Beautiful Cordoba…touring the Mezquita

Hi everyone! Today was another epic bus tour for Kim and Dawn. Oh boy, this was a tough one. They had to be at the pickup location for 7:10 am and when they got on, they noticed they were the first to arrive. Kim asked the guide how many people were going to be on this tour….sesenta…well folks, that means 60 in Español…..and they all needed to be picked up. So, that added about an hour to their trip.

After everyone was picked up, they headed to Cordoba which was about 170 Kms away.

They both agreed that it felt like they got there faster than their bus trip yesterday, because the roads weren’t so windy. They still enjoyed the beautiful lush scenery, and the trip was smooth sailing.

The reward in Cordoba was their visit to the Mezquita (pronounced like mosquito;) )

This is the only one in the world, and they both thought it was pretty amazing. It’s a massive former mosque with a 16th century church rising up from the middle. It was once the Center of Western Islam and the heart of a cultural capital that rivaled Baghdad and Constantinople. Kim thought one of the coolest parts is that from the inside, there is a minaret, which is part of the mosque, but from the outside it looks like a bell tower. Kim also thought the history was interesting, particularly having just visited Morocco. Funny how things start to fit into place, isn’t it?

Decorative wood carvings inside the window

The tower from the outside, the inside is the mosque minaret

Ceiling of the catholic chapel inside the mezquita

Now a Catholic Church

The choir area, all hand carved seats and a spectacular organ

After the tour of the Mezquita, the guide took them for a tour around the winding streets of the Medina and the Jewish quarter. Beautiful spot, with lots of people. Oh my goodness! The gals wonder what high season would look like!

Look at all the people!

Next is free time! Dawn and Kim found an amazing tapas place and shared eggplant with honey and meatballs…they may have had a glass of sangria too. They both thought this was the best meal yet!