Day Twelve

Cordoba

On Monday morning we drove up to Cordoba, just 180 km from Fuengirola. First one passes the mountains which lie behind the coastline, some as high as 1500m and then across plains full of olive trees. The time and effort needed to plant, cultivate, till the soil, then harvest the crop means it is a labour-intensive industry. The price of the product is not especially high and does not help the Spanish increase their job prospects or their quality of life as much as it could do.

Our SatNav took us through the city and we turned into so many tiny side streets we thought we were lost but we reached our hotel with no incident - to find it looked more like an Arabian Riad!

 At 47 Euro it was also very cheap! But, on the other hand, our room was small and the bathroom needed replacing, but it suited our needs and parking (although €15) was nearby.

The main parts of Cordoba cover an area of about 4 square kilometers, but we took the (Hop-on Hop-off) bus to explore. There are two routes and we took both and got a feel for the size of the city. Then we covered a lot of the same area on foot. The best views of the city are from the "other" side of the river.

The Cathedral dominates the skyline. We actually made use of the pre-breakfast special - the Mezquita, as it is usually called, is open for free from 8:30 to 9:30. We joined about 100 other people taking advantage of this on Tuesday morning, but here are a few of our photos. Built as a mosque between 700 and 1000 AD it was converted into a cathedral when the Spanish forced the moors out. I prefer the Islamic artwork and found the numerous catholic altars spoiled the building; but, they too, are works of art!

 

An altar being repaired.

The many side streets and narrow alleyways invite you to explore but, being a busy city, there are less of the really pretty streets where you see that the residents take pride, and there are cars everywhere, even in the narrowest of streets.

Go To Day 13 Iznajar