The
Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos is not as beautiful as the Alcazar of Seville but it is nonetheless worth a visit, especially for its sumptuous gardens.
For your information, the construction of the Alcazar was undertaken in 1328, under the protection of Alphonse XI and later, the Alcázar underwent some transformations. During the campaign for the reconquest of Grenada, it was in this Alcázar that the Catholic Kings lived.
Its style is mudejar and its shape is square. Some strong towers stand at the four corners of the construction and around, the beautiful gardens that descend until the strands of the Guadalquivir River are the highlight of the visit. Three towers of the Alcázar are still standing. These are: the tower "del Rio", "del Homenaje" - in which we can visit a splendid lounge with Gothic influences - and the Lions tower which is also mudejar in style.
In the Alcázar, I visited various archaeological vestiges reminding me of the historic past of Cordoba: a 2nd or 3rd Century marble sarcophagus and seven beautiful Roman mosaics. I also noticed the ancient baths, the mudejar-style interior court and the gardens.
The Alcázar of Cordoba was also a place of stay (or to be jailed). It is there that Boabdil the Small (last monarch of the Moslem Granada) was jailed; also it is where the Catholic Kings welcomed Christopher Columbus before his departure for the New World. From 1490 to 1821 the Inquisition headquarters were in the Alcázar.
In the huge gardens, I could see the statue of Christopher Columbus meeting the Catholic Kings and wander among cypresses, palmtrees and myrtles, but that day it was especially hot (July 2006), so I did not stay for too long outside even though the trees in the gardens gave me some refreshment from the canicular heat.
Entrance is 4€ and its opening hours vary according to the season:
May to September : Tuesday-Saturday 10am-2pm and 6pm to 8pm; Sunday 9:30am-3pm;
October to April: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 2pm and 4:30pm to 6:30pm; Sunday 9:30am to 2:30pm.
From journal Romans, Muslims, and Christians in Cordoba