Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Córdoba's magical spell

Córdoba is mystical and teeming with magic.

First, we toured the Alcazar where the gardens extend across the expanse of water where fish frolick...  Although there has been many renovations at the Alcazar, which is the palace and lush gardens, there are still some ancient rock walls from its original building.  This is a part of the original showing the Castile y Leon married to Aragon as the Spanish Coat of Arms that is barely discernible on the pieces of rock wall in the courtyard.

So much history.  My head couldn't fit any more words inside... Christians, Jews and Muslims had lived in this city for generations in a cohesive, blended community.  When the Christians defeated the Muslims in the last stand at Granada in 1492, it was shortly afterward that he tossed out all the Jews who wouldn't become Christian.  Sad times.

The walk was a long one and when the tour director said she was taking us to the Juderia, the Jewish Quarter, we just wanted to sit down.  We'd already walked through the narrow streets and visited the area during our Patio of Flowers tour.  When I suggested to Steven that we might skip it and wait for the La Mezquita, (mosque) tour an hour later, he quickly agreed.

We knew we could find somewhere to put up our tired feet and we zoned in on the first cafe we could see.  It felt like we'd taken the weight of the day off when we sat down and watched the people go by.  There are people from so many countries, so many languages and so very different around us.  People watching is something we both enjoy...so that's exactly what we did.

I'd found another jasmine blossom in the Alcazar gardens and loved the scent and couldn't let go of it even to lift my chilled tinto verano.  I want to plant a huge vine when I get home so I can inhale the beautiful fragrance again to bring back the memory of Córdoba.

Then it was time to meet the group again near the large fountain in the Patio of the Oranges.  Walking into the amazing mosque with nearly 900 columns took my breath away even though this is my third visit .  The massive columns were created by different artists and very different from one another.  The archways were delicate and looked like someone had pinched their fingers across seven-minute frosting.  Elegant.  Artistic.  Beautiful. 


I was surprised that I kept taking photos because last year I'd taken so many, but I couldn't help myself.  It was as if my camera finger had a mind of its own.  When we saw the huge Christian church set within the mosque, it seemed very strange, like twilight zone.  There was so much gold covered icons and artwork frames and doors and doorknobs, we mentally calculated all the poor workers who went without to make this happen.  But, I suppose one shouldn't think such mundane thoughts.  I couldn't help it. 

By then, our feet burned and our hips were screaming.  It was time to hit the road.  

We headed south toward Campanillas, the town in Málaga Province that was home to some of my Ruiz family.  I knew it would be so good to be back in Los Nuñez where my Spanish home away from home waited to embrace me.  When we arrived, my sweet friend Lyn welcomed me with a big hug and made Steven feel part of the family The dogs knew me!  The flowers in all their glorious pots surrounded the courtyard table where we sat with a bit of wine and tapas to catch up on all the news.  
Now, I can breathe easy and feel the slow and easy pace of the country village.  Now I will visit all the cousins and friends here, in Málaga and in Almogía.  And take Steven along too because he fits right in as I knew he would.


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