Cordoba - Moorish shine, flowering courtyards.
Description:
Route: Córdoba Mosque - Episcopal Palace - Royal Palace - Roman Bridge - Tower of Kalaor - Jewish Quarter - Plaza of Stud (Potro) - Constitution Square - Roman ruins - synagogue (optional).
Cordoba (310 thousand inhabitants) was once the luxurious capital of the powerful caliphate. Today it is a quiet provincial town on Guadalquivir – the “Great River” of the Moors Wadi al-Kebir, irrigating the fertile Campinha.
At its peak, about 1 million people lived in Islamic Cordoba, including universally respected Jewish and Christian minorities.
The crooked streets of the Old Town give some idea of the atmosphere of medieval Córdoba, although palaces, many mosques, libraries, madrassas, numerous public baths, caravanserai, shops – all this disappeared without a trace. Only the magnificent Main Mosque (Mesquita) has fortunately survived the centuries. It belongs to the outstanding cultural monuments of the Islamic world.