Day 7: Mezquita

Today was a slightly sad day- We would be leaving Marbella to go back to Madrid. Although I was excited to be seeing Lizzy again, I was a little sad to leave the beach and the fun summer lifestyle we had been living the past week.

On the way home, Pilar and Luis decided that we should make a detour to show me Cordoba. We were coming from Marbella, which is very close to Malaga. So Cordoba was not too far out of the way, perhaps 45 minutes.

It was 103°F when we got there, but in truth I was happy to get out of the car for a bit and stretch my legs. Driving for 3 hours with 4 kids fighting all around you can get a bit exhausting.

In any case, we parked the car and went to explore! The first thing I saw were the remains of a castle.

FUN FACT #13: Cordoba is ancient- it was first conquered by the Romans in 206 B.C. At the time of Julius Caesar, it was the capital of the Roman Province of Spain. It was captured by the Muslim army in 711 A.D. and remained in Arab control until 1236 when King Ferdinand III took it back.

Paloma and Pilar

FUN FACT #14: What brought us to Cordoba on this particularly hot day was the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, otherwise known as Mezquita. Originally, it was a Visigoth Catholic church until the Muslim invaded. They tore down the church and rebuilt a gigantic mosque on the location. Following the recapture of Cordoba for Christendom, a Cathedral was built within the mosque.

As we walked to the entrance of Mezquita, we walked for a time around the actual building. A few doorways showed us the drastic differences between Muslim and Christian artwork. Soon enough, we arrived in the Orange Tree Courtyard. Originally, it had been full of palm trees, but the Christians replaced them. The courtyard was quite impressive. The main fountain supplied water for all of the orange trees. Each tree was placed 6 inches below the cobble stones with little moats carrying water to each one from the fountain. Overlooking the courtyard was a large bell tower. 

We paid the man at the gate and walked inside. 

SWEET JESUS MARY AND JOSEPH THIS PLACE WAS AWESOME.

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All me were monstrous columns and arches painted white and red. I truly cannot express how huge this place was. Had I not had the giggles of my kids to follow, I would definitely have gotten lost. All along the outer walls were alcoves of alters and paintings. A living museum- and mausoleum. Every where I walked, I treaded on some long dead dude. I couldn't really get over the irony. I mean, these guys must have been incredibly prominent and wealthy in order to be entombed here (and probably made quite the donation to save his soul no doubt). And now look at him. Being walked all over by some dumb American girl without a lick of Spanish chasing after a 2 year old. But I guess that's just how it goes. 

Here and there were small chapels that are still used today. In the center of the Mosque was the Cathedral. The entrance was unbelievably magnificent, as the stark Gothic architecture stood boldly out amongst the dark Islamic influence.  The ceilings here opened up to windows, and the center of the Cathedral was blindingly white. Needless to say, I took a billion pictures.

The carved wooden seats for the choir.

The Cathedral Dome

Once I had taken my fill, we returned to the car. On the way, some crazy lady accosted Pilar and tried to make her take a vine of rosemary. Pilar shoved her away, and politely said in Spanish, "No, you cannot read my palm, goodbye!". Meanwhile, devious little Jaime reached up and plucked the rosemary out of her hand and set off running. We left the wackadoodle behind and laughed as Jaime smelled his prize and whipped it around like a sword. That's a four year old for ya. 

When we returned to Madrid, Pilar and Luis dropped me off at Lizzy's flat. Her family was gone for the night, and we had our first sleep over! She has a trundle bed- just like the good old days. We sat up and talked about our weeks until we were too tired to go on. 

From left to right: Lucas (8), Paloma (2), Marta (6) and Jaime (4).