I found my muse this morning...a roller shield like mine, except this one has a señorita painted across it...
After getting lost yesterday (Monday), I charged forward today with a cup of cafe con leche para llevar (to go) and felt very American. I was the only person carrying a cup of coffee on the street! Why do they advertise it (to go ) if nobody does it? I drank it fast and tossed the cup... I was ready to roll and neither the narrow streets nor those labyrinths would stop me. And I made it! The tour began under cloudy-sunny skies...
Only a baby bump in the road. There were two tour guides, one spoke Spanish only and one spoke Spanish and English. I followed the wrong one (really?!) but only for two blocks. Backtracking quickly, rushing across the street to the same arched doorway I fled through yesterday, I saw the backs of my real tour group. What? Back into the labyrinth I went. But this time, I wasn't alone. I heard the woman's voice in my "whisper" as they call it, which is a radio receiver. Her words were staccato bursts. When she changed from Spanish to English, I almost didn't catch it. I have never heard a woman talk so fast in both languages...never ever.
History of Córdoba filled my ears, but it was a duplicate of my Road Scholar tour, so I listened quietly and let my eyes roam in all directions as we stood in the small plaza before heading into the long tunnel-like alleyways.
First, la Judería, Córdoba's oldest Jewish Quarter, located between the Mesquita and the beginning of the Avenida del Gran Capitán If you read my post yesterday, you know that's where I got lost in its network of lanes, but this time, we entered small patios, the synagogue, a flowered plaza and I thought of my Jewish friends, Lucie and Jake. My eyes flit from one corner of the area to the other as I listened to history inside the synagogue and noticed the small brass emblem on the doorway. I missed the name of it, but I knew it must be important. (A mezuzah?)
We passed the statue of Maimónides, the Jewish philosopher and doctor. The guide said folklore tells us to rub his brass feet and a bit of wise-ness rubs off. Of course, I did that.
And then we walked en mass to the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. It served as a residence of the Inquisition, so the rooms are a bit dreary, but we saw a fascinating display of some fine mosaics from Roman Córdoba inside the chapel. We heard the history of the wife and the mistress. The wife had one child and the mistress had ten children...
The gardens, on the other hand, were FABULOUS. I didn't see the garden with Road Scholar and this was a place I wanted to stay...just for a little while. Inside the palace, there was a cold water room, a warm water room and a steamy, hot water room. The guide said that the Moors bathed five times a day to be clean for prayer times, so the Christians decided to bathe only when needed (?) to separate themselves from Moorish culture. (crazy)
By now, my body was telling me to stop, sit, eat...I'd missed breakfast (I didn't want to get lost again, so I left early), but the mosque, La Mesquita waited for me (again). But this time, a different guide spoke Spanish and English slower and his lecture was quite different from the one I had before. I am so glad I didn't skip it to look for a chair and food.
This second tour of the mosque was absolutely fascinating. How did I miss all this the first time? Too busy taking photos? Not listening? This time, the forest of columns held a new significance for me.
The top of each column is different from the other.
Each top was brought to sit on each column by different people. No column is the same.
The red in the arches was not paint like in the newer (10th century) but red brick and stunning.
And a statue with a palm leaf in its left hand signifies victory. It also signifies the person was a Christian. But in both Jewish and Moorish traditions, there is also a special significance.
And the ornate arches? The numbers 5 and 7 are significant to both the Moors and the Jews. 5: The first five chapters of the bible for Jews and the Five Pillars of Islam for the Moors. 7: is the seven layers of heaven and earth for the Moors and the Menorah for the Jews is the seven-lamp (six branches) Hebrew lamp stand. There were many more interesting parts to his lecture that weren't touched during the Road Scholar tour. It was interesting but this was truly fascinating.
Okay, history lesson is over. Once we walked through the large Patio de los Naranjos (Patio of the Oranges), the scent permeated the area and I walked over tiny rocks embedded into the ground beneath the trees with water troughs lined up in tandem throughout the area. All in all, the first glimpse of this place is immensely exciting.
Food! My cousin, Angela Ruiz Fernandez, told me I should eat at Casa Santos. When I saw it in front of me after the tour, I marched right in and ordered a bocadillo (sandwich) with chorizo and a glass of Ribera del Duero (I am still listening to you, Rina!) Holding my feast to my chest, I went "home" which was only a very short walk because...remember, the Hotel Boutique Caireles backs up against the mosque. It is a clean, beautiful room and I could never have found it on purpose. It is a perfect spot.
After eating, snoozing a bit and checking my texts and emails, it was time to explore. This time, I went the other way because I wanted to get farther from the tourist area. What fun. Well, of course, I didn't actually get lost...I just couldn't find a street to find my way back (does that count?) I walked about three miles and followed a woman up some wide, beautifully designed steps between buildings that I was sure would lead me back to the mosque. New horizons. New shops. New people. And then I spied the clock tower ahead at the same time I saw the bodega taberna. My legs ached and it was in the shade (about 70 today). As soon as I sat down, a man was smiling at me and brought me a sangria. Ah, then people watching. The couple across the plaza were extremely interested in one another and couldn't keep their hands to themselves. (hmmmm...characters for another book?)
As I sipped the sangria (very strong and lovely), I scooped some of the fruity pieces into my mouth with the tiny spoon and slurped up the cold punch. When a Spaniard sat across the square and pulled a guitar from his case, I heard the most beautiful guitar music and his voice sang Spanish songs that had everyone tapping, videoing and dancing their feet. Ah...what a dreamy end of my sojourn in Córdoba.
As I type this post, both sets of French doors are open. I can hear someone playing gentle flute music in the lane below. Lights shine from the clock tower and the gentle chatter of people below waft up toward me. And the sweet Spanish girl at the front desk just knocked on my door to give me a small bag of "Sweet Dreams" jelly candy as a goodbye gift. Is this the life, or what?
Tomorrow, another train.
Another bus.
Another village: Algodonales northwest of Ronda. (So back to Ronda tomorrow!!) Algodonales is where I research book 4 of my mystery series about flamenco guitar making for Picasso's art colony... Unfortunately, my friend, Jose Luis, is ill with the flu, so I will miss him! But, to my delight, Eterio (the documentary director) wants to film me there with Jose Luis; Eterio will pick me up from my house in Calahonda one day in May with his film crew and we will spend the day there.
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