Cordoba

Cordoba

Route: Cordoba

Area: Spain, Andalusia

Date of walk: 18th March 2019

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 6.0 miles

Ascent: 200 feet

Weather: Sun and blue skies, very warm

Having caught the train yesterday from Seville (click here for that walk), we arrived in Cordoba and checked in at the Hotel La Llave de la Judería

The hotel (which I can highly recommend) is superbly located in the heart of the old Jewish Quarter of the city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site 

There are many famous attractions in the city, but there is one which is unmissable – the extraordinary Mezquita, which is both a mosque and a cathedral, and is the most important monument in the Western Islamic world. The building began life as a Visigothic church, was rebuilt as a great mosque 784-987 AD, and then reconsecrated as a Christian church in the 13C when a large cathedral was constructed within the heart of the mosque

On the afternoon of our arrival we went for a short stroll around the town in order to get our bearings, and on the next day, as soon as we’d finished our breakfast, we made a beeline for the Mezquita, a 2 minute walk from the hotel. Admission is free between 8.30-9.30 am and we spent the allotted hour gazing in awe at the incredible architecture

After leaving the cathedral we crossed over the Roman bridge to visit the Calahorra Tower built in 1369, and climbed up to the roof for views back over the city. We then re-crossed the bridge and spend a couple of hours exploring the Jewish Quarter, a maze of whitewashed narrow medieval streets

Beer and tapas at one of the many pavement restaurants was followed by a return visit to the Mezquita (it was much quieter at the end of the day), and a climb up the adjacent bell tower for some spectacular views over Cordoba – a great end to a great day’s walking

More was to come though, as we had a couple of hours to spare the next day before moving on to Grenada, and this gave us a perfect opportunity to visit the Alcazar Gardens (‘Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos’). The Alcazar itself is a fortress/palace built in 1328 and worth a visit in its own right but its crowning glory is its Moorish style gardens, beautifully designed and planted. We arrived at the entrance at opening time, which was 8.15am today, and at this early hour we had the place to ourselves. I’ll let the photos tell the story, but it was a fitting end to a wonderful short stay in this beautiful city

As with yesterday’s walk in Seville, I’ve not added our route to the Maps Page, but there are markers with photos highlighting the location of the main sights we saw

Click on the icon below for the route map

Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow

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