Cordoba

While in Seville we took a day trip to Cordoba.  Famous for having a beautiful mosque turned church.  It was the one day that we had sunshine the whole time and it was warm enough to eat ice cream on the steps of the mosque.  Cordoba is very touristy and you have to run away from the gypsy palm readers but if can get past that it has a pretty little old town with an alcazar and small synagogue.  Both of which were closed when we were there so we had to content ourselves with the church.

Like the church in Seville, there's an old minaret turned bell tower and orange tree filled courtyard.  What was amazing about this one was that despite the stark difference between the moorish mosque and the church basilica they built in the middle they actually blended very smoothly.  The mosque was one large room of arches and nooks with intricate designs. The basilica was build on top of the many arches and comes up to a domed roof that filters down light.  The mosque part is darker and the light is warm like candlelight.  The basilica is cool white and bright compared to the shadows around it.  Despite being smaller and not as ornate as the one in Seville, there is something about it that makes up for that.