Cordoba

Cordoba, Spain

The carpark in Cordoba was hot. But we found a tree to park beneath! 

Our first stop was the Alcázar. A sweltering stroll trough the gardens was made bearable by drinking water fountains. 

We saw a woman plunge her arms into the water of this fountain to try to cool down. 

The alcazar (in the background) was where Isabel and Fernando met with Christopher Colombus to give him funding for his expedition to America. 

We then walked along the waterfront to see a very old Islamic water wheel. I suspect the wood had been replaced and noticed they hadn't bothered to put in buckets so it wouldn't have been functional. There was also a Roman bridge I didn't like. 

The next stop was the Mezquita. This was a huge Islamic mosque that was conquered and converted into a huge hybrid Christian cathedral. All around the walls were sectioned alcoves full of sculptures, paintings and treasure. Initially we played 'Spot the Jesus' but it was way too easy (some alcoves having multiple Jesuses, usually at varying ages), so we played 'Spot the No Jesus'. Only one alcove didn't have a Jesus - that we could see anyway, I'm not convinced an artist didn't hide him somewhere in the large tapestries. 

The Jewish quarter (the Judería) was a maze of little roads, beautiful and quaint. We tried to find a particular synagogue, but ended up going in a circle and giving up. 

It turned out that the tree we parked under didn't help. 

By the time we got back, several hours later, the shade had shifted and the car was 42 degrees.