 hours and I hopped into a cab which took me to the Ibis Hotel and crashed for the night.