Córdoba – the city of the mosque-cathedral

Córdoba – often names and titles are not enough to aptly and worthily describe the full glory of a place or city. This is certainly the case for Córdoba, the Andalusian city that can call itself a World Heritage Site – rightly so – and yet this Unesco title alone cannot do justice to the beauty of this city. Visiting the simply gigantic old town of Córdoba with its unique and thousand-year-old buildings is a wonderful experience that you will never forget!

The old town of Córdoba is divided into two distinct parts: these are the Villa or the old Muslim Medina and the Axerquia or the Eastern Quarter. Outside the old town of Córdoba, there is the business centre, the area around the Mosque-Cathedral and the San Basilio neighbourhood. The Mosque-Cathedral is said to be the most magnificent building of the Muslim era in the western world. Close to the Mosque-Cathedral is the old Jewish quarter, where the synagogue and the Casa de Sefarad are more than worth a visit. The old quarter is also home to the Alcázar de Los Reyes Cristianos and the old baths of the former Moorish Caliphate. The historic quarter is surrounded by an old wall from Roman times and has three gates: the Puerta de Almodóvar, the Puerta de Sevilla and the Puerta del Puente.

Within the old town, you can also visit some important palace buildings in Cordoba: the Palacio de Viana, the Palacio de la Merced, the Palacio de Orive, the Palacio de los Aguayos, the Palacio de los Luna and the Palacio del Duque de Medina Sidonia, to name just a few of Cordoba’s grandiose historical buildings. Furthermore, there are twelve Ferdinandine churches worth seeing in the city, which were commissioned for construction by Fernando III El Santo after the reconquest of the city of Córdoba in the 13th century. About 8 kilometres away, on the outskirts of Córdoba, is the Medina Azahara, a kind of mythical monumental complex, a city once made up almost entirely of palaces built by the Caliph Abderramán III.

Cordoba’s courtyards are another wonder of this magnificent city. These courtyards have been declared “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by Unesco, and every year in May Cordoba holds a competition in which participants open their courtyards to locals and tourists for a free tour. If possible, you should not miss a visit to these courtyards of Cordoba! Likewise, the Roman rule in Cordoba left another magnificent heritage, first of all, the famous Roman bridge, a Roman temple, the Roman theatre and the Roman mausoleum.

In Cordoba, besides the Mosque-Cathedral and the Roman Bridge, be sure to visit La Juderia, the heart of the old town, the Alcázar de Los Reyes Cristianos fortress with its four towers, the Synagogue as the only preserved synagogue in Andalusia, the magnificent horse stables of the Royal Stables, and don’t forget the Arab baths!

Those who have visited Cordoba will certainly not forget this wonderful experience for the rest of their lives!