Captivating Cordoba

Cordoba’s crowning glory the Mezquita really has to be seen to be believed. It really is simply stunning and photographs really don’t do it the justice it deserves.

The atmospheric labyrinth of streets and squares in the old quarter of the Juderia is a great place to wander. Some of the streets are so narrow you can stand with your arms outstretched and touch both sides.

Spanned by the Roman bridge the River Guadalquivir that bisects Cordoba also adds to the cities appeal. The tower was closed for renovation when we visited but the bridge still made a lovely photo opportunity.

Quick Tips:

Our trip panned out so that we spent a Friday and Saturday night here. Being the weekend we knew that accommodation becomes scarce so I started to look a couple of days before but had trouble finding anywhere. I finally found the lovely Hotel Mamoinides - at twice our normal budget!

Plaza del Potro is a lovely old square that was mentioned in Don Quixote and is ringed by restaurants and is a lovely spot that is perfect to while away an evening in the summer.

The locals seem to have perfected the art of a long, lazy outdoor lunch judging by the crowds found in all the squares and cafes at the weekend. They were literally overflowing from the many restaurants around town.

If you need to burn your photos to disc don’t opt for the very expensive Kodak shop facing onto the wall of the Mesquita at €6 per card – make the effort to search out CH@T IS as they charge €4 for 2 cards burnt to one disc.

For a step back into the past try "Hammam" a traditional Arab bath house. A bath only costs €20 and a bath and a massage is €27. I would have been a taker but was unable to get an appointment.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is the only way to soak up the atmosphere of Cordoba and as all the sights are centrally located you won’t need to drive anywhere unless venturing further a field.

For our last night we moved to the Hotel Maestre. This is located in a beautiful traditional Spanish house with the rooms off a lovely fern and flower filled patio. It was great value for money, homely and still well located taking just 5 minutes to walk to the Mezquita. The rooms had comfortable beds, clean bathrooms, and timber shutters on the windows to shut out any noise and light if needed.

At a cost of €49 with parking available at €8 it offered great value. The reception staff were also really exceptionally helpful, more so than anywhere else we visited. The same people also own the cheaper Hostal Maestre located in the same street so if they don't have a room in one the chances are they may have in the other.

The Hostal also offers a breakfast buffet for €5. Such great value and I just had to partake because I had a craving for yogurt and fresh fruit. They also offered hot dishes such as sausages, eggs, bacon, Spanish omelet, cakes, toast, and so on.

This is definitely a top choice.

The lovely Hotel Mamoinides boasts such an impressive location. The front entrance of the hotel faces onto the actual wall of the north west corner of the Mezquita.

The rooms are very comfortable and clean with a really high standard of furnishings and offers all the mod cons including a bath (very rare) and a huge assortment of toiletries along with bathrobes and slippers but it all came at twice our normal budget. The hotel foyer and restaurant is decorated along the lines of the Mezquita with lots of marble, bright traditional tile highlights and arched doorways in the striking white and rust alternating colours of the Mosque.

The cost was €99 per night without breakfast plus an extra €11.87 per day for parking under the hotel. Make sure you are able to park in a space the size of a handkerchief as believe me it is tight. The hotel also offers a restaurant with steep prices so if you can book a package with breakfast this would definitely be a good investment. If not like us there are plenty of other options nearby.

We had no idea exactly where we were heading when we arrived in Cordoba as we were looking for the hotel and we hadn’t a map. We realized we driving straight to the Mosque so thinking we were going the wrong way as we were so close to it we asked a policeman for directions assuming we were lost. Imagine our surprise when we were literally staying on the Mezquita’s outer wall!

I just can’t believe that in almost every city in Spain you can drive straight up to these marvelous monuments or stay right next door. If it's in the budget this lovely hotel just can't be beat.

We experienced the entire spectrum in price, quality, and service in Cordoba.

These included some of our least memorable meals to some little gems. Then there were prices from supremely good value through to exorbitant. The sheer number of tourists that visit would account for that. Be warned, check the menu or ask the price first.

One such cafe in the Juderia quarter charged €5 for a tiny ham and cheese roll! They neglected to tell us that the ham was Serrano, one of Spain's delicacies but the beautiful flavour was lost in the dough. Made for a case of instant indigestion!

Another place we ate served pasta straight from the freezer to microwave to table and accompanied it with the rudest waiter I ever come across anywhere in the world!

A couple of places that I would have no hesitation in recommending are below.

For a great breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just a coffee try La, La, La. A smart, humming little café with a light and airy skylight in the middle and good service with the meals coming out quickly. They offered a really good range of dishes with everything from a full cooked breakfast, Spanish omelet, pizzas, salads, and so on. They also had fabulous coffee which in Spain is really saying something as coffee is an art form here. This little cafe quickly became our favourite local rest stop and amazingly the staff quickly recognised us.

One of the best meals that we had in Spain was at the Meson “La Moreneta”. A really traditional restaurant that doesn't look anything out of the ordinary but with some real homemade and authentic cooking. The service did tend to come with a side dish of machismo but hey, the food was worth it. They offered set menus of 3 courses from €8.60. Some choices included a delicious Paella Mixta which was absolutely delicious, Gazpacho (traditional tomato soup served cold), or a mixed salad. These menus also included a dessert such as a great crème caramel, bread, and a glass of great local wine. The food and service was a step up from your normal touristy fare.

It's all the luck of the draw I guess!

The sight that everyone comes to see is the beautiful Mezquita.

Row upon row of marble pillars polished at hand height to a shiny black gloss that has occurred over the eons from the endless hands running over them. The geometric white and rust red double horseshoe arches crowning the black pillars are just magnificent. The repetition of more than a thousand pillars is quite mesmerising. One can only imagine what it must have been like when it was originally built as it was open with natural light being able to stream in.

Even the Cathedral in the middle does not ruin the whole effect. It is a well known story that when Carlos V finally agreed to a Renaissance era Cathedral to be built within the Mosque that when he first saw it he was to exclaim "You have built what you or others might have built anywhere, but you have destroyed something unique in the world".

Make sure you also seek out the Sala del Mihrab, a prayer room with much marble and covered with beautiful mosaics. It is unique in that it does not face Mecca as its foundations were built on more ancient Roman ruins.

Having confused my times and visiting when there was a sermon in progress in the Christian Cathedral built in the centre I can only say that the service heightened the atmosphere of the Mesquita as a whole.

Speaking of our first visit I thought that you had to enter between the hours of 8.30am and 10am Monday through to Sunday but the true story was that it was free to enter during these times thus saving on the €8 entry fee. You do not receive a leaflet so take your guide book if you wish to have the information on the Mosque at hand. There are also no groups allowed and noise is to be kept to a minimum. If you sit for the service you are required to stay seated until it is finished. Supposedly there are no lights on at these times but we were there after 10am when the paying customers arrived and there was absolutely no difference and with the sounds of those heavenly voices lifting the roof it would have still been spectacular even if it was pitch black!

You also get to experience it without the crowds and the other bonus was that you also enter through the central traditional double entry of the Patio de los Naranjas rather than from the corner entry at one end of the Patio.

Experiencing the raw emotion of Flamenco firmly entrenches Cordoba in my mind as the city of romance and was one of the main highlights of our visit to Spain.

My preconceived ideas of the Flamenco were so misguided it was a real surprise to experience in its authentic form.

One thing that I never realized was how big a part the male dancers and singers play in the overall sensuality. Much of the music was made up of a solo male singer with the most powerful and soulful voice singing heartfelt laments that tugged at your heartstrings including strong stories about “los toros” the famous bulls of Spain. At other times he was backed by the beautiful sounds of a Spanish guitarist which is one of my favourite instruments so I thought I was in heaven.

When the singer first began I thought my partner would be horrified but he enjoyed the show as much as I did. The ladies with their beautiful and colourful Flamenco gowns really created a kaleidoscope of colour and complemented the passion of the men. We booked the day before and were lucky enough to have front row seats. The cost of €19 included a drink. Shows started at 10.30pm every day except for Sundays.

Don't miss it!