Mezquita and Mountain Snow

Above the mihrab

Sunday, October 22, 2017, Granada, Spain--Yesterday was, we think, the crowning jewel of the trip so far.   In Córdoba, the Mezquita, the original Ommayyid mosque built on the grounds of a christian basilica, then turned back into a cathedral when the christians took over the kingdom of Granada in the 13th century, is a world historical site--deservedly so.

Walking around the rows of columns, coming to the mihrab where the imam preached, and then turning around to face a huge, though not as huge as the mosque, cathedral plunked down in the mosque's center, is a trip through centuries, and different views of art and decoration.

Mezqjita columns

At the Mezquita

From the muslim prohibition on portraying humans in art to the christian exhuberance of statues and paintings is a cultural dichotomy that we have only seen here on such a scale.

Patio atelier

Alcazar Mosaic of Oceanus

Ben at the Alcazar

Córdoba also has a fair-sized Alcazar, which we toured, built over Roman ruins.  The excavators found number of mosaics which are now in the interior museum.  The city also has sections where the interiors of the homes, patios, have been opened for artists' ateliers.   They are decorated with walls of geraniums and other flowers, and used not only for art but also for parties during a May celebration, called "patio week."   It had 1-million visitors last year.

Snow on the Sierra

From Córdoba we drove east through olive grove after olive grove, with castles perched on some mountains, observation towers on others, all dating from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, to Granada.  Thanks to Barry, we had a view of the snow covered Sierra Nevada, brought on by two days of rain at lower elevations.

Today we have a full schedule, but last night, after so much walking, driving and talking we decided to dine in the hotel, the NH Victoria, and were pleasantly surprised by the food, braised beef for John and cod filet for Ben.  An early night.