Cordoba Part One

Córdoba is a city in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, and the capital of the province of Córdoba. It was an important Roman city and a major Islamic center in the Middle Ages. 

Photos shows an old Roman bridge and water wheel. 

Today Cordoba is best known for its most famous landmark, La Mezquita (Great Mosque). It is the third largest mosque in the world dating from 784 A.D. It is jaw dropping experience as you enter the mosque through the courtyard filled with orange trees and fountains. Inside there are 850 stunning granite and marble arches of various colors that are illuminated by the sun streaming through the cupolas. At the center of the mosque is a 16th century Renaissance cathedral with mahogany pulpits and choir stalls. The mosque remains largely untouched since the 11th century which reveals the finest Islamic architecture in Spain. 

In AD 929, the Cordoba region broke away from the Islamic center, Baghdad, and formed its own independent kingdom, falling into anarchy shortly afterwards. 

The city was conquered by King Ferdinand, a Christian who had the mosque consecrated and constructed a cathedral in the middle of it thus three cultures, Jew, Moors and Christians have merged together. Daily masses are held there.  

I must say it was difficult to capture the beauty and uniqueness of La Mezquita in photos. It's one of those experiences you need to see first hand as it is what I might call "off the charts." 

• La Mezquita is about 250,000 square feet and 40 feet high.
• Spain leads the overall global rankings for the first time, scoring highly on a wide range of factors from its beautiful heritage sites to conferences for business travelers, infrastructure for tourists and the extent to which the government prioritizes the industry. It is one of the most online-searched countries for tourism and the third most visited country in the world, with over 60 million international arrivals – an increasing proportion of whom are coming from emerging markets such as China, Brazil and Mexico.