After settling in we walked a couple of blocks to the Mezquita, a massive former mosque that now has a 16th century church in the middle.
From 756 to 1236 AD, Cordoba was the cultural and religious center of Western Islam. It was also the greatest city in Europe, with a population three times as large as Paris. It had running water, paved streets, and public baths. While Moors held the political reins, Islam, Christianity and Judaism co-existed and shared cultural traits like clothing, language and art. The Mezquita shined like Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, proclaiming the equivalent status of Cordoba‘s caliphate.
The Patio of the Naranjos (courtyard of the oranges) was the former mosque’s place for ablutions. Today a fountain remains, but the courtyard is filled with orange trees. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption can be seen over the trees.
We walked around the outer perimeter of the former mosque; each side is a couple of blocks long. It’s a curious mix of Christian and Islamic decoration. An arched entry features the Madonna, while ongoing restoration of exterior walls seems to suggest Islamic designs.
Unrestored section
Work in progress
We are visiting the inside of the mosque and church tomorrow, so stay tuned for more.
We walked down through the Renaissance-era Triumphal Arch to the river, and across the Roman Bridge.
The pedestrian bridge rests on first century AD foundations and 16th century arches. On the far end is a fortified 14th century tower. The tower is far more interesting from behind, where it becomes apparent that 40% of the tower is not visible from the bridge.
The Mezquita hovers across the bridge
We noticed that the bridge seemed surprisingly crowded with families traveling in the same direction. The kids were clutching plastic bags or the occasional plastic jack-o-lantern. On a hunch, we joined the crowds to see if we had stumbled upon a Three Kings event
Anastasia, our host in Granada, had urged us to find the Three Kings event in Cordoba. Although Santa Claus has established a presence in Spain, the feast of the Three Kings (the Epiphony) is traditionally the day Spanish children most anticipate. The approach of the day motivates kids to behave, as the Kings bring gifts to good children. The night of January 5, the children put out their shoes along with some straw for the Kings’ camels and a snack for the Kings. In the morning, wrapped gifts from the Kings are found near the shoes.
The crowd of families we’d joined congregated near a fountain. Throngs of people lined the streets in both directions as far as we could see. And kids hung their bags over the barrier, tense with anticipation.
A gaggle of elves skated by and the parade began.
There were inflatable floats, Disney knock-offs, a marching band of young priests, and of course, the Three Kings complete with camels. Parade participants had (literally) garbage bags full of small candies that were hurled by the fistful into the excited crowd. Also tossed were bags of cheese curls, nuts and the occasional stuffed animal.
This appears to be the blow-up doll from “Airplane”
Winner the Pooh?
Melchior
Casper
Balthazar
Winner the Pooh?
Melchior
Casper
Balthazar
By Macy’s standards, it was pretty low budget. But it was so much fun to stand in the crowd and hear people calling to their friends on the floats, watch kids scramble for the penny candies and share in the general mayhem.
After it was over, the street sweepers descended. We walked around the neighborhood for a while, people watching while crowd dispersed. Many people were carrying their king cakes home to have for breakfast tomorrow. There were cake balanced on strollers, cakes toted by dads and cakes proudly carried by just-old-enough kids. This was my favorite:
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