Ay! Cordoba!

Still not bored with beautiful cities, rare moments, and one last cathedral we embarked on one last day trip in Spain.

A Renfe train took us through miles of orange tree farms, some still loaded with bright orange fruit, some bare of fruit and standing in a cloud of bright green leaves having recently gone through harvest, the picking all done by hand.  We also passed vast solar farms, olive plantations, and fields of pale green sprouts of wheat.  The tiny sprouts laden with dew made the land look like a great blanket of pale green velvet.  It was a very pretty ride.

Unlike in most other cities, the Cordoba train station was not in the center of town but about a 20-minute walk away to the nearest Information Center.  Customarily, we were once again handed a map, and given our limited time there, the representative pointed out the most important sights, museums, and churches we could see in a few hours.  Immediately outside the tourist office was one of the most scenic points in the entire city, Puerto del Puenta (Gate of the Bridge) built in the 16^th century to commemorate a visit to the city by King Phillip II.   At its foot, the tall Moorish bridge, Puente Romano, supported by its beautiful arches extends across the Guadalquivir River.  We walked across the bridge admiring and trying to name the waterfowl and flying gnat-catchers obviously enjoying their day below us.  Looking back across the bridge gave us a panoramic striking view of the skyline of Cordoba.

The city has deep Roman roots and in the Middles Ages, Cordoba was a major Islamic stronghold. The immense and spectacular Mosque-Cathedral was first built as a mosque around 784 AD.   Several additions were made to the original building during the next 500 years but after the Christian conquest, the mosque was altered and converted to the cathedral it is today. One cannot help being mesmerized by the airy, open inside space, the forest of 856 columns supporting as many red and white arches whose colors had faded to rust and cream after so many years of age.  The mix of spectacular Christian opulence of gold, silver, and art coupled with Islamic colors and arches make the one-of-a-kind building not only alluring but also one of the most important historical buildings in the world.

Cordoba has a grand Alcazar but since we’ve seen probably the most fabulous Alcazar n Spain — the Alcazar de Seville, we opted instead to use the day wisely and take a look at the Banos de Alcazar Califal. Bathhouses in Islamic times here were places for hygiene, relaxation, and important meetings as well s operating like a spa for royalty.

Also of importance in Cordoba is one of the three remaining Jewish synagogues in Spain.  The other two are in Toledo – but we missed seeing them on our visit there.

After a good meal, we boarded the train back to Seville.  Holy cow!  Just across the aisle from us in car 4, was a young couple from North Carolina!   Starved for good ole southern conversation, did we ever chat!!  We probably disturbed the whole train car.  Chris and Lee are from a small mountain town just down the road from Ashville. They love Spain and make it their vacation destination year after year.  In our share hour and twenty-minute train ride, we became familiar friends.

Two days later as we prepared to enter the Cathedral de Seville, guess who we saw across the street.  I shouted “Chris!  Lee!”  They looked at us blankly then smiles and recognition took over their faces!  We spent the next little while together before our scheduled Cathedral visit time.

Similarly, a week ago I received a message from Jen & Drew, young Texas traveling couple we met waiting for our bus in Panama City, Panama earlier this year.  They too are in Seville now.  What a coincidence!  We met for drinks last week and had a wonderful time power-chatting and sharing our stories.  These guys have a very good v-blog on YouTube, Journey with Jen & Drew. 

Meeting both these couples and seeing them again made rare and sweet moments that remind me that the world no matter how huge, is actually small if you just look for the connections.