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travel
& recreation
festivals
& patios...
Cordoba... capital of Al-Andalus
the 8th century
mosque of Corduba, incorporate colored marble,
granite and alabaster. The arches incorporate
red brick and white stone. The mosque at one
point included 1300 columns of which 850
remain. In the middle of the Islamic
mosque, a Christian cathedral was built in the
16th century, altering the original
architecture, hence the term "Mezquita-Catedral".
The best time of the year to visit Cordoba
is mid April to mid June. There are several
Festivals in Cordoba. In May there
is the Festival de Patios with a
competition between the different patios
every year. The Patios
have a Roman & Muslim origin, they were
meeting places in Roman time and places of
rest and recreation during the Islamic period,
they are in full bloom in May.
The Feria de
Mayo Festival, are ten days of party time.
In June to July there is the Festival
Internacional de Guitarra, with flamenco,
classical, rock & blues
performances at Alca'zar (Al-Qasser: palace)
gardens at night.
Cordoba (711-1236 AD), located north of Rio Guadalquivir
(Wadi Al-Kabeer: Big Canyon). Founded as the Roman
colony of Corduba in 152 BC, it
became a major cultural center during that
time. It fell to the Muslims in 711
AD and became the Capital of the region.
In Cordoba, 756 AD, Abd Ar-Rahman I,
declared himself the emir of Al-Andalus
(emir or ameer: prince) and in 929 AD Abd
Ar-Rahman III declared himself the Caliph
(Khalifah) of Al-Andalus, setting his
independence from the Abbassid Caliphs
in Baghdad. Cordoba became the biggest
city in Europe with a population exceeding
100,000. It also became the center of culture,
education, trade and industry, with its
mosques, libraries, universities, patios,
aqueducts, skilled artisans and scholars
such as Averroes or Ibn Rushd
(Arabic name) also Maimonides .
Abd Ar-Rahman III court was very hospitable to
scholars of all different religious faiths
& beliefs.
The Cordoba
Caliphate included most of the Iberian
Peninsula south of the Rio Duero, the Balearic
islands and parts of North Africa. In the 11th
century the Cordoba Caliphate began
fragmenting and Cordoba became part of the Sevilla
Taifa (Taa'ifah). Cordoba was taken by Fernando
III in 1236 AD.
edited
by T.Farhat, MD - 2001
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