Madinat al-Zahra

Back onto the scooter to drive a few miles west of Cordoba to Madinat al-Zarah.

This is the ruined complex of the tenth century palace built by the Caliph Abd al Rahman iii.  The palace was sacked by Berber invaders after only 80 years and the remains left are what can be seen today.  Unfortunately, the main hall was closed due to restoration work but the grandeur of the three tiered administrative centre for Andalusia was apparent.  The museum holds many of the artefacts found at the site and excavation is still in progress.

 



Cordoba

We took the scooter into Cordoba and found a brilliant parking spot right next to the Puente Romano.

 

 

Walking through the bridge gate

 

 

 We soon arrived at the Mezquita,

 

 

This mosque mostly dates from the 10th century. One of the most breathtaking parts of the mosque is the Mihrab ,which was a prayer niche that originally held a gilt copy of the Koran and it dates from this period. 

 

 

 As you enter your first sight is of a multitude of arches and pillars supposedly more than 850 columns.

 

 

 

  The Cathedral lies within the centre of the arches.  It has a superb dome and the choir stalls were very ornately decorated. 

 

 

 

 

 

 The first Christian chapel within the mosque was built in 1371, called the Capilla de Villaviciosa it has unusual complex arches.

 

 

From the mesquita we retraced our steps back to the bridge and then onto the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos.  This palace was built in the 14th Century and has some wonderful water gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After resting a while here we then took a walking route around the old Jewish quarter

 

 

 

This is a truly beautiful city and well worth a visit.