We got a very early start from Granada and drove north towards Jaen,
where we stopped for
breakfast an a short walk around the town. The area around Jaen
is covered with olive
trees. Driving through the area is quite impressive: rolling hills from
horizon to horizon
covered with neat rows of olive trees.
We got to Cordoba early in the morning and spent a few hours visiting
the Great Mosque
and walking in the old Jewish
quarter (now mostly a tourist attraction).
The Great Mosque was very impressive: this huge structure with a late
renaissance church
dropped in the middle of it by the conquering Christians. Fortunately,
the much older mosque
swallows the newer church whole most of the time. Still, as shown by
some of the pictures below,
the combination produces some strange juxtapositions.
Mechtild, who has a son studying architecture, was intrigued by the
typical andalusian house plan
with a central courtyard -- houses looking inwards for relief from the
summer heat -- so we took a
few pictures as examples.
And also a couple of pictures of alleys in the Jewish quarter, adjacent
to the Great Mosque.
After lunch and another walk around the Jewish quarter we drove to Medina Al Zahara where
we looked at the ruins for a couple of hours before driving on to Sevilla.
