Photo courtesy wiki commons
The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba is the cathedral of Córdoba dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
Due to its status as a former mosque, it is also known as the Mezquita and as the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
The Great Mosque was constructed in 785 on the orders of Abd al-Rahman I, founder of the Islamic Emirate of Córdoba. It was expanded multiple times afterwards under Abd al-Rahman’s successors up to the late 10th century. The mosque was converted to a cathedral in 1236 when Córdoba was captured by the Christian forces of Castile during the Reconquista.
An early morning walk to the Mosque gets us there before the crowds
Through the Gate of Forgiveness
The Courtyard of The Oranges
The Prayer Hall
The Mihrab Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Above The transition to Gothic
The most significant alteration of all was the building of a Renaissance cathedral nave and transept in 1523– forming a new Capilla Mayor – in the middle of the expansive mosque structure . The project, initiated by Bishop Alonso de Manrique, was vigorously opposed by the city council of Cordoba. The cathedral chapter eventually won its case by petitioning Charles V, king of Castile and Aragon, who gave his permission for the project to proceed. When Charles V later saw the result of the construction he is reputed to have been displeased and is claimed to have commented: “You have built what you or anyone else might have built anywhere; to do so you have destroyed something that was unique in the world.”
Detail of the wood beams on the ceilings.
One of the four directions original doors
The original Roman bridge still stands as an entry to the city
