Cordoba, Spain

Cordoba is a mid-sized city of 350,000 inhabitants and a cultural reference point in Europe. This ancient city has been declared a World Heritage Site and contains a mixture of the diverse cultures that have settled it throughout history.

I book the bus ticket online, asked around for my bus platform, waited in cold over 1 hr for the bus, and then tode 5 hr in the bus to get there.

Very few places in the world can boast of having been the capital of a Roman province (Hispania Ulterior), the capital of an Arab State (Al-Andalus) and a Caliphate. Such splendor is palpable in the intellectual wealth of this city, that has seen the birth of figures like Seneca, Averroes, and Maimonides. The historic quarter of Cordoba is a beautiful network of small streets, alleys, squares and whitewashed courtyards arranged around the Mezquita, which reflects the city's prominent place in the Islamic world during medieval times.

The biggest attraction in Cordoba and a truly must-see building, the Mezquita is a massive former mosque-turned-cathedral famed for its "forest" of columns topped with Islamic-style red and white striped arches among its other many architectural highlights and serves as a reminder of the glory and importance Cordoba held in medieval times. 

Entering the interior, there is a forest of columns which recede into the distance, topped with their dazzling horseshoe arches. The light in the space will play interesting tricks with the arches and varies pretty dramatically as you walk through the building, going from rather dark when entering to very bright at the cathedral in the middle and back and forth as continuing. 

At the center of the building, the Cathedraltowers over the rest of the building, and the transition from the impressive-but-intimate mosque structure to the overwhelming awe of the cathedral is abrupt and rather jarring, but don't let that stop you from taking in the beauty of the cathedral, with its rich decoration and well-illuminated interior, standing to suggest triumph over the Muslims who previously used this building. The presence of the cathedral also offers the unique opportunity to so easily compare the differences between Muslim and Christian architecture.

Plaza del Cristo de los Faroles Cuesta del Bailio (Close to Alfaros street). The most impressive square, the best time to go there is the sunset or night (see picture). A Christ in the Cross statue adorned with lot of old lanterns, candles and flowers in a very quiet atmosphere.

Plaza de las Tendillas.