Europespring08: Cordoba and the Alhambra

These pictures wont blow up but there is another post below it if you want to.

Cordoba

Is a city about two hours from Granada. Our group only spent a day in the city, so there really was only time for one major excursion which was of the "Cathedral" of Cordoba. The reason I am hesitant to use the word Cathedral is because the Cathedral of Cordoba is really a giant mosque. (Similiar to Sevilla)

What I have gathered is that the Moorish (muslim) caliphs first came to Spain in 711 and quickly occupied 3/4 of the Iberian peninsula. Cordoba was the seat of power for the "muslims" in spain during thier golden age which seems to be from the 800s to the 1100s. The architecture used here is a fusion of styles that is called "mudejar" influenced by gothic and arabic construction. A signature is the horseshoe arch. Below is a mudejar gateway.

The mosque is abosolutely enormous. The structure is a huge rectangular shape like a large football field. The interior is uniform and contains thousands of red and white repeating horseshoe arches. The space reminded me of a forest.

Because of infighting, the Caliphate in spain began to weaken and the northern borders began to receed to the Christians attacking from the north. Sevilla and Cordoba were lost to the Caliphate by the 1200s, leaving only a small amount of territory still under "muslim" control. By this time a new stronghold was bieng built in Granada called the Alhambra that would hold for the next 200 years.

Alhambra

I really dont think that they were messing around when they built this thing. The huge complex is situated atop a steep hill in a location that is surrounded by cliffs, mountains, and a large manmade wall that runs through upper Granada.

There is a lot to say about the Alhambra, but my favorite thing is the use of water inside the complex walls. I was told that this culture valued the properties of water greatly. Water was highly respected for it´s lifegiving properties, its cooling properties, it´s ability to mirror, and its relaxing sound as it trickles. Thus the engineers and architects built extensive and complex systems (the ruins exist all around Granada) to capture water from the mountains and pipe it into the Fortress. Everwhere one looks in the Alhambra water is used to: give life (water the extensive gardens, cooking uses, drinking), cool (large shallow pools and running rivulets act as effective airconditioning), Mirror (water is used aesthetically to mirror structures as in the Taj Mahal), and relax with sound in fountains and rivulets.

Danny
my roomate sometimes fancys himself a singer. Whilst inside the Alhambra he took advantage of the good acaustics in one of the courtyards. He sang some ridiculous Whitney Houston song for the 70 or 80 people present. Some people were entertained, others were not. (danny in action below, I really like the faces of the tour group behind him.

Antonio "Jagerbombz"

poses. Litterally translated (tower of Arms)

Old army barracks in the Alhambra below.

The Christians retook granada in the year 1492, thus uniting Spain under one Christian Kingdom.
To me the Alhambra is a reflection of a lost culture that was very advanced and interesting. This culture occupied a significant amount of land in mainland christian europe for over 800 years(technically from 711 to 1492). The cultural aftershock of this culture still echoes everywhere I have went in spain. A really interesting fusion of culture and ethnic makeup has been created here.