We entered the orange grove gardens to buy our tickets and walked across to the entrance. It was amazing walking into the mosque area with its many columns and striped arches, row upon row; and then in the middle, everything changed to an ornate Christian cathedral, made up of Gothic renaissance and baroque styles ,which was instigated by Ferdinand III in 1236 when the Spanish took Cordoba from the Muslim Caliph. The main parts of the cathedral were begun in 1523. We spent quite some time inside, seeing the main areas including the Mihrab, taking many photos and wondering at the mix of architecture.
Eventually we left in search of coffee. A convenient place appeared just outside and we had our best value coffee and cake so far. As ws were on the street leading down to the river, we went along to see if the water was higher than yesterday following the rain of last night; we think it was. On the way down we stopped by the Andalusian council office with its courtyard and info boards explaining some of the features of Cordoba that contribute to its World Heritage status. There were even drawings of the Roman waterwheels in place against the buildings and we wondered if there was a plan to put one back in working order. How interesting.
Now we were ready to look round the old Jewish quarter, which we would enter along Dr. Fleming Avenue, but instead we found the entrance to the baths belonging to the Alcazar where the Caliphs bathed. We went in and had a lovely time visiting the archaeological site with an interpretive film in Spanish - but we could guess what they were saying having read the English captions on the boards. Now we did start walking through the Jewish quarter; lots of small streets with balconies and a few glimpses of hidden patios. We arrived at the Synagogue, but it was closed until 3.30, so we threaded our way back to the area near the Mezquita to find a cafe for a sandwich. We found a good place selling bocadillos and ordered ham and cheese bagettes with coffee sitting outside with a view of one of the gates into the Patio de las Naranjos. Alan then went for ice creams and it suddenly started to rain, so we rushed indoors to eat them. As we finished them, the Synagogue would be open again so we made our way back there to see one of only three synagogues in Spain and the only one in Andalucia. It has Hebrew lettering in a decorative pattern around the walls, which is apparently very unusual.
Our last visit of the day was to the Palacio de Viana, the home of the family Viana until bought by a bank in 1981. It has 14 patios arranged around the building, which is filled with all sorts of treasures such as porcelain, tapestries, paintings and furniture. They all are a little shabby, and we were hurtled through by a fast speaking Spanish guide who gave us a leaflet with a very brief English translation.
At last we got back to Palacio del Bailio and decided on a 'tapas' dinner in the hotel bar. Fried fish, pork skewer and tomato salad followed by 'moorish' pastries and herby teas. We had extra dry sherry with the tapas.
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