First Day - Cordoba

Boston to Cordoba

The first day was actually two days, but for anyone who didn't sleep much on the plane, it was one very long day!

Stage 1: to Philly

We left the high school at 10:30 am to drive to the airport for a 2 pm flight.

After several delays due to bad weather in Philly, the flight landed at 5:30 pm leaving just 45 minutes before the Madrid flight boarded.

Stage 2: to Madrid

Fortunately the flight to Madrid was uneventful and landed at 8:00 am local time.

Stage 3: to Cordoba

 After clearing customs they bordered a bus for the 6-hour bus ride to Cordoba (including a stop for lunch).

Cordoba

After a brief rest at the hotel, the group toured Cordoba.  There are still Roman ruins here.  Many Moorish buildings remain from the time of Islamic rule (711 to 1236).  At its height in the 10th century, Cordoba was the economic center of the Western world.

The Cordoba Mosque-Catherdal.  Begun as a mosque in 784 and converted to a cathedral in 1236.

The Guadalquivir river, with Cordoba's historic city center in the background.

With the Mosque in the background, you can see the Roman Bridge of Cordoba, originally built in the 1st century.

San Rafael is the patron saint of Cordoba.  This statue on the Roman Bridge.

At the north end of the Roman Bridge, entering the historic city center, is the Puerto Del Puente (Bridge Gate), constructed in 1572.

Another San Rafael statue.

Opposite the Bridge Gate is an outside wall of the Mosque-cathedral.

The inside of the Bridge Gate.

A small plaza near the horse stables.  Oranges in February!  They were very sour but edible.  Apparently Scotland uses them to make orange marmalade.

Pigeon watching!

The Royal Horse Stables, built in 1571.  However stables on this site existed even during Islamic rule.  The Andalusian, or Pure Spanish Horse breed was developed here.

The Jewish Quarter

Cordoba's Jewish quarter is northeast of the Mosque-Cathedral and was occupied by Jews from the 10th to the 15th centuries.  The kids had a guided tour of the Quarter in the evening.

Seneca the Younger, a Roman Dramatist, born in Cordoba in 4 B.C.

Miamonides, the famous Jewish philosopher, was born in Cordoba in 1135.

Flowers were everywhere in the Jewish quarter (again, in February!)

Tracking those pigeons!

The Torre Campanario, a historic bell tower on the outer wall of the Mosque-cathedral.

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A entryway at the base of the Torre Campanario leads into the Mosque-cathedral.

Cordoba city plaza

Cordoba's Roman temple.  Construction began circa 50 AD, but the remains were not discovered until the 1950s.